The Rules

Lines of Action (LOA) 8×8 board by two sides, Black and White. Each side has twelve pieces at its disposal. It is a two-person zero-sum game with perfect information. LOA is a connection game, albeit non-typical. Claude Soucie invented it around 1960. Sid Sackson (1969) described it in his first edition of A Gamut of Games. At the sixth Computer Olympiad the LOA rules were made immutable for this tournament. They are as stated below in point 1 to 10.

Warning: in some books, magazines or websites rules 2, 8, 9, and 10 can be different from what is specified here! The Olympiad organisation is using the rules, which were used at the MSO World Championship of 2000.

  1. The black pieces are placed in two rows along the top and bottom of the board, while the white pieces are placed in two files at the left and right side of the board. (see Diagram 1).

    Diagram 1: Board set-up.

    Diagram 2: A terminal position.

     

  2. The players alternately move, starting with Black.
     
  3. A player to move must move one of its pieces. A move takes place in a straight line (along files, ranks, or diagonals), exactly as many squares as there are pieces of either colour anywhere along the line of movement.
     
  4. A player may jump over its own pieces, but not land on them.
     
  5. A player may not jump over the opponent's pieces, but can capture them by landing on them.
     
  6. The goal of a player is to form one connected group with all of its pieces. The first player to do so is the winner. Connected pieces are on squares that are adjacent, either orthogonally or diagonally. (see Diagram 2).
     
  7. A single piece is a connected group.
     
  8. If a move simultaneously creates a single connected unit for both players, it is a draw.
     
  9. If a player cannot move, this player has to pass.
     
  10. If a position with the same player to move occurs for the third time, the game is drawn.

In the second edition of A Gamut of Games (1982) simultaneous connection (rule 8) is described as a win for the moving player, but the draw variant is still in force in the main tournaments, such as the Mind Sports Olympiad 2000, and on Richard’s PBeM server (e-mail championship). It is recommended that both rules are implemented, because both are widely used. The LOA rules are disputable.