Good morning, everyone!
I am going a little different route this week. I haven't done one of these types of game breakdowns in about a year, so I thought it would be a nice change.
Speaking of changes in routines, I'm not sure that I will be posting a puzzle next weekend as I will be at GenCon. I hope to play and see some great games with some great people while there, and will probably come back with some blog ammunition, but I won't have my computer with me and I've packed my schedule quite full.
This is a game I played last week against Takticianbot (Tako, for short). If you are really looking to test your skills and there isn't a human around to play, Tako can be your trainer. This bot isn't for the faint of heart, though; it routinely beats almost all humans. So, you have to go into the game with the mindset of learning something and not with the mindset that you are going to boost your ego :)
In my opinion, Tako is great at teaching players efficient and safe moves. It is not a flashy bot, it wins by slowly building threats without much risk involved. This can lead to some interesting moves during games. For instance, in this game, there are a few times where it would seem that Tako should make a 'tak' threat (most humans would), but Tako instead chooses a safer option of placing a flat in another area to build up to a slower and more powerful threat with less chance of its opponent's defense of that threat endangering its flat count.
Let me know what you think of this game and this format. I won't be doing it every week, as it's very time consuming, but I think that one of these commentated games could find its place in my blog every couple months.
Putting the commentary inside of a frame embedded in the blog makes the comments take up too much of the playing area, so, here's a link.
Enjoy!!
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Puzzle #75: White to Play; White to Tinue
Hello, all!
This week's puzzle is from a game between AaaarghBot and myself. I missed this Tinue during the game and ended up forcing AaaarghBot into placing wall after wall, ending in a Gaelet game. On review, I found this board state and thought it was a really neat one.
There are slightly different ways this could go, but Tinue board state should be reached in 3-5 turns with the win for White in 5-7 turns. If you find other ways to get there, I'd love to hear them!
Please form your answer with PTN or a link to your solution via ptn.ninja. Also, be sure to use the spoiler tag so as not to ruin it for later puzzle solvers.
UPDATE: The Reddit site has updated and the newer version does not recognize the older spoiler tag - " [spoiler text](/spoiler) ". The new version has it's own spoiler tag " >! spoiler text !< ". Unfortunately, the new spoiler tag does not work on the old Reddit. So, for the time being, since we have community members using both new and old Reddit, both tags need to be used. I found a way to nest these spoiler tags:
I know it's a bit of a pain, but eventually, we should be able to switch over to the new tag only.
I hope you enjoy this one!
P.S. If you have suggestions for puzzle board states or how they are presented, please let me know.
This week's puzzle is from a game between AaaarghBot and myself. I missed this Tinue during the game and ended up forcing AaaarghBot into placing wall after wall, ending in a Gaelet game. On review, I found this board state and thought it was a really neat one.
There are slightly different ways this could go, but Tinue board state should be reached in 3-5 turns with the win for White in 5-7 turns. If you find other ways to get there, I'd love to hear them!
Please form your answer with PTN or a link to your solution via ptn.ninja. Also, be sure to use the spoiler tag so as not to ruin it for later puzzle solvers.
UPDATE: The Reddit site has updated and the newer version does not recognize the older spoiler tag - " [spoiler text](/spoiler) ". The new version has it's own spoiler tag " >! spoiler text !< ". Unfortunately, the new spoiler tag does not work on the old Reddit. So, for the time being, since we have community members using both new and old Reddit, both tags need to be used. I found a way to nest these spoiler tags:
>! [spoiler text](/spoiler) !<
Ex: >!<
I know it's a bit of a pain, but eventually, we should be able to switch over to the new tag only.
I hope you enjoy this one!
P.S. If you have suggestions for puzzle board states or how they are presented, please let me know.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Puzzle #74: Black to Play; Black to Gaelet
Happy Saturday, everyone!
I had the choice between a Black - Best Move puzzle and a Gaelet puzzle. I decided to go with the Gaelet this week because it has been so long since I've done one.
The reason I haven't posted one in a while is because they are harder (in my opinion) to find and make into puzzles than Tinue board states. I don't feel like it is a worthwhile Gaelet puzzle unless the side that you are playing is behind on flats and only 1 or 2 branches allow you to win, assuming, just as in a Tinue puzzle, that your opponent makes the optimal response to each of your moves.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a Gaelet is an unavoidable flat win. Here is a link to a more in depth explanation.
Please form your answer with PTN or a link to your solution via ptn.ninja. Also, be sure to use the spoiler tag so as not to ruin it for later puzzle solvers.
UPDATE: Reddit has updated and the newer version does not recognize the older spoiler tag - " [spoiler text](/spoiler) ". The new version has it's own spoiler tag " >! spoiler text !< ". Unfortunately, the new spoiler tag does not work on the old Reddit. So, for the time being, since we have community members using both new and old Reddit, both tags need to be used. I found a way to nest these spoiler tags:
I know it's a bit of a pain, but eventually, we should be able to switch over to the new tag only.
Without further ado...
Enjoy!
I had the choice between a Black - Best Move puzzle and a Gaelet puzzle. I decided to go with the Gaelet this week because it has been so long since I've done one.
The reason I haven't posted one in a while is because they are harder (in my opinion) to find and make into puzzles than Tinue board states. I don't feel like it is a worthwhile Gaelet puzzle unless the side that you are playing is behind on flats and only 1 or 2 branches allow you to win, assuming, just as in a Tinue puzzle, that your opponent makes the optimal response to each of your moves.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a Gaelet is an unavoidable flat win. Here is a link to a more in depth explanation.
Please form your answer with PTN or a link to your solution via ptn.ninja. Also, be sure to use the spoiler tag so as not to ruin it for later puzzle solvers.
UPDATE: Reddit has updated and the newer version does not recognize the older spoiler tag - " [spoiler text](/spoiler) ". The new version has it's own spoiler tag " >! spoiler text !< ". Unfortunately, the new spoiler tag does not work on the old Reddit. So, for the time being, since we have community members using both new and old Reddit, both tags need to be used. I found a way to nest these spoiler tags:
>! [spoiler text](/spoiler) !<
Ex: >!<
I know it's a bit of a pain, but eventually, we should be able to switch over to the new tag only.
Without further ado...
Enjoy!
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Shifting Focus
When I wrote Level I, I was working 40 hours a week with a mandatory 1 hour lunch break each day. I actually wrote the majority of the book during those mandatory lunches, using my nights and weekends to polish the content. About a year ago now, I started my new job. And, while I am soooo much happier with the new company and the work that I get to do, I work 55 hours a week with a 1 hour commute each way and a 15-30 minute lunch break. I'm not trying to impress anyone with my work ethic, or make anyone sorry for my plight. I'm just trying to set the framework for my decision-making.
It all comes down to time. What do I WANT to do and what do I actually have TIME to do. So, I've been working on writing out my goals and matching those up with the time I have available to accomplish these goals. Some of the goals that I examined had to do with my hobbies. Tak is, of course, among those hobbies. And, with the lessened free time that I have, I've realized that I need to make some adjustments.
I've only been making minor progress in the last 6 months on Level II. Part of this extreme slowdown is the limited quiet time that I have to write. But a large contributing factor is the difficulty of representing the more complicated parts of the game (larger boards/larger stacks/longer branches) in 2D format. So, I've decided to shift my focus regarding Tak, starting with my book projects.
I am no longer planning on publishing levels II and III. That's not to say that I won't be writing about Tak. My writing will just shift from my personal book projects to broader community projects, such as writing for the USTA Capstone Quarterly, my blog, or content for YouTube videos.
Instead of putting Level II in a box on the shelf, I would like to make what I have of this book available to those in the community who are interested. Specifically, those people who would like to present the ideas contained within to the community in a digestible format (YouTube videos and blogs). I feel that these mediums would reach more people, be more readily absorbed by today's (and tomorrow's) players, and more easily represent advanced gameplay.
So, I'm viewing this not as giving up on my books, but as transitioning them to a more collaborative and modernized format.
I'm hoping that my shift away from writing these books will free up time to participate in more human vs human games and help grow the community via the USTA. This way, I can more actively contribute to Tak instead of passively writing bits of books.
As far as my other Tak activities are concerned, I still plan on seeking out interesting board states to make puzzles from and will do my best to keep to my weekly schedule of posts to Reddit. I also still plan on participating in whichever tournaments that I am able to.
I hope all of you understand where I'm coming from. Please contact me if you're interested in using the content from Level II or if you have any questions/concerns/grievances.
u/rabbitboy84 on Reddit and Discord, bill.leighton1@gmail.com
Thanks!
It all comes down to time. What do I WANT to do and what do I actually have TIME to do. So, I've been working on writing out my goals and matching those up with the time I have available to accomplish these goals. Some of the goals that I examined had to do with my hobbies. Tak is, of course, among those hobbies. And, with the lessened free time that I have, I've realized that I need to make some adjustments.
I've only been making minor progress in the last 6 months on Level II. Part of this extreme slowdown is the limited quiet time that I have to write. But a large contributing factor is the difficulty of representing the more complicated parts of the game (larger boards/larger stacks/longer branches) in 2D format. So, I've decided to shift my focus regarding Tak, starting with my book projects.
I am no longer planning on publishing levels II and III. That's not to say that I won't be writing about Tak. My writing will just shift from my personal book projects to broader community projects, such as writing for the USTA Capstone Quarterly, my blog, or content for YouTube videos.
Instead of putting Level II in a box on the shelf, I would like to make what I have of this book available to those in the community who are interested. Specifically, those people who would like to present the ideas contained within to the community in a digestible format (YouTube videos and blogs). I feel that these mediums would reach more people, be more readily absorbed by today's (and tomorrow's) players, and more easily represent advanced gameplay.
So, I'm viewing this not as giving up on my books, but as transitioning them to a more collaborative and modernized format.
I'm hoping that my shift away from writing these books will free up time to participate in more human vs human games and help grow the community via the USTA. This way, I can more actively contribute to Tak instead of passively writing bits of books.
As far as my other Tak activities are concerned, I still plan on seeking out interesting board states to make puzzles from and will do my best to keep to my weekly schedule of posts to Reddit. I also still plan on participating in whichever tournaments that I am able to.
I hope all of you understand where I'm coming from. Please contact me if you're interested in using the content from Level II or if you have any questions/concerns/grievances.
u/rabbitboy84 on Reddit and Discord, bill.leighton1@gmail.com
Thanks!
Puzzle #73: A Puzzle from Both Sides
Hello all!
Tonight's puzzle is from a board state forwarded to me by SultanPepper. Thanks, Sultan!
Part I
The first part of the puzzle is a Tinue puzzle. For the purpose of this puzzle, Tinue is defined as a board state in which no matter what the opposing player does during their turn (Black, in this instance), a road win will be awarded to the other player (White) on their next turn. If you are familiar with Chess, Tinue is very similar to Checkmate.
The Tinue that I found ends the game in 7 turns, but, there may be other options that I haven't considered; see what you can find!
Tonight's puzzle is from a board state forwarded to me by SultanPepper. Thanks, Sultan!
Part I
The first part of the puzzle is a Tinue puzzle. For the purpose of this puzzle, Tinue is defined as a board state in which no matter what the opposing player does during their turn (Black, in this instance), a road win will be awarded to the other player (White) on their next turn. If you are familiar with Chess, Tinue is very similar to Checkmate.
The Tinue that I found ends the game in 7 turns, but, there may be other options that I haven't considered; see what you can find!
Please form your answer with PTN or a link to your solution via ptn.ninja. And, remember to add the r/Tak spoiler tag to your solution so as not to ruin it for others. To do this, put your answer in brackets and follow with (/spoiler). Ex: [26. a3- Sa3](/spoiler).
Part II
The second part rewinds this puzzle 1 move (1/2 a turn). Now, viewing things from the other side, what can Black do to avoid Tinue? I only found 1 successful move, but, as above, see what you can find!
I hope everyone enjoys this one; it's quite an interesting board state.
Part II
The second part rewinds this puzzle 1 move (1/2 a turn). Now, viewing things from the other side, what can Black do to avoid Tinue? I only found 1 successful move, but, as above, see what you can find!
I hope everyone enjoys this one; it's quite an interesting board state.