QUAX
Copyright (c) 2000 Bill Taylor
QUAX is a two player strategy game played on any square board. The author suggests 11x11 (as usual, smaller is more tactical, larger more strategic).
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| A connecting example
The black stones are connected. The red stones cannot be connected directly. |
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| Race
to connections
If it's Black turn he wins by playing at cell [1]. If it's Red he must play at [1] and have a powerful threat to win at cell a10, where Black must drop a stone to continue his attack. |
Quax is available on Richard Rognlie's email server.
Some words from the author:
The main diagonal lines have a similar role to the critical lines in TwixT.
One tactic has become clear:
| A Tesuji Black dropped the marked stone. There's nothing Red can do about it. Black is sure to be able to slide down one side or other, and the 2-chain prevents any double-cut moves. |
Play between the author & page-owner suggests a lot of early moves are best played on the "same-coloured" cells
I'm surprised no-one else seems to have thought of Quax before! I guess they just didn't think of a "diagonal crossing" as being a move; even though it is identical to play on the Archimedean 8/4/4 board:
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Connection games seem to be getting names ending with X, (Hex, TwixT), we thought that "Quadrangular Hex" could be usefully shortened to "Quax", which is also the noise made by the winner as he puts in the killing move! :-)
| A small puzzle
(from Bill Taylor) solution Black started. Who wins? |
| A sample game
d3 f5, f8 h8, g6 f7, g3 f3, f2 e2, e3 e2f3, f4 g4, f4g3 h3, g5 f5g4, h4 g4h3, g7 e8, Black resigns check the cells coordinates by pointing the mouse over them! |
Two other games:
- d3 e6, c6 c8, h6 h8, f7 f9, e9 e8, d8 g9, c7 e10, c9 d9, c9d8 c4, d5 Red resigns
- c3 e5, f3 h3, g5 i6, h4 i4, i9 g7, f8 g9, g8 h8, h7 i7 Black resigns
The earliest reference to this game is a post in r.g.a at Dec 18, 1992, using another name: Link.
This game, LINK, is very similar to TWIXT, mentioned here several times.
I imagine it is more slow-moving than twixt, however.
It is a game I invented some while ago, though never played. Doubtless it has
been independently invented many times. It is an attempt to create a game
close to the connection game, HEX, but played on an orthogonal board. It is
essentially the same as hex, but to ensure a result, (no ties), there is a
twixt-like move available, whereby one may connect two diagonally adjacent
cells of one's own color, instead of a regular placement move.
I have never played it, as I say; but if anyone is interested in trying an
email game, I would be very keen.
Naturally, rule 1, board size, is open to negotiation; and I would suggest
a three-move equalization (described here earlier) would be suitable
to counteract the obvious first-move advantage.
RULES OF LINK
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1. It is played on an orthogonal 8x8 board, by two players, black & white.
2. Black has first turn. At each turn a player may EITHER put a counter of his
own color in any vacant square; OR connect two diagonally adjacent counters
of his own color with a bar of his own color, PROVIDED that such a bar does
not cross over one of the opposite color.
3. The winner is the first player to complete a path of stones between his
own two edges of the board: north-south for black, east-west for white.
A path is a sequence of stones each of which is either orthogonally
adjacent to its predecessor or connected to it by a bar.
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. O X . I hope the rules are suitably unambiguous, and not too long-winded.
/ It should be clear there is an unlimited supply of counters and bars
X X O . available. A bar may not be placed if either end is vacant.
\ \
. O X O The diagram here shows a completed game on a 4x4 board. Black has a
won with a 4-counter 2-bar path. Black has played 7 moves and white 6.
. O X .
