The game of Lines of Action: Rotational Colour Symmetry Variation

 

Much of the excitement about playing abstract connection games with kids has come to me from a simple game called Lines of Action (or LOA). It is a fine thing to see somebody take a culture artefact — a standard draughts board with pieces — and transform it into something else both traditional and elegant that combines the gravitas of Go with a flavour of Renju.

A characteristic property of LOA is that it is a converging game, since the initial position consists of just 24 pieces and during the game the number of pieces usually decreases. Paradoxically, these physical boundaries within the game itself lead to a number of meaningful gameplay variations without changing game mechanics. 

Since its invention LOA has been completely playable on larger boards. Some players prefer the standard board with the Parachute variation by placing one of the opponents pieces anywhere on the board. Also, there is the Four Handed LOA variation, and so on. Unfortunately, it doesn't solve a problem the original setup potentially has, namely the possibility of fixed opening routines -- those that have been identified as "best play" by the strongest players or programs. 

The following variation which we invented is based on the well known Scrabbled Eggs variation where black and white pieces alternate all around the board. 

The Rotational Colour Symmetry Variation is not only inexhaustibly interesting but it is also more challenging introducing broad-ranging regularities across the initial layout where the starting position of the pieces is randomised. 

The following pictures show some examples of starting positions in which the pieces are placed In a symmetrical shape, one-half is the mirror image of the other half. 

In spite of the first impression, this type of setup is well balanced; rotational ,aka ‘radial’ symmetry means that when you rotate something, nothing changes.

Interestingly,  some layouts may put players, yearly in the game, in a position where they have to decide between several conflicting interests, strategies, or tactics.

Should this ever be implemented at littlegolem.net or at boardgamearean.com, I'l be back there playing LOA.

The most common method of simple randomisation is flipping a coin or rolling a dice. If you are a Linux user, you might want to use the following bash script which I wrote a couple of years ago. You can download it by copying the link below…

Rotational Colour Symmetry Setup Generator

The detailed rules of Lines of Action can be found at 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lines_of_Action

We hope that this variation will inspire tons and tons of active playtime. Have a quiet and interruption-free place to play this wonderful state-of-the-art game of balance and observation. Doing that you'll have moments of artistic pleasure and satisfaction.

Afterword

A Classy Class

 

24 February 2022, 0400

Hanafuda Daily reflection

☩ It's the Feast of the Annunciation today! The sun is shining, which is unusual for this time of year in this part of the world. We’d had foggy and cloudy days for over two months. However, the sun did appear yesterday and the day before. Today's resolution is critical; I'm turning a new page in my life.

The deck of hanafuda cards on my desk has been cut in two revealing the pampas grass below the white sky showing seasonal equinox in Black and White, separating the Earth and the Sky; it is not confusing now to commit to more than 1 reality.

(In the morning, I met a foreigner making money here in Russia. Their career and financial livelihood have disappeared overnight... following the events in Ukraine.)

***

☩ I flipped the second card it showed virility portrayed through the generous beauty of iris blossom deprived of extravagance. There must be a special significance in this too... Biden Crisis, NATO/Democrats Panic, Ukr Army Despair -- Rus Breaks Through!

Fast Speech

Speech is broken up into units often with pauses between them. In fast speech this units may be quite long and spoken quickly. One or more word in each unit is emphasised and may be said more clearly than others.

 

Stress Shift

Most dictionaries which give the pronunciation of words also indicate which syllables have stress. For example, Macmillan  Dictionary shows that 'party' and 'remember' have stress on only one syllable and that 'controversial' and 'kindergarten' have stress on two syllables; these words show main stress and a secondary one. 

The tendency, to avoid stress on adjacent syllables by moving one stress to another syllable is called a stress shift/clash. A simple example is the phrase thirteen men which is usually pronounced ˈθɜːtiːn ˈmen rather than θɜːˈtiːn men.

Words which often have stress shift include: -teen numbers - four'teen, nine'teen; and two-part numbers -- forty-'five, seventy-‘eight; alto'gether, inde'pendent, indi'stinct, medi'ocre, satis'factory, uni'versity, week'end, worth'while; some place names which have main stress on the last syllable, such as: Ber’lin, Montre'al. 

But some other words with secondary stress rarely have stress shift. For example: a,pproxi'mation, corre'spondence, inde'cision, pro,nunci'ation. They are usually long words.

Read the following sentences:

- We used to live near the Berlin Wall. 

- She's got a job in Berlin. 

- I'm working on my pronunciation.  

- I'm doing a pronunciation course. 

- It was just a routine job. 

- The operation was quite routine.

- The film was made for propaganda purposes. 

- The book was just political propaganda.

- The region has a Mediterranean climate.

 - I love living next to the Mediterranean. 

- Next month she'll be sixteen. 

- It cost sixteen euros.

For particular emphasis or contrast, syllables other than those with main or secondary stress can be made prominent. This often happens in conversations. 

A: Does the tabletop need washing? 

B: No, the tableCLOTH.  Though in isolation, the word tablecloth has stress on the thirst syllable. 

Now read the following sentences:

A: So we have to take the old footpath? B: No, we take the old footbridge.

A: So you thought the work was precise? B: No, I said it was concise.

A: You've lost your handbook, have you? B: No, I've lost my handbag.

A: Yes, I thought the performance was lifeless, too. B: No, I said I thought it was lifelike

A: I didn't think his findings were very objective. B: No, they were very subjective.

I hoped it helped.

3 Major Differences between British English Pronunciation and Russian

 

English_4_every_1

In today’s world, English is becoming more and more important. In addition to opening up employment opportunities, this noble language helps to make a real connection with people and to know more about diverse cultures, places and lifestyles. The more proficient you are, the better you can express yourself.

Nowadays, many films, TV shows, books and music are published and produced in English. By understanding English, you won’t need to rely on translations and subtitles anymore.

Since English is spoken as a first language in 53 countries and as a second language in over 118 countries, learning the language makes it much easier to travel anywhere. Indeed, airport announcements, train timetables, emergency information and street signs are often available in English, including in countries where the native language uses a different type of alphabet.

Even more, learning a foreign language enhances your cognitive and analytical abilities. In the long term, bilingualism can keep the brain strong and healthy into old age and supports concentration and memory skills. On an individual level, it improves personality and increases sense of self-worth. In simple words, learning a foreign language makes the brain stronger and more versatile.

👬👭👪👫👯🙇👶👷💓👦🙎😰💂👮👪👫👭