Fritzlein
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Arimaa player #706
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Re: general strategy question
« Reply #1 on: Jan 25th, 2011, 7:37pm » |
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on Jan 25th, 2011, 12:43pm, ginrunner wrote:| OK so yes almost all strategy depends on the situation but I have been kind of wondering about a basic question. If you knew nothing about a situation other than you have given up either a horse frame or horse hostage near the enemy trap and that is the only unit that is at risk or given up what would you do? |
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A horse frame is different from a horse hostage held by a camel, which is different from a horse hostage held by an elephant. Expecting to use the same strategy in all three will probably get you in trouble two-thirds of the time! (And there is a fourth case of a horse frame where it is not the elephant pinned, but some other piece pinned, in which case it is a tactical question rather than a strategic one.)
Quote:| Would your initial plan be to bring in other units and try and free it? |
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For a horse frame that pins my elephant, I almost always try to break the frame with my camel rather than trying to get counterplay. Even if I have a camel the opponent temporarily can't match, how much can my free camel win before my opponent rotates his elephant out of the frame? A rabbit? After he has rotated, then he has an elephant I can't match, which means I will eventually lose my horse and the game.
For a horse held hostage by a camel, I almost always try to free it immediately with my elephant. Fighting anywhere else on the board (where he has an elephant and I don't) is going to go steadily downhill for me. I just have to take my medicine immediately. Either I choose to lose the horse for whatever I can get in four elephant steps, or I take the time to free the horse with my elephant and lose whatever that time costs me on the other side of the board. Delaying a resolution of the horse held hostage by the camel usually makes it worse.
For a horse held hostage by an elephant, there is often no way to free the hostage. Then I am usually trying to free my elephant with a swarm that protects my hostage horse from capture. But there is no need to swarm, instead I can use my camel to play against his camel; why should that be any worse for me than him?
Quote:| Basically if you find yourself losing materially what would be your gut plan? |
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If I am already behind materially, I try to make the position as tense and imbalanced as possible. I want a racing game, not a control game. I want my elephant on the opposite wing as his elephant, or if I can't manage that, at least my camel on the opposite wing as his camel. I will gladly give up control of one of my home traps if it means I can gain control of one opposing trap. If I can make progress (towards goal or capture) and the other player can also make progress (towards goal or capture), who knows what will happen? I might be faster.
Clearly my opponent will try to do the opposite. If he has an extra horse, he wants to have elephant fight elephant, camel fight camel, creating a stalemate until the fighting devolves to his horse that I can't match. He wants to make progress for free. He wants to capture without allowing capture, or create goal pressure without allowing goal pressure.
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