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        Arimaa >> Game Analysis >> New player
        
(Message started by: eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 1:58pm)

Title: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 1:58pm

Hello,

I'm a new player, just started yesterday and I'm already hooked.

I thought I understand the rules and then something crazy happened.

Game Number: 258068

After move 9 and 10 of gold...shouldn't the silver camel be frozen and unable to move? (I made those moves thinking camel would be frozen afterwards)
Clearly I'm missing something...but can't figure it out.

Any help would be appreciated.

Title: Re: New player
Post by aaaa on Dec 14^th, 2011, 2:33pm

Welcome to Arimaa.

Whether a piece is frozen or not is determined by the exact position of the board at the time its owner would want to move it; in other words, it's not the case that freezing an enemy piece at any moment will "stun" it for the entire next move of the opponent.

Title: Re: New player
Post by Fritzlein on Dec 14^th, 2011, 2:35pm

Hello and welcome!

For historical reasons, a game has a different (higher) number while it is in progress than after it is over. Most of the links use the number of the game after it finishes, such as http://arimaa.com/arimaa/gameroom/comments.cgi?gid=205004 for the game you mean. If you include a link, it will make it easier for people to find the game and therefore more likely that you will get a response.

To answer your question, in Arimaa, diagonals don't count. Pieces can't move diagonally, and diagonal squares aren't next to each other. After 9g and 10g, your elephant isn't next to the silver camel, so the silver camel isn't frozen. Also your elephant isn't next to the f3-trap, so your elephant doesn't protect you from capture. But if you had left your elephant on g3 after those moves, then you would have frozen the camel on h3 and protected the f3-trap from silver captures.

Congratulations on winning the game even though the rules were not what you expected!

Title: Re: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 2:47pm

So if I get it right, freezes are only made at the end of a turn (after you did your entire turn of 4 moves), and not during turns (like moving elephant next to camel with move 2, and then move the elephant again in move 3 or 4 of your turn)

Thx for the tip on the links, I'll try to use em next time.

Title: Re: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 2:49pm

on 12/14/11 at 14:33:27, aaaa wrote:

That answer confuses me even more...

Title: Re: New player
Post by Fritzlein on Dec 14^th, 2011, 3:02pm

on 12/14/11 at 14:47:45, eltigro wrote:

Being frozen or not is determined by the position, not by the step that led to the position. Thus frozenness can change in the middle of the turn as the position changes. You might have frozen the enemy camel, but if he moves a friendly piece next to it, the camel is immediately unfrozen and can still move during that turn if he has steps remaining.

Title: Re: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 3:35pm

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=205014&s=b

I still don't get these freezes apparantly.

Why is the dog that I shove aside with my elephant from D6 to D7 on turn 30s not frozen?

He was next to my elephant for several turns, and he didn't have friendlies adjecent to him...

Title: Re: New player
Post by aaaa on Dec 14^th, 2011, 3:46pm

Frozenness is not remembered, but a function of the current board position. At the start of move 31g, the silver elephant is no longer orthogonally adjacent to the gold dog, so Gold can immediately move it. Even if it were frozen, it could still be possible for Gold to invest steps to unfreeze it and still move it in the same move.

Title: Re: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 3:48pm

Do frozen pieces who have been frozen for several turns unfreeze if the stronger piece who was freezing it moves away from the frozen piece later on?

Title: Re: New player
Post by eltigro on Dec 14^th, 2011, 3:52pm

Ach, that's what I was missing.
Frozenness is not remembered :) So when the stronger piece moves away, it unfreezes.

Ok, I finally get it (I think)...I'm kinda thick :)

Title: Re: New player
Post by Nombril on Jan 4^th, 2012, 9:30am

Nope, not thick. Wise, to be asking questions!