Unusual Games
This page exists to document past games with unusual or notable features that may prove interesting to students or fanatics.
Contents |
Records
Records only consider games leading to a natural win by immobilization or goal and exclude timed-out games.
Longest
- Longest game: Game 9842 (316 turns), bot_speedy vs. bot_speedtrap, Nov. 25 2004
- Longest game involving a human: Game 34855 (223 turns), seanick vs. bot_Bomb2005P2, Jul. 15 2006
- Longest HvH game: Game 36476 (137 turns), H_Bobbeltoff vs seanick, Aug. 7 2006
Shortest
- Shortest game, (tie) Games 56286, 56296, 56297, and 56299 (3 turns), ai_ai_1967 vs. bot_ArimaaScoreP1, Aug. 19, 2007.
- Shortest HvH game, *also* shortest immobilization win: Game 23327 (6 turns), Fritzlein vs. megamau.
- Shortest BvB game: Game 19009 (6 turns), bot_ShallowBlue vs. bot_bash.
Unusual Endings
Other editors please help find these if they exist.
Simultaneous goal by both players
In Game 61322 against bot_arimaascorep1 722caasi purposefully makes a rabbit go to goal for both sides, but oddly enough this is counted as a win for 722caasi, even though both sides goaled. See This forum thread for the discussion over who should have won. Since July 1, 2008 the games rules state clearly that the player reaching goal with his rabbit wins in any case.
Simultaneous goal and immobilization
In Game 42733 against Adanac, PMertens immobilizes and goals on move 42.
Simultaneous goal and elimination and immobilization
In Game 132400 against bot_Clueless2007Fast, ocmiente eliminates, immobilizes and goals on move 55. In Game 199024 against bot_Aamira2006P2, gurugsk eliminates, immobilizes and goals on move 56.
Multiple rabbits to goal
In Game 39114 against bot_Bomb2005P2, PMertens gets 4 rabbits to goal on turn 190. Moreover, he had no other pieces on the board at the time.
Elephant sacrifice by the winning player before the final turn
In Game 13755 against bot_Bomb2005Fast, PMertens sacrifices his elephant on turn 69w to win on turn 73.
Unusual Moves
Forced elephant suicide
It is possible to force the opposing player to sacrifice his or her elephant by barricading the elephant and leaving a step into a trap as the only legal move.
- HvH. In Game 42036 Arimaa Master forces Woh to suicide his elephant on turn 42 and then manages to drag out the game several more turns by sequentially freeing Woh's pieces so that he always has a legal move. Arimaa_master reduces his opponent to a single rabbit before winning, even though Woh is clearly trying to end the game by immobilizing himself.
- HvB. Examples of players forcing bots to suicide the elephant include these games of 722caasi vs. bot_ArimaaScoreP1 Game 57341, Game 57377.
Elimination of rabbits without actively capturing any piece
It is possible to let a weak bot sacrifice all its rabbits while never actively capturing a bot's piece, as shown in bot_ArimaaScoreP1 vs. gurugsk Game 234463
Without moving your own rabbits
browni3141 vs. bot_Bomb2005Blitz game 259055
Dramatic pattern construction
Player PMertens in particular has put extensive effort into making unusual patterns with the pieces on the board. Some of his achievements include:
- Game 38654 - Stack all opponents rabbit on 7th row
- Game 38594 - Stack all own rabbits on 7th row and 7 opponents rabbits on 2nd row
- Game 39219 - Stack rabbits vertically
- Game 32454 - Capture all 16 pieces
- Game 37490 - Capture all 16 pieces into same trap
- Game 37674 - Symmetric immobilization
- Game 45800 - Diagonal immobilization
Other patterns
- ngerhart vs bot_ArimaaScoreP1 - All pieces in one half of the board
- hanzack vs bot_clueless - Gold returns to starting position after capturing all silver pieces
Natural Draws
The Arimaa database lists 21 drawn games as of Aug. 31, 2007. Draws are no more allowed since the rule change in Oct 2008
