The official world championship took place at the annual Mind Sports Olympiad (www.msoworld.com) on August 20th 2014.

There were 14 players representing (if memory serves):
* England
* Estonia
* South Africa
* Italy

Play was over 6 rounds with 25 min + 5 seconds-per-move. This was a great time control and resulted in a relaxing tournament with high quality games. Sadly, games were not recorded but the organisers hope to record the top or top two boards next year.

The results were:
G Alain Dekker (South Africa)
S Andres Kuusk (Estonia)
B Martyn Hamer (England)

Alain and Andres both scored 5/6, Alain winning the tie-break having beaten Andres in their individual game. There was a 4-way tie-break for Bronze on 4/6, with Martyn wining the tie-break having the best result among common opponents.

There was a generous cash prize fund this year (G=£100, S=£50, B=£25, prizes split in the result of a tie on score). The organisers have committed to at least match the prize fund for next year, so hope to see many players for the event next year.

Anyone interested in a real loa tournament? I am thinking of May 2014 in Zaandam, the netherlands. 8x8 loa an d maybe a variant

Krepta3000: I see from your profile that you played a game after you posted the question, so I guess you figured it out. Good that you asked, though! Sometimes newcomers start several games and then leave the site without making a single move. Maybe we need some kind of introductory text to explain the basics. Some basic hints like:

- You move by clicking the piece you want to move and the square you want to move it to (or in some games, just the square)
- You finish your move by clicking "submit"
- You can read the rules by following the "show rules" link in each game
- You can see a list of all your games on your "Main page". There's a link to the main page at the top of the left side menu.
- You should always check the time control before you accept a game and make sure it's acceptable to you.

Maybe I missed something? Anything else that would need to be on such a list?

I don't see anyone discussing anything here so far, how about I start by asking How the heck do you actually Play? I don't see any command system, no submit button, what do you do? Clicks and drags don't work either thus far.

Please sign up -> 1500 ;), 10000 :D, 1600 ;) (single elimination for 8, Fisher's clock 3/0.8/15 with autopass & immediately start)
More informations about Fischer's clock on BrainKing & BrainRook

Scrambled Eggs - I need 2 players more
Parachute Lines of Action - 4
Cheshire Lines of Action - 4
&
Lines of Action - 2
Scrambled Eggs - 3
Parachute Lines of Action - 5
Cheshire Lines of Action - 5
& other games

Please sign up -> 9000 :D, 1300 ;) & 1400 ;) (single elimination for 8, Fisher's clock 3/0.8/15 with autopass & immediately start)
More informations about Fischer's clock on BrainKing & BrainRook

Cheshire Lines of Action - 1

Maybe sth more?
Please sign up -> 8000 :D & 1200 ;) (single elimination for 8, Fisher's clock 3/0.8/15 with autopass & immediately start)
More informations about Fischer's clock on BrainKing & BrainRook

Parachute Lines of Action - 3
Cheshire Lines of Action - 1
&
Parachute Lines of Action - 1

Please sign up -> 8000 :D & 1200 ;) (single elimination for 8, Fisher's clock 3/0.8/15 with autopass & immediately start)
More informations about Fischer's clock on BrainKing & BrainRook

Parachute Lines of Action - I need 4 players more
Cheshire Lines of Action - 3

&

Parachute Lines of Action - 4
Cheshire Lines of Action - 3

Pls sign up -> 800 ;) single elimination for 8, Fisher's clock 3/0.8/15 with autopass



Line4 - I need 6 players more
Anti Line4 - 7
Linetris - 6
Swap Five in Line - 2
Lines of Action - 2
Scrambled Eggs - 3
Grasshopper - 7
Battleboats - 4
Triple Dice Poker - 3
Frog Legs - 4
Triple Dice Poker 6D - 3

Pls sign up -> 700 ;) single elimination for 8, F/C 3/0.8/15
Anty Line4 - 2
Linetris - 1
Small Pente - 1
Small Keryo Pente - 2
Open Keryo Pente - 1
Five in Line Pro - 3
Five in Line Swap - 2
Lines of Action - 1
Battleboats - 2

nabla: well, I stand corrected! thanks!

Czuch Czuckers: Any of the usual mathematical definitions of "group" and "connected" will imply that one single piece is a connected group.

BIG BAD WOLF: You are probably correct about the win here on brainking, but I would bet it wouldnt take a mathematician long to prove that it is not possible to create a connected line with only one item! i think it should be a lose if you have less than one piece left!

Czuch Czuckers: I think it is a win - since all their pieces (one) are connected

What happens when you capture all your opponents pieces except the last one? Do they get the win, or is it impossible for them to get the win?

Marfitalu: Well what I found out was used the most was if a person can not move, then they just pass the move.

As I do a little more searching, I found this site:

http://www.cs.unimaas.nl/m.winands/loa/discussion.html

Rule 9 deal with this situation, and here is what is said about it:

Soucie did not cover this situation. LOA players thought that this situation was impossible in a real game for a long time. But computer simulations proved that such a situation could occur in a real game. The alternative proposed and commonly used was that the player has to pass. Unfortunately Soucie has died in 1997. It is hard to find a satisfying rule.

Some points against the lose rule.

* The object of the game is to connect your pieces in one group. Not to eliminate the opponent's moves like in Amazons or draughts. LOA is a connection game, you win by connecting your pieces.
* You don't know if the player would have lost the game. It deserves a chance to defend itself.
* The player is punished enough by passing. In LOA passing is mostly disadvantageous.

Some points against the passing rule.

* If you look at rule 3 a player has to move, passing is out of the question.
* The game is called Lines of Action. The name suggests active play, not passive play by passing.
* The player would probably lose the game anyway in this situation. By the passing rule the game would continue unnecessarily longer.
* It is possible that passing is an advantage. The player is not punished but rewarded.

Current Results

Recently, Jorge Gomez Arrausi posted the following alternative solution to this matter: "If a player cannot move, the game should be drawn. The objective is the connection." The problem with this rule is that introduce drawing, which is not the intention of LOA (see also the discussion about rule 8).

I've searched a couple of websites about the game, and I could only find 1 mention of this situation, and even then they did not say what the result would be.

I've asked on a yahoo discussion board about the game what should happen.

I would guess either (1) the player just passes the turn or (2) loses the game or (3) game is a draw.

Once we know what is suppose to happen, we can probable have Fencer program it so that it will happen. I will let you know when/if I get an answer.

Marfitalu: Well I got an answer for you.

Not even Fencer knows!

Why - because I just quickly tested this, and now that black is stuck, it is waiting for a move from him but will not let him select anything!

Game: Lines of Action (001 vs. BIG BAD WOLF)

Marfitalu: Why wouldn't you be able to move? I'm trying to picture the situation you are asking about.

If anyone would like to join our Slow Time Controls fellowship LOA team you are more than welcome. Send a message to me and I will invite you to the fellowship where you can join the team!
Slow Time Controls

Pioneer54: Sure but the animation is not ready yet.

Fencer: They look more like footballs than eggs!

Do they 'crack' when captured??

Hahahahaha, those eggs look pretty cool. Is the strategy here about the same as in LoA?

Pioneer54: Yes, you actually have to play it with eggs.

i have played different types of loa.
Loa on a hexagonal board. Loa on a 10x10 board. Loa on a gipf board!

Pioneer54: and we would need black eggs...

Fencer: It doesnt matter how you set up the board. I could change my notation 1.h5-f7 into 1.d1-b3

nabla: ... as long as we don't actually have to play it with eggs, they could break and that board could get awfully messy!
;))

tangram: Thanks. And my notation question?

Pioneer54: I heard of it as "Scrambled Eggs LOA". Certainly it would be very easy to program !

There is a variant of LOA (developed for an imperfect reason but still the result was playable and challenging) called 'Alternate' LOA, whereby black starts with a stone on b1, White on c1, Black on d1, White on e1, etc. all the way around the board. The object is the same, to aggregate all of your color, but the strategies are markedly different. Since no two stones of the same color are on adjacent spaces, it compels the player to take into account all of the stones.

Perhaps with enough support and requests, we can get it added here. It doesn't seems too difficult to program.

Fencer: see also www.msoworld.com

tangram: Is your notation different to BrainKing's? If a black player starts, it's not possible to do 1. h5-f7 with our starting position.

tangram: Is there a site containing more information about this event?

tangram: Should this be 7.h6-e3, 8.h7-e7, and 10.a5xe1?

Jan Šťastna on the Czech MSO site.

jan stastna. But maybe wrong translated at the MSO. I know it was a Jan!

tangram: Is it Jan Stastny (man) or Jana Stastna (woman)? Jan Stastna (male firstname and female surname) sounds strange.

5th Round 20 min p.p.

Jan Stastna (Czech Republic) - Fred Kok (Netherlands)
1.h5-f7 d8-b6
2.a4-c2 b8-b5
3.a2-d2 b1-b4
4.h2-e2 c8xa6
5.a7-d7 a6xe2
6.a3-c3 g8-g6
7.h6-d3 f8-d6
8.h7-d7 b4xe7
9.d7-f5 (or f7-e6 blocking the e file!) e8xe3
10.a5xd1 g1-d4
11.f5-d5 f1-f3
12.h3-h1 (?) c1-b2
13.h4-f4 g6-e4
14.xe4 fxc3
15.f4xd6 b6xd6
16.resigns 0-1

results Worldchampionship Loa 2006, London, Westminster University

18 players
1. Fred Kok Netherlands 5 / 5 GOLD
2. Jan Stastna Czech Republic 4 / 5 SILVER
3. James Heppell Great Britain 4 / 5 BRONZE

notations of some games will follow

Do you like to play line games or want to learn? If you do, you should join the Official Lines Fellowship! We have line teams for almost every game as well as tourneys coming more and more! Sign up if you would like to join for teams, tourneys, lots of games, and the chance to better your game!

Hello,

Is this someone knows if it is possible to find a repertory of
openings for this game?

Czuch Chuckers: I just found this unlikely gift with 8 moves!

http://brainking.com/en/ArchivedGame?g=1610342

BIG BAD WOLF: Thank you, wolf. I had the same problem like ruby2shoes.

What is the least amount of moves made in a win so far? I have one with 10 moves....

nabla: Thank you Nabla for sharing this with us

I just found out that I had three good articles by Kerry Handscomb in old issues of "Abstract Games Magazine". Here are the basic strategy tips given :

- Material is definitely good. Having more men gives more moves, hence better flexibility for both attack and defence. Material gain is disregarded though when it would move a man away from the action, or when it captures a very remote piece of the opponent, sometimes allowing him a direct connecting combination. For instance, the captures which are possible at the start of the game, like c8xa6, are regarded as neutral (they rather hurt your position, which compensates for winning a man).
- The best winning strategy is to aim for a compact group, that is a group where any piece removal still leaves the group connected, and then patiently connect the isolated men into this group, trying to use them for distant threats.
- The exact center is not the best place to build such a compact group because it can be too easily attacked. Of course the side is not best either, as will be seen later.
- However, moving a piece to the center (up to d3-e3) when it can't be taken is generally a good move (but is impossible in the start position).
- Building a loosely connected group is dangerous because the opponent will attack its weak link(s). In the worst case, the opponent will manage to capture a weak link in the middle of the group and cut it in two equal pieces, leaving you needing an astronomic number of moves to bring them together again.
- The two most obvious opening strategies are bad : trying to connect the two groups of the start position is very bad, because such a connection will be loose and you will be likely to be cut in two. Running with one of the start groups to the other (damn, I have tried to use that!) is remotely better, but will lose to the strategy explained in the next point.
- The best you can achieve from the opening is to build a wall on a second rank, leaving the unmoved pieces from the opponent behind. This wall can be used as the target area for building a compact group, and the opponent will lose a lot of time extricating his pieces. If he tries to leave his pieces in place and connect the other to them, it will be easy for you to capture one of the middle pieces, leaving this group cut in two parts in a desperate position. (My addition) Indeed, it is so easy to achieve that you can wait until he is close to connect, it will hurt even more.

Any additions are welcome !

BIG BAD WOLF: Thank you - I am clinging to the hope that something will jump out at me soon - no,honestly - you have helped a great deal and I am beginning to see the light

ruby2shoes: Now that 5 pieces is only for the line that has 5 pieces. If you move a piece in a different direction, you have to count how many pieces are in the line that you are moving in.

So for the example of 5 pieces - as long as you do not jump OVER any of your opponenets pieces, and the 5th place away from the piece you are moving is your opponenets piece(or blank), you can land on it and capture it. You can jump over your own pieces. (With the note that you don't want to capture too many since that might make it easier to connect all his pieces with less to work with - but then again, sometimes it is good to take a piece to help "block" your opponenet, or help yourself)

And if that 5th piece is your own pieces, then no - you can not move there and capture your own piece.

. . . . . It's one of those games which can be hard to figure out at first, but sooner or later it will *poof* jump out and make sence on how it works - sometimes it takes a few games for some to catch on.