Talk:Arimaa/Advanced Tactics

Cycles
My intention in talking about cycles was to be able to say "The first player in a repetition fight (i.e. the one to play in the first position that later repeats) wins". I think it's a useful rule. Since it's not true in general, I wanted to distinguish a subset of repetition fights where it clearly holds as "cycles". That may not be useful, since I don't know of any non-cycle repetition fight in an actual game. Risteall (discuss • contribs) 08:42, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
 * I tried to emphasize that the first one who recreates a position they previously created is losing the repetition fight. That seemed like a more logical way to look at it, since it points you to where the fight started. Belteshazzar (discuss • contribs) 17:18, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

Well, that's not true in general (see ) but without an example of such a thing from a game it probably doesn't matter. Risteall (discuss • contribs) 19:32, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

Grammar
"Grammatically, that almost says that the *game* was seeking compensation for the camel." I don't see why you would parse it like that. The reason for the change was that the sentence introduces a new topic, and it reads better if that is clear from the start. Yes, I am being needlessly pedantic. Risteall (discuss • contribs) 03:29, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

Blockade
If Silver plays ee4nn rc6e rh8s, and then Gold plays Ee7ee Hg3ne, can Silver hold the blockade? Belteshazzar (discuss • contribs) 11:33, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
 * I think so after 7s rf8s re8e cd7e ee6s.
 * Fritz suggested 7g Ee7ee Hg3n Rg1n . I initially thought this let the elephant escape, but then saw that after 7s dg5e mg6sn Hg4n 8g Rg2nn dh5s Hg5e 8s mg6s rh6w hg8e rh7s 9g Eg7e rg6n rh6w Eh7s there is the beautiful 9s mg5w Hh5w dh4n Rg4e 10g Rh2n Rh4w dh5s Hg5e (else the horse is in trouble, seemingly) 10s mf5e hh8s ee6ss, where Silver induces a gold rabbit to advance, blockading h4.
 * Nor does leaving the horse on g5 for a move seem to work e.g. 7g Ee7ee Hg3n Cf2e 7s dg5e mg6sn Hg4n 8g Cg2nn Rg1nn 8s rf8s re8e cd7e ee6s 9g dh5s Hg5e mg6s Eg7s 9s ee5es cf6s hg8s and e7 can be blockaded if the elephant goes to f7.
 * Perhaps there is a way to break the blockade by combining threats to pull the dog with the horse with threats to do something in the west with the camel? Risteall (discuss • contribs) 07:50, 23 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Since it confused me for a while, I'll note that Gold can't pull the dog immediately on 7g: if the elephant stays on e7, Silver plays rh7ww and defends the dog with the other two steps, then completes the blockade next move; if it moves to f7, the blockade should be worth more than the dog. Risteall (discuss • contribs) 13:15, 24 November 2018 (UTC)
 * I thought about what you said in chat, and I guess I agree; this example doesn't illustrate any useful tactical concept. I copied the position to Arimaa/Elephant Blockade, with a shorter explanation focused mainly on strategy. Belteshazzar (discuss • contribs) 07:42, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

False protection example
In this example, could de6e Ed6ew Rb4n work for Gold? I changed the text so as not to dismiss three-for-ones in general, since later on the page there is an example of a good three-for-one. Could this three-for-one have also been an OK move? Belteshazzar (discuss • contribs) 01:45, 17 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I think I now see the problem with that move: the camel could be pushed onto c6, and would be lost if Gold defended f6. I will modify the explanation. Belteshazzar (discuss • contribs) 20:18, 17 November 2020 (UTC)