Achi (game)
Encyclopedia
Achi is a two-player abstract strategy game
Abstract strategy game
An abstract strategy game is a strategy game, aiming to minimise luck, and without a theme. Almost all abstract strategy games will conform to the strictest definition of: a board or card game, in which there is no hidden information, no non-deterministic elements , in which two players or teams...

 from Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. It is related to tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...

, but even more related to Tapatan
Tapatan
Tapatan is a two-player abstract strategy game from the Philippines. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tapatan is...

, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes
Nine Holes
- Goal :To create a 3 in-a-row of one's pieces either horizontally or vertically. Diagonals do not count.- Equipment :A 3 x 3 peg board is preferable. Each player has 3 pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects...

, Tant Fant
Tant Fant
Tant Fant is a two-player abstract strategy game from India. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tant Fant uses the same...

, Shisima
Shisima
Shisima is a two-player abstract strategy game from Kenya. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. Unlike those other games, Shisima uses an octagonal...

, and Dara
Dara
-2011 uprising:The city of Daraa was the starting point of the 2011 uprising against the regime lead by Bashar Al-Assad. It all started when 15 children from the same family were arrested in early March 2011 for writing an anti regime slogan on the wall of their school. The children's ages ranged...

, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.

There are two versions to this game. In one version, each player has four pieces to drop. This is the version described below. In another version, each player has only three pieces to drop, which makes it identical to Tapatan.

Equipment

A 3 x 3 board is used. Three horizontal lines form the three rows. Three vertical lines form the three columns. Two diagonal lines connect the two opposite corners of the board. Each player has four pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects will suffice.

The board is easily drawn on the ground or paper.

Rules and Game Play

1. The board is empty in the beginning.

2. Players decide what colors to play, and who will start first.

3. Drop phase: Each player drops one piece per turn on any vacant space on the board. Players alternate their turns. Pieces cannot move until all four pieces have been dropped.

4. Move phase: After each player's four pieces have been dropped on the board, each piece can move one space at a time following the pattern on the board. Only one piece can be moved per turn.

5. Players can create the 3 in-a-row at either the drop phase or move phase, and win the game.

6. HOUSE RULES: These are rules that you and the other player can agree upon. They are not standard for the game.

a) A stalemate where one player cannot make a move is cause for a draw or a loss to that player.

b) Repeating a position three times can be cause for a draw.

Analysis

Analysis has shown that the first player wins with perfect play.

In the 3 piece variant where each player drops each of their 3 pieces on the board, there are 1,680 ways for that to happen. It is truly a complex game.

External links

  • http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/uses-math/games/rows/misere
  • http://www.aroundthekitchentable.com/activities/achi.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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