SOS (game)
Encyclopedia
SOS is a game
played with paper and pencil
, typically played by children. It is similar to tic-tac-toe
but with more complexity.
Before play begins, a grid of n × n squares (with n being 3 or more) is drawn. The first player to move (which can be chosen by, e.g., a coin toss) writes either S or O in one of the squares, whereupon it becomes the second player's turn. The second player has the option of writing an S or O in an empty square.
The object of the game is for each player to attempt to create (on their turn) the straight sequence S-O-S among connected squares (either diagonally, horizontally, or vertically), and to create as many such sequences as they can.
If a player succeeds in creating an SOS, that player immediately takes another turn, and continues to do so until no SOS can be created on their turn. Otherwise turns alternate between players after each move.
Keeping track of who made which SOSs can be done by, e.g., one player circling their SOSs and the other player drawing a line through theirs.
Once the grid has been filled up, the winner is the player who made the most SOSs. If the grid is filled up and the number of SOSs for each player is the same, then the game is a draw. If the grid is filled up and no SOS has been made, then the game is again a draw.
The game may well have begun spontaneously in more than one location by different people unrelated to each other, at different times. But one claim to the origins of this game is that it was birthed at Wairarapa College, in New Zealand, in 1947 by members of a year 9 class that had a games day. Some boys in the class were tired of playing "tic tac toe" and wanted something that would last a bit longer.
and an abstract strategy game
. It is also a combinatorial game
(when played with two players). In terms of game theory
, it is a zero-sum
, sequential game
with perfect information
.
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
played with paper and pencil
Paper and pencil game
Paper-and-pencil games are games that can be played solely with paper and pencil .In some board games, including some abstract strategy games like Gomoku, a piece once played will not be moved on the board or removed from the board...
, typically played by children. It is similar 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 with more complexity.
Before play begins, a grid of n × n squares (with n being 3 or more) is drawn. The first player to move (which can be chosen by, e.g., a coin toss) writes either S or O in one of the squares, whereupon it becomes the second player's turn. The second player has the option of writing an S or O in an empty square.
The object of the game is for each player to attempt to create (on their turn) the straight sequence S-O-S among connected squares (either diagonally, horizontally, or vertically), and to create as many such sequences as they can.
If a player succeeds in creating an SOS, that player immediately takes another turn, and continues to do so until no SOS can be created on their turn. Otherwise turns alternate between players after each move.
Keeping track of who made which SOSs can be done by, e.g., one player circling their SOSs and the other player drawing a line through theirs.
Once the grid has been filled up, the winner is the player who made the most SOSs. If the grid is filled up and the number of SOSs for each player is the same, then the game is a draw. If the grid is filled up and no SOS has been made, then the game is again a draw.
The game may well have begun spontaneously in more than one location by different people unrelated to each other, at different times. But one claim to the origins of this game is that it was birthed at Wairarapa College, in New Zealand, in 1947 by members of a year 9 class that had a games day. Some boys in the class were tired of playing "tic tac toe" and wanted something that would last a bit longer.
Formal classification of SOS
SOS is a game of skillGame of skill
A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental and/or physical skill, rather than by pure chance.One benefit of games of skill is that they are a means of exploring one's own capabilities. Games encourage the player to look at, understand, and experience things...
and an 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...
. It is also a combinatorial game
Combinatorial game theory
Combinatorial game theory is a branch of applied mathematics and theoretical computer science that studies sequential games with perfect information, that is, two-player games which have a position in which the players take turns changing in defined ways or moves to achieve a defined winning...
(when played with two players). In terms of game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, it is a zero-sum
Zero-sum
In game theory and economic theory, a zero-sum game is a mathematical representation of a situation in which a participant's gain of utility is exactly balanced by the losses of the utility of other participant. If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are...
, sequential game
Sequential game
In game theory, a sequential game is a game where one player chooses his action before the others choose theirs. Importantly, the later players must have some information of the first's choice, otherwise the difference in time would have no strategic effect...
with perfect information
Perfect information
In game theory, perfect information describes the situation when a player has available the same information to determine all of the possible games as would be available at the end of the game....
.
External links
- The SOS Game. A Java appletJava appletA Java applet is an applet delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. Java applets can run in a Web browser using a Java Virtual Machine , or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand-alone tool for testing applets...
for playing SOS against a computer player on the website of Milliken Mills High School, Markham, Ontario, Canada. - "An Assortment of Combinatorial Games," pg. 8, at Prof. Hugh L. Montgomery's University of Michigan website. Also available in PostScriptPostScriptPostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
format. - iPhone implementation An iPhone implementation of the game is available free that uses a 7x7 grid