Patent Publication Number: US-6981700-B2

Title: Strategic board game

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/415,670, filed Oct. 3, 2002 by Syed, et al. 

   TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to strategic games and, more particularly to strategic games that are played on a gridded board. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   There are a large number of strategic board games (strategy games played on a game board) on the market today. These each offer their own unique strategy and manner of playing. Many of these have a vast and long history such as chess, checkers, and Go. 
   One of the most well known strategic board games is chess. Chess is a well established strategy game that has been in existence for centuries. Its nearest predecessor, Chaturanga, is discussed in seventh century Sanskrit writings. Due to the nature of trade, travel and expansion, chess was popular in the known world by the fourteenth century. Chess has been played for centuries by millions of people worldwide. The traditional chess game is one of strategy through predicting an opponent&#39;s future movements of the chess pieces in order to plan the attacking and defensive positions accordingly. 
   There have been variations in the past to both the board and the rules of play for the game of chess, but the most common present day mode of playing chess is established for use on a gridded square game board divided into an eight by eight grid of sixty-four equal spaces, usually distinguished by being colored in an alternating dark and light color pattern, i.e., checkered. The basic rules of play for a conventional chess game include: two players (player and opposing player, or “opponent”), each using sixteen pieces of quantity and type designated as: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns respectively. The object is to capture the opponent&#39;s king. Initial setup is a prescribed arrangement of pieces in the two rows closest to the player and at the opposite end of the board from the opposing player. The type of piece is clearly identified for all players and observers, traditionally by the piece&#39;s shape. Each piece is movable according to predetermined movement patterns that are different for each type of piece. Play is turn-based, with each player being allowed to move a selected one of their own pieces in a single movement pattern appropriate to the selected piece. The movement patterns include diagonal, horizontal/vertical, and combinations thereof (a 1 by 2 space L-shaped pattern). Some pieces may move multiple spaces while others may only move one space at a time. One of the piece types (pawn) is able to move forward only, while the others are not restricted in movement direction. One of the piece types (knight) is allowed to jump over pieces. All spaces on the board are available for movement, but no two pieces may occupy the same space. Any opposing player&#39;s piece is captured (removed from the board) when any one of a player&#39;s pieces moves into the space where the opposing player&#39;s piece resides. The capturing piece must be moved according to its predetermined movement pattern (except for the pawn) such that the movement pattern ends in the captured piece&#39;s space. Other than removing an opponent&#39;s captured piece, a player may only move his own piece(s) during his turn. There are four exception moves: pawn capturing, en passant, castling and queening. In the pawn capturing move, the pawn (which normally moves vertically forward only) moves diagonally forward to capture any opponent&#39;s piece in the diagonally forward space. In the en passant move, the pawn captures an opponent&#39;s pawn (only) by moving diagonally forward behind a horizontally adjacent opponent&#39;s pawn to capture the opponent&#39;s pawn even though the player&#39;s pawn does not end up in the same space as the captured and removed opponent&#39;s pawn. In castling, the player&#39;s king (which normally moves only 1 space) is moved two spaces horizontally towards a selected one of the player&#39;s rooks, and then the selected rook (which normally does not jump pieces) is jumped over the king to end up horizontally adjacent to the king on the other side of the king. The castling move is only permitted when: there are no pieces intervening between the king and the selected rook; neither the king nor the selected rook can have been moved prior to the castling move; and the king must not be under threat of capture (“in check”) in any of the three spaces it will occupy during the castling move. In the queening move, a player&#39;s pawn is turned into a queen if it is moved into the farthest row away from the player. 
   There are many variants on the traditional game of chess. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,455 (Aldridge; 1999), discloses a concealed chess game wherein the type of a player&#39;s pieces is always evident to the player, but not to the opposing player. This introduces the element of memory and deduction as a player must deduce the type of an opponent&#39;s piece from the movement pattern used by said piece. Optional rules allow initial setup in random or player-determined positioning of the player&#39;s pieces, potentially anywhere on the game board. Movement patterns and other game rules generally correspond to standard chess rules, although some variations are proposed, including more than two players, and the use of one or more “barrier pieces” that prevent movement in or through the space occupied by the barrier piece. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,756 (Linnekin; 1985), discloses a circular chess game played on a substantially planar game surface and includes fourteen generally straight, elongated radial zones spaced about and extending outward from a central zone. Each of the radial zones includes eight discrete spaces of two alternating colors spaced therealong and each set of corresponding spaces of the zones are disposed in an annular path extending about the central zone and the colors of each set of annular path spaces alternate thereabout. U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,883 (Hitchcock, et al.; 1974), discloses a chess game board of multiple spiral configuration provided with a center space or island and intended for a predetermined number of players depending upon the structure of the board; the number of players determining the number of spirals required for the game board. U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,279 (Taylor; 1989), discloses a circular game board for the game of chess and other games such as checkers, consisting of four concentric rings of playing areas, the center ring being circular. The center ring has four playing areas, the second ring twelve, the third ring twenty and the fourth ring twenty-eight. Four rows of corner playing areas, which may all be trilateral, radiate symmetrically from the center of the board. The outermost corner areas may be other shapes, such as circular or rhombic. The remainder of the playing areas are quadrilateral. The board is suitable for playing a conventional game of chess, but also adapts itself to a slightly modified game where the rook and queen pieces are allowed to travel around the board, moving from rank to file to create a logically valid flanking action. In the Linnekin, Hitchcock and Taylor patents, the movement patterns of the game pieces are generally similar to those of a standard chess game, but adapted to circular or spiral game boards. 
   There are also currently many computer programs that offer someone competition to many strategic board games. These are currently called Computer Bots. IBM&#39;s “Deep Blue” was designed to play and defeat the world&#39;s best chess players. The game of chess has few enough options for moves that it is relatively easy for computer bots to process all of the options to determine the best move to make against the human player. When playing strategic board games such as chess, humans use their problem solving capability, experience and intuition to pick what they judge to be the best move for the current situation. The computer, however, generally tries all possible move combinations on an internal board to look ahead as far as possible so that it can pick the move which leads to the most favorable positions. This brute force approach of looking at all the moves in the game is quite different from the way humans play chess or any other strategic board game. The advances in computer hardware have allowed computers to look at more and more of the moves and future moves so that specially designed hardware can now defeat the best human chess player. Some of the bots have an accumulation of chess knowledge in the form of databases for openings and end games, significantly improving the performance of chess programs. Thus there appears to be a need for strategy games that are harder for the computer to win. 
   A strategic board game called Stratego® increases the complexity of chess-like games by modifying the board and the types of pieces, concealing the types of pieces, redefining movement patterns for the pieces (especially as relates to capturing), and using a player-determined initial setup. Stratego®, is trademarked (registration number 0695583 in 1960) and copyrighted (1961) in the U.S., and is based on a French game called L&#39;Attaque, disclosed as “a battle game with mobile pieces on a gameboard” in a French Patent No. 396.795 (Edan; 1909). The game of Stratego® has pieces with different strengths, with each player taking one move per turn. As the playing pieces of two opponents collide, the values of the pieces are compared and the weaker piece is removed from the game. The strength of a player&#39;s piece is hidden from the opponent and only revealed upon collision. Initial setup of the board involves each player placing her pieces in any desired location within the four rows closest to the player. The currently popular way of playing Stratego® conforms to the following summary of rules, adapted from a description published, for example, on the internet website http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/stratego.html. 
   The object of Stratego® is to capture the opponent&#39;s Flag. The game is played on a 10×10 (10 space by 10 space grid) game board (although optional rules are available for playing a scaled down “small” version of Stratego® on an 8×8 board). The game board is modified to have two “lakes” in the middle, a lake being an area that playing pieces may not be moved into or over. Each lake is a 2×2 area comprising the third and fourth spaces in from each side of the board, and in the fifth and sixth rows. Each of the two players has an army of 40 pieces comprising 12 different types, but all 40 pieces appear identical to the opposing player; i.e., a player&#39;s piece types are concealed from the opposing player, but always visible for the player. The type of an opponent&#39;s piece is only revealed to a player when the player&#39;s piece collides with the opponent&#39;s piece. 
   In an initial setup before starting the game, each player deploys his army by filling the four rows closest to the player with his 40 pieces. The opponent does not see the player&#39;s piece types; only where the pieces are located. Twelve different types of pieces are used in Stratego®, as listed in the following table with rank, and quantity deployed. 
   
     
       
         
             
             
             
           
             
                 
             
             
               STRATEGO ® 
                 
                 
             
             
               PIECE TYPE 
               RANK 
               QUANTITY 
             
             
                 
             
           
          
             
                 
             
          
         
         
             
             
             
          
             
               Bomb 
               B 
               6 
             
             
               Marshall 
               1 
               1 
             
             
               General 
               2 
               1 
             
             
               Colonel 
               3 
               2 
             
             
               Major 
               4 
               3 
             
             
               Captain 
               5 
               4 
             
             
               Lieutenant 
               6 
               4 
             
             
               Sergeant 
               7 
               4 
             
             
               Miner 
               8 
               5 
             
             
               Scout 
               9 
               8 
             
             
               Spy 
               10 
               1 
             
             
               Flag 
               F 
               1 
             
             
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
   Stratego® piece movement: In a player&#39;s turn, a selected one of the player&#39;s movable pieces can be moved through unoccupied non-lake spaces according to the selected piece&#39;s designated movement pattern. Bombs and Flags cannot be moved from their initial placement, while all other (movable) pieces, except the Scout, move a single space horizontally or vertically. The Scout also moves horizontally or vertically, but may move any number of spaces, unless blocked by other pieces or a lake. When a player&#39;s piece attacks by moving onto the same space as one of the opponent&#39;s pieces, a conflict (capture move) occurs. The types of the two conflicting pieces are revealed and the piece with the higher strength (lower rank number, subject to exceptions) wins. The losing piece is captured, i.e., removed from the board and its vacated spot is then occupied by the winning piece. If the pieces are equal in rank, then both are removed from the board. Any piece may capture the Flag, thereby winning the game. Two exceptions to the capturing rules are: (a) The Bomb has a higher strength than any other piece except the Miner. The Miner can “defuse” (capture) Bombs, but otherwise can capture only the lower strength Scout, Spy, and Flag. (b) The Spy may capture the Marshall, but only if the Spy is attacking. If the Marshall attacks the Spy, the Spy is captured. Against all other pieces, except the Flag, the Spy always loses. 
   Many of the classical strategic board games such as checkers, chess, and Go were developed centuries ago before computers were even conceived. Thus they were not designed to be difficult for computers to play. With the exception of Go, computers have become extremely strong players at these games and are currently on par with the best human players. 
   It is an object of the present invention to improve upon existing strategy games by creating a strategic board game that will be much harder for a computer to play, yet enjoyable, highly competitive, and readily playable by human opponents. It is a further object to design the inventive game in a way that it can be played by adapting a standard chess board and chess pieces. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the invention: a method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that a quantity of pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of: 
   requiring that the two or more players take turns for being an active player that is allowed to move one or more of the active player&#39;s pieces; 
   allowing the active player to move or position the active player&#39;s pieces in a way that manipulates by pushing or pulling an opposing player&#39;s pieces, wherein the opposing player&#39;s pieces are pieces that belong to an opposing player that is one of the two or more players other than the active player; and wherein: 
   pushing is a push move that comprises using a one of the active player&#39;s pieces to push a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces out of a first space and into a second unoccupied space, and then moving the one of the active player&#39;s pieces into the first space; and 
   pulling is a pull move that comprises moving a one of the active player&#39;s pieces out of a third space and into a fourth unoccupied space, and then using the one of the active player&#39;s pieces to pull a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces into the third space. 
   The step of manipulating the opposing player&#39;s pieces further comprises the step of: 
   using a one of the active player&#39;s pieces to freeze a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces, thereby preventing movement of the one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces by the opposing player. 
   Further comprising the step of: providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece unfreezes or otherwise prevents freezing of the one piece. 
   4. The method of claim  1 , wherein the game board further comprises one or more spaces that are designated as trap spaces; and the method further comprises the step of: 
   removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   5. The method of claim  4 , further comprising the step of: 
   providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece prevents removal of the one piece when the one piece is in a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   6. The method of claim  1 , further comprising the step of: 
   limiting the step of manipulating the opposing player&#39;s pieces such that a one of the active player&#39;s pieces manipulates only a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces that is in a space that is adjacent to the one of the active player&#39;s pieces. 
   7. The method of claim  1 , further comprising the step of: 
   assigning a type to each one of the quantity of pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type; 
   predetermining a strength value for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; and 
   allowing only stronger pieces to manipulate weaker pieces. 
   8. The method of claim  7 , wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the steps of: 
   assigning a first row, a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players; 
   during the first turn of the game each active player determines an initial setup for the active player&#39;s pieces wherein the active player&#39;s pieces are arranged in the spaces within the active player&#39;s first row and second row; and 
   completing an instance of playing the strategic board game wherein one of the two or more players wins by being the first one of the two or more players to move a one of the winning player&#39;s weakest pieces to the goal row assigned to the winning player. 
   9. The method of claim  1 , further comprising the steps of: 
   during one turn, allowing the active player to move or cause to move one or more of the pieces a total of one to four turn steps, wherein a turn step comprises a piece being moved from one space to any adjacent unoccupied space; 
   determining that a push move or a pull move uses two of the turn steps in a turn; and 
   requiring that a push move or a pull move must be completed within one turn. 
   10. The method of claim  9 , wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of: 
   defining adjacent spaces as spaces that are orthogonally adjacent, row-wise or column-wise. 
   11. The method of claim  1 , further comprising the step of: 
   requiring that a first push move or pull move must be completed before a second push move or pull move can be performed. 
   12. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that a quantity of pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of: 
   requiring that the two or more players take turns for being an active player that is allowed to move one or more of the active player&#39;s pieces; and 
   allowing the active player to move or position the active player&#39;s pieces in a way that manipulates by using a one of the active player&#39;s pieces to freeze a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces, thereby preventing movement of the one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces by the opposing player. 
   13. The method of claim  12 , further comprising the step of: 
   providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece unfreezes or otherwise prevents freezing of the one piece. 
   14. The method of claim  12 , wherein the step of manipulating the opposing player&#39;s pieces further comprises the steps of: 
   pushing or pulling an opposing player&#39;s pieces, wherein the opposing player&#39;s pieces are pieces that belong to an opposing player that is one of the two or more players other than the active player; and wherein: 
   pushing is a push move that comprises using a one of the active player&#39;s pieces to push a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces out of a first space and into a second unoccupied space, and then moving the one of the active player&#39;s pieces into the first space; and 
   pulling is a pull move that comprises moving a one of the active player&#39;s pieces out of a third space and into a fourth unoccupied space, and then using the one of the active player&#39;s pieces to pull a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces into the third space. 
   15. The method of claim  12 , wherein the game board further comprises one or more spaces that are designated as trap spaces; and the method further comprises the step of: 
   removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   16. The method of claim  15 , further comprising the step of: 
   providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece prevents removal of the one piece when the one piece is in a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   17. The method of claim  12 , further comprising the step of: 
   limiting the step of manipulating the opposing player&#39;s pieces such that a one of the active player&#39;s pieces manipulates only a one of the opposing player&#39;s pieces that is in a space that is adjacent to the one of the active player&#39;s pieces. 
   18. The method of claim  12 , further comprising the step of: 
   assigning a type to each one of the quantity of pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type; 
   predetermining a strength value for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; and 
   allowing only stronger pieces to manipulate weaker pieces. 
   19. The method of claim  18 , wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the steps of: 
   assigning a first row, a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players; 
   during the first turn of the game each active player determines an initial setup for the active player&#39;s pieces wherein the active player&#39;s pieces are arranged in the spaces within the active player&#39;s first row and second row; and 
   completing an instance of playing the strategic board game wherein one of the two or more players wins by being the first one of the two or more players to move a one of the winning player&#39;s weakest pieces to the goal row assigned to the winning player. 
   20. The method of claim  12 , further comprising the step of: 
   during one turn, allowing the active player to move or cause to move one or more of the pieces a total of one to four turn steps, wherein a turn step comprises a piece being moved from one space to any adjacent unoccupied space. 
   21. The method of claim  20 , wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of: 
   defining adjacent spaces as spaces that are orthogonally adjacent, row-wise or column-wise. 
   22. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that a quantity of pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of: 
   designating one or more spaces as trap spaces; and 
   removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   23. The method of claim  22 , further comprising the step of:
         providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece prevents removal of the one piece when the one piece is in a one of the one or more trap spaces.       

   24. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to form a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns such that a quantity of pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of: 
   assigning a type to each one of the quantity of pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type; 
   predetermining a strength value for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; 
   assigning a first row, a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players; 
   requiring that the two or more players take turns for being an active player that is allowed to move one or more of the active player&#39;s pieces; 
   during the first turn of the game each active player determines an initial setup for the active player&#39;s pieces wherein the active player&#39;s pieces are arranged in the spaces within the active player&#39;s first row and second row; and 
   completing an instance of playing the strategic board game wherein one of the two or more players wins by being the first one of the two or more players to move a one of the winning player&#39;s weakest pieces to the goal row assigned to the winning player. 
   25. A strategic board game apparatus for playing a strategic board game by two or more players, the apparatus comprising 
   a game board that is gridded to designate an array of spaces; 
   a quantity of pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein the pieces can be positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; and 
   one or more spaces that are identifiable as trap spaces for removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces. 
   26. The apparatus of claim  25 , wherein: 
   the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns. 
   27. The apparatus of claim  26 , wherein: 
   a type is assigned to each one of the quantity of pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type; 
   a strength value is predetermined for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; 
   assigning a first row, a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players; 
   such that an initial setup of pieces comprises positioning pieces within the first row and the second row, and an instance of the game is won by moving a designated type of piece to the goal row. 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in light of the following description thereof. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference will be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures. The figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in the context of these preferred embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the spirit and scope of the invention to these particular embodiments. 
     Certain elements in selected ones of the drawings may be illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. Elements of the figures can be numbered such that similar (including identical) elements may be referred to with similar numbers in a single drawing. For example, each of a plurality of elements collectively referred to as  199  may be referred to individually as  199   a ,  199   b ,  199   c , etc. For example, each of a plurality of elements collectively referred to as  199   a  may be referred to individually as  199   a   1 ,  199   a   2 ,  199   a   3 , etc. Or, related but modified elements may have the same number but are distinguished by primes. For example,  109 ,  109 ′, and  109 ″ are three different elements which are similar or related in some way, but have significant modifications, e.g., a tire  109  having a static imbalance versus a different tire  109 ′ of the same design, but having a couple imbalance. Such relationships, if any, between similar elements in the same or different figures will become apparent throughout the specification, including, if applicable, in the claims and abstract. 
     The structure, operation, and advantages of the present preferred embodiment of the invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic top view of a game board and pieces for two players wherein the pieces are arranged in an initial setup, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating a winning board position, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating piece movement patterns and freezing of pieces, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating freezing, trap removal, and protection from freezing and trap removal of pieces, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating a first step of a push move, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating a second step of the push move of  FIG. 5  plus an example of trap removal of a piece, according to the invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating a first step of a pull move, according to the invention; and 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic top view of the game board and pieces for two players illustrating a second step of the pull move of  FIG. 7 , according to the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a strategic board game apparatus and method of play that increases the complexity of chess-like games such that it should be much harder for a computer to play, yet enjoyable, highly competitive, and readily playable by human opponents. Game enhancement techniques include some new techniques (e.g., allowing one player&#39;s piece to manipulate another player&#39;s piece) and many of the same techniques employed by the prior art game of Stratego®, described in the background hereinabove, i.e., modifying the board and the types of pieces, redefining movement patterns for the pieces (especially as relates to capturing), and using a player-determined initial setup; but the detailed implementation of the inventive enhancements are believed to produce a greatly improved game compared to prior art games including chess and Stratego®. 
   The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a game named “Arimaa” by the inventor, and is described in a website presently having a URL of ‘http://www.arimaa.com’. The preferred game embodiment was designed as a two player board game that can be played using a standard chess set with a suitably marked chess game board. Therefore the preferred embodiment of game apparatus utilizes a square gridded game board having a total of 64 square spaces in an 8×8 (eight by eight) pattern, and sixteen pieces for each player comprising six different piece types that are at least visually distinguishable for both players: one of a first type (e.g., chess King), one of a second type (e.g., chess Queen), two of a third type (e.g., chess Rook), two of a fourth type (e.g., chess Bishop), two of a fifth type (e.g., chess Knight), and eight of a sixth type (e.g., chess Pawn). The chess board is adapted by being marked (e.g., by placing a coin in the space) in a way that indicates the location of preferably four trap spaces, as detailed hereinbelow. For the sake of clarity in the foregoing description, illustrations and descriptive terms will be used that are unique to the present invention, but it should be apparent how the inventive piece types and board design can be translated for use with standard chess apparatus. Preferably, the inventive game will have its own unique and distinctive appearing board and pieces. Furthermore, it should be apparent that obvious variations and extensions of the herein described inventive method of game playing (i.e., the game) can be adapted to other apparatus while still being within the scope of the present invention. 
   The Board 
     FIG. 1  shows a preferred embodiment of an inventive game board  300  for the inventive game  400 . The board  300  comprises a square board with a total of sixty-four spaces  302  arranged in an eight-row by eight-column pattern. Preferably the spaces  302  are not checkered. For notation purposes (e.g., for recording game moves), the rows are referred to by sequential row numbers from 1 through 8, with a row  1  preferably shown in illustrations as being across the bottom of the board  300 ; and the columns are referred to by column letters in alphabetic order using lower case letters from “a” through “h”, with a column “a” preferably shown along the left side of the board  300  when illustrated. Thus the bottom left corner space  302   a  of the board  300  can be referred to as “space a 1 ”. Further for notation purposes, the four compass directions north (n), south (s), east (e), and west (w) are used to refer to movement directions as indicated by the arrows in  FIG. 1 , wherein the north and south directions are aligned with columns, and the east and west directions are aligned with rows (e.g., the north direction “n” is up, or column-wise movement to higher numbered rows). In the preferred embodiment, four of the spaces  302  are clearly marked on the board  300  as trap spaces  310 . The trap spaces  310  comprise spaces  302  located at the intersections of the third and sixth rows with the third and sixth columns, i.e., spaces c 3 , c 6 , f 3 , and f 6 . As will be described hereinbelow, the trap spaces  310  provide means for permanently removing pieces from the game. 
   A first player  100 , usually designated as a white player  100  (White  100 ), is shown as playing from the bottom of the board  300 , such that row  1  is a white first row  121 , row  2  is a white second row  122 , and the farthest away row  8  is a white goal row  128 . A second player  200 , usually designated as a black player  200  (Black  200 ), is shown as playing from the top of the board  300 , such that row  8  is a black first row  221 , row  7  is a black second row  222 , and the farthest away row  1  is a black goal row  228 . 
   The Pieces 
   Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the white player  100  has sixteen first pieces  10 , usually designated as white pieces  10 . Similarly, the black player  200  has sixteen second pieces  20 , usually designated as black pieces  20 . 
   There are six different piece types for the first and second pieces  10 ,  20  (white pieces  10 , black pieces  20 , collectively referred to as pieces  10 ,  20 ), wherein each has a different strength in a hierarchy of strengths from weakest to strongest. Preferably the different piece types are given different animal names and each physical playing piece  10 ,  20  is in the shape of, or bears an image of, its respective animal wherein the animals should be universally recognized as having relative strengths suitable for the respective piece types. Each of the first and second players  100 ,  200  (collectively referred to as players  100 ,  200 ) has the same set of six piece types, the first player&#39;s pieces  10  being distinguished from the second player&#39;s pieces  20  by, for example, a color (white or black). The different piece types are shown with their strengths and quantities in the following table along with a preferred representative animal as well as a suggested chess piece that can be used in its place. The strength of the piece type is indicated by a number from 1 (weakest) to 6 (strongest). Each of the players  100 / 200  (White/Black) has one first piece type  10   a / 20   a  (white Elephant/black Elephant) which is the strongest type with a strength of 6; one second piece type  10   b / 20   b  (white Camel/black Camel) which is the next strongest piece with a strength of 5; two third piece types  10   c / 20   c  (white Horses/black Horses) which are the next strongest pieces with a strength of 4; two fourth piece types  10   d / 20   d  (white Dogs/black Dogs) which are the next strongest pieces with a strength of 3; two fifth piece types  10   e / 20   e  (white Cats/black Cats) which are the next strongest pieces with a strength of 2; and eight sixth piece types  10   f / 20   f  (white Rabbits/black Rabbits) which are the weakest pieces with a strength of 1. 
   
     
       
         
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               ARIMAA 
                 
                 
               CHESS 
             
             
                 
               PIECE TYPE 
               STRENGTH 
               QUANTITY 
               PIECE 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
          
             
                 
               (first) 
               6 
               one 
               King 
             
             
                 
               Elephant 
             
             
                 
               (second) 
               5 
               one 
               Queen 
             
             
                 
               Camel 
             
             
                 
               (third) 
               4 
               two 
               Rook 
             
             
                 
               Horse 
             
             
                 
               (fourth) 
               3 
               two 
               Bishop 
             
             
                 
               Dog 
             
             
                 
               (fifth) 
               2 
               two 
               Knight 
             
             
                 
               Cat 
             
             
                 
               (sixth) 
               1 
               eight 
               Pawn 
             
             
                 
               Rabbit 
             
             
                 
                 
             
          
         
       
     
   
   Thus the preferred embodiment of the game playing apparatus for the game  400  comprises the board  300 , gridded in an eight row by eight column (8×8) array of sixty-four spaces  302 , and having four suitably marked trap spaces  310 ; plus sixteen first pieces  10  of six different types  10   a ,  10   b ,  10   c ,  10   d ,  10   e ,  10   f  (in the quantities indicated above) for a first player  100 ; plus sixteen second pieces  20  of six different types  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c ,  20   d ,  20   e ,  20   f  (in the quantities indicated above) for a second player  200 . 
   Overall Game Play 
   As in chess, the inventive game  400  is turn-based with players  100 ,  200  alternating turns, and the first player  100  (White  100 , or the player with the lighter colored physical pieces  10 ) always goes first. The game  400  starts with White  100  arranging the white pieces  10  in a first instance of an initial setup, followed by Black  200  arranging the black pieces  20  in a second instance of the initial setup. The initial setup is considered to be the first turn of a game session, i.e., an instance of playing the game  400 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is no fixed arrangement of pieces  10 ,  20  in the initial setup, other than a requirement that the white pieces  10  are arranged within the two rows closest to White  100  (i.e., the white first row  121  and the white second row  122 ), and then the black pieces  20  are arranged within the two rows closest to Black  200  (i.e., the black first row  221  and the black second row  222 ). The goal of the game  400  is to be the first one of the players  100 ,  200  to move one of the weakest pieces (the Rabbit  10   f / 20   f ) belonging to the first one of the players  100 ,  200  across the board  300  to the goal row  128 ,  228  of the first one of the players  100 ,  200  (i.e., the row on the opposite side of the board  300  from where the winning Rabbit  10   f / 20   f  started after initial setup). For example,  FIG. 2  shows a game-winning situation wherein White  100  has managed to move one of her White Rabbits  10   f   1  into the white goal row  128 , thereby ending the game session with White (first player  100 ) winning the game session. 
   After initial setup, the first and second players  100 ,  200  alternate turns of play, with White  100  always taking the first turn after initial setup. During their turn, one of the players  100 ,  200  (e.g., first player  100 ) becomes an “acting player” and can move the acting player&#39;s pieces (e.g., first pieces  10 ) according to rules of movement, fully described hereinbelow, that include inventive means for the acting player (e.g., white player  100 ) to manipulate an opposing player&#39;s pieces (e.g., white pieces  20 ). For example, the rules of movement include: means for removing pieces  10 ,  20  from the game via the trap spaces  310 ; means for “freezing” the opposing player&#39;s pieces (e.g., black pieces  20 ); and moves under certain conditions wherein the acting player&#39;s piece (e.g., white piece  10 ) is able to move while “pushing” or “pulling” the opposing player&#39;s piece (e.g., black piece  20 );. 
   The first and second players White/Black  100 / 200  alternate turns being the acting player until a one Rabbit  10   f / 20   f  is moved into a space  302  in the farthest-away row (row  8 /row  1 ) on the opposite side of the board  300  from where the one Rabbit  10   f / 20   f  started after initial setup (i.e., the respective white/black goal row  128 / 228 ), thereby achieving a normal win for the player  100 ,  200  that owns the one Rabbit  10   f / 20   f.    
   The rules provide for ways of ending a game session other than with a normal win:
     (1) If both White  100  and Black  200  players lose all of their Rabbits  10   f ,  20   f , respectively, the game session ends in a draw.   (2) If a player  100 ,  200  (e.g., White  100 ) is unable to make a move during his turn because all of that player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  (e.g., White pieces  10 ) are frozen or otherwise unable to move, then that player  100 ,  200  (e.g., White  100 ) that is unable to move has lost the game session, and the opposing player  100 ,  200  (e.g., Black  200 ) is declared the winner.   (3) If, after a turn, a same board position has been repeated for a third time (at any time during the game session, not necessarily in sequential turns), then the player  100 ,  200  (e.g., Black  200 ) that caused the same board position to occur the third time has lost the game session, and the opposing player  100 ,  200  (e.g., White  100 ) is declared the winner. The term board position is defined to mean a specific arrangement of pieces  10 ,  20  on the board  300 . A second occurring board position is the same board position as a first occurring board position if arrangements of the pieces  10 ,  20  are such that each one of the pieces  10 ,  20  that is present in the first occurring board position is also present in the second occurring board position, and also such that each one of the pieces  10 ,  20  in the second occurring board position occupies the same space  302  that it occupied in the first occurring board position. Similarly, a third occurring board position is the same board position as the first and second occurring board positions if arrangements of the pieces  10 ,  20  are such that each one of the pieces  10 ,  20  that is present in the first and second occurring board positions is also present in the third occurring board position, and also such that each one of the pieces  10 ,  20  in the third occurring board position occupies the same space  302  that it occupied in the first and second occurring board positions.   (4) Either player  100 ,  200  (e.g., Black  200 ) may voluntarily forfeit the game session at any time, thereby causing the opposing player  100 ,  200  (e.g., White  100 ) to win the game session.   

   Rules of Movement 
   In order to describe the rules of movement, certain terms must be defined. Movement of any of the pieces  10 ,  20  is performed in steps, wherein one step consists of movement from a first space  302  to a second space  302  that is orthogonally adjacent to the first space  302 . The term “orthogonal” refers to directions along a column or row, i.e., along the four compass directions (north, south, east, west) as illustrated in the Figures. Thus “orthogonally adjacent” means a second space  302  that is row-wise or column-wise adjacent to the first space  302 . Of course, for any first space  302  located at an edge of the board  300  (e.g., rows  1  and  8  and columns a and h), there are no adjacent second spaces  302  beyond the edge of the board  300 . For example, a first space d 4  has four orthogonally adjacent second spaces: d 5  to the north (up), d 3  to the south (down), c 4  to the west (left), and e 4  to the east (right). For example, a first space a 1  (space  302   a ) has only two orthogonally adjacent second spaces: a 2  to the north (up), and b 1  to the east (right). The left and right directions are referred to collectively as sideways directions, and the left direction is always equivalent to the west direction while the right direction is always equivalent to the east direction. The terms “forward” and “backward” are used for column-wise movement, and their meanings are dependent upon which player  100 ,  200  is the acting player who owns the piece  10 ,  20  being moved. The forward direction is directed from the first row  121 ,  221  toward the goal row  128 ,  228  of the piece  10 ,  20  being moved, and the backward direction is the opposite of the forward direction. Thus for all white pieces  10 , the forward direction is up, or north, or column-wise in the direction of increasing row numbers; and the backward direction is down, or south, or column-wise in the direction of decreasing row numbers. Thus for all black pieces  20 , the forward direction is down, or south, or column-wise in the direction of decreasing row numbers; and the backward direction is up, or north, or column-wise in the direction of increasing row numbers. For example, referring to  FIG. 3 , the white Elephant  10   a   1  in space d 4  can move forward to space d 5  or backward to space d 3 , and the black Elephant  20   a   1  in space f 4  can move forward to space f 3  or backward to space f 5 . 
   A “turn” generally refers to an opportunity for an acting player  100 ,  200  to move his pieces  10 ,  20 . In the first turn of a game session the players  100 ,  200  move their respective pieces  10 ,  20  to the initial setup positions as described hereinabove. In all other turns, also known as movement turns, the acting player  100 ,  200  moves one or more of the pieces  10 ,  20  a total of one to four steps (at least one step and no more than four steps total) according to movement rules of the game  400 . A piece  10 ,  20  can take multiple steps during one turn and may change directions after each step. The steps in a turn may be distributed among multiple pieces  10 ,  20  so that up to four pieces  10 ,  20  can be moved. The acting player  100 ,  200  can choose to skip one, two or three of the four steps, but at least one piece  10 ,  20  must be moved one step during the turn of the acting player  100 ,  200 . Furthermore, the acting player  100 ,  200  must make a change to the board position by the end of his turn. According to the movement rules concerning manipulation of opposing player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  (described hereinbelow), the acting player  100 ,  200  may move an acting player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  in a way that causes an opposing player&#39;s piece to move, and any steps thereby forced upon the opposing player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  are counted as steps in the acting player&#39;s turn. Thus for example, during a single turn of 4 steps, an acting player  100 ,  200  could move: four pieces  10 ,  20  one step each, one piece  10 ,  20  four steps in a variety of orthogonal directions, one piece  10 ,  20  two steps and two other pieces one step each, etc. 
   Movement Patterns: 
   All of the pieces  10 ,  20  except the weakest of the pieces  10 ,  20  (being the Rabbits  10   f / 20   f ) can move in the forward, backward, left and right directions; whereas the Rabbits  10   f / 20   f , can move in the forward, left and right directions but cannot move backward. For each step in a move, a piece  10 ,  20  can only move into an orthogonally adjacent space  302  (never to a diagonally adjacent space  302 ), and cannot move into a space  302  while that space  302  is occupied by another piece  10 ,  20 . For example, referring to  FIG. 3 , the white Rabbit  10   f   2  in space c 2  can move forward to space c 3 , left to space b 2 , and right to space d 2 , but not backward to space c 1 . Likewise, the black Rabbit  20   f   1  in space g 6  can move forward to space g 5 , left to space f 6 , and right to space h 6 , but not backward to space g 7 . All higher strength pieces  10 ,  20  can move in all four orthogonal directions such as, for example, the white Elephant  10   a   1  in space d 4  that can move forward to space d 5 , left to space c 4 , right to space e 4 , and backward to space d 3 . Similarly, the black Elephant  20   a   1  in space f 4  can move forward to space f 3 , left to space e 4 , and backward to space f 5 , but not right to space g 4  only because the space g 4  is occupied by another piece  10 ,  20  (the white Cat  10   e   1 ). 
   Removal and Protect from Removal: 
   When a one player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is moved into a one of the trap spaces  310 , the one player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is immediately removed from the game unless there is a friendly piece  10 ,  20  orthogonally adjacent to the one of the trap spaces  310 , wherein the friendly piece  10 ,  20  is another piece  10 ,  20  that is owned by the one player  100 ,  200  that also owns the one piece  10 ,  20 . It does not matter how the one player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is moved into the one of the trap spaces  310 , whether by action of the one player  100 ,  200  that owns the one player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 , or by means of manipulation by an opposing player  100 ,  200 . For example, in  FIG. 4  the white Rabbit  20   f   3  on the space f 3  is removed from the game because the space f 3  is a trap space  310  and there are no friendly white pieces  10  orthogonally adjacent to the trap space f 3 . However, the white Elephant  10   a   1  on space c 3  is not removed from the game and is free to move away from the space c 3  even though the space c 3  is a trap space  310  because a friendly white piece  10 , the white Rabbit  10   f   1 , is orthogonally adjacent to the trap space c 3  and is thus protecting the white Elephant  10   a   1  from trap space removal. 
   Freeze, Unfreeze and Protect from Freezing: 
   When the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is orthogonally adjacent to a stronger opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 , the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is “frozen” and cannot move unless there is a friendly piece  10 ,  20  (of any strength) orthogonally adjacent to it, in which case the friendly piece  10 ,  20  is “protecting” the active player&#39;s piece from being frozen. If the active player  100 ,  200  moves the friendly piece  10 ,  20  to a space  302  that is orthogonally adjacent to the active player&#39;s frozen piece  10 ,  20 , then the active player&#39;s frozen piece  10 ,  20  is immediately “unfrozen” and thus able to move if steps remain in the active player&#39;s turn. For example, referring to  FIG. 3 , the white Rabbit  10   f   3  in space b 6  is frozen by the higher strength black Horse  20   c   1  in the orthogonally adjacent space b 7  such that the white player  100  cannot move his white Rabbit  10   F   3  off the space b 6 . Conversely, the lower strength white Rabbit  10   f   3  in space b 6  does not freeze the black Horse  20   c   1  in the orthogonally adjacent space b 7 , so the black Horse  20   c   1  is free to be moved by the black player  200  to unoccupied orthogonally adjacent spaces  302  (right, left, and backward). In another example, the white Cat  10   e   1  in space g 4  is frozen by the higher strength does not freeze the black Elephant  20   a   1 . If the white player  100  were to move his white Rabbit  10   f   4  from space g 2  forward to the space g 3  that is orthogonally adjacent to the space g 4 , then the white cat  10   e   1  would be unfrozen and free to be moved up or to the right by the white player  100 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , even though the black Elephant  20   a   1  in space f 4  is a higher strength than the white Dog  10   d   1  in the orthogonally adjacent space e 4 , the white Dog  10   d   1  is not frozen because it has a protective friendly piece  10 ,  20  (the white Rabbit  10   f   2 ) in the orthogonally adjacent space d 4 , such that the white player  100  can move his white Dog  10   d   1  to unoccupied orthogonally adjacent spaces  302  (forward and backward). 
   Push and Pull: 
   Depending on its strength, the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  can move an opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  by means of a “pull” or a “push” move. In effect, a stronger piece  10 ,  20  can move a weaker opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 . 
   In the push move, an active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  pushes an orthogonally adjacent and relatively weaker opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  out of the way (to any unoccupied space  302  that is orthogonally adjacent to the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 ) and moves into the vacated space  302 . The push counts as 2 steps of the active player&#39;s turn, one step for moving the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  and a second step to move the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  into the space  302  originally occupied by the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 . The stronger active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  can push the opposing player&#39;s weaker piece  10 ,  20  into any space  302  that is unoccupied and orthogonally adjacent to the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 , regardless of whether the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is frozen or protected or not allowed to move itself to that space (e.g., a Rabbit  10   f / 20   f  can be pushed or pulled backward). The active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  that is doing the push must not be frozen in it&#39;s original space  302 . For example, referring to  FIG. 5 , assuming at least two steps are available to White  100  during White&#39;s turn as the active player  100 , the white Elephant  10   a   1  in space d5, being orthogonally adjacent to, and stronger than, the black Dog  20   d   1  in space d 6 , pushes the black Dog  20   d   1  leftward into the orthogonally adjacent space c 6  in a first step of the push move. It may be noted that the white Elephant  10   a   1  is not frozen by the weaker or equivalent strength pieces  10 ,  20  beside it. It may also be noted that the black Dog  20   d   1  is pushed even though it is protected by the friendly black Rabbit  20   f   1 .  FIG. 6  illustrates a second step of the push move wherein the white Elephant  10   a   1  has moved into the space d 6  vacated by the black Dog  20   d   1 . It may be noted that, because the black Dog  20   d   1  has been moved into a trap space  310  and isn&#39;t protected by a friendly piece  10 ,  20  beside the trap space  310 , the black Dog  20   d   1  is immediately removed from the game  400 . 
   In the pull move, an active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  pulls an orthogonally adjacent and relatively weaker opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  into the space that the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  vacates while moving to any unoccupied orthogonally adjacent space  302 . The pull counts as 2 steps of the active player&#39;s turn, one step for moving the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  and a second step to move the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  into the space  302  originally occupied by the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 . The stronger active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  can pull the opposing player&#39;s weaker piece  10 ,  20  regardless of whether the opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is frozen or protected or not allowed to move itself to that space. The active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  that is doing the pull must not be frozen in it&#39;s original space  302 . For example, referring to  FIGS. 5 and 7 , assuming at least two steps are available to White  100  during White&#39;s turn as the active player  100 , the white Elephant  10   a   1  in space d 5 , being orthogonally adjacent to, and stronger than, the black Rabbit  20   f   2  in space d 4  moves leftward into the orthogonally adjacent space c 5  as a first step of the pull move. It may be noted that the white Elephant  10   a   1  is not frozen by the weaker or equivalent strength pieces  10 ,  20  beside it.  FIG. 8  illustrates a second step of the push move wherein the black Rabbit  20   f   2  is pulled backward into the space d 5  vacated by the white Elephant  10   a   1 . It may be noted that the black Rabbit  20   f   2  is pulled backward even though it is not allowed to make such a move by itself, and also the black Rabbit  20   f   2  is moved even though it was frozen by the stronger white Cat  10   e   1 . 
   Pushing and pulling can be done in the same turn, but only in sequence, i.e., a single active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  cannot pull a first opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  at the same time that the single active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  is pushing a second opposing player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20 . An active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  can only move (push or pull) opposing player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  that are orthogonally adjacent to the active player&#39;s piece  10 ,  20  at the start of the push or pull move. A push or pull cannot be started unless it can be finished in the same turn. For example, referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the white Elephant  10   a   1  is not permitted to pull the black rabbit  20   f   2  into the space d 5  while the white Elephant  10   a   1  is pushing the black Dog  20   d   1  out of space d 6  and moving into space d 6 . The white Elephant  10   a   1  could push the black Dog  20   d   1  as shown in  FIG. 6  for the first two steps of the white player&#39;s turn, and could then use the third step to move the white Elephant  10   a   1  back into the space d 5 , but could not then pull the black Rabbit  20   f   2  because the pull move requires two more steps and the active white player  100  only has one step remaining in his turn. On the other hand, the active white player  100  could follow the push shown as completed in  FIG. 6  by pushing or pulling the other black Rabbit  20   f   1  that is in space e 6 , orthogonally adjacent to the space d 6  occupied by the white Elephant  10   a   1  after the first two steps of the turn for the active white player  100 . 
   In summary: Any piece  10 ,  20  can unfreeze and protect from freezing or from trap space removal of any other friendly piece  10 ,  20 , regardless of relative strength. None of the pieces  10 ,  20  are able to protect any other piece  10 ,  20  from being moved (pushed or pulled) by an opposed active player  100 ,  200 . Any piece  10 ,  20  that moves or is moved onto a trap space  310  is immediately removed unless protected by a friendly piece  10 ,  20 . 
   The Rabbit  10   f / 20   f , being the weakest piece, can&#39;t push, pull or freeze any other piece. Rabbits  10   f / 20   f  can move forward, left and right but cannot move backward. 
   The Cat  10   e / 20   e  is the second weakest piece and it can only push, pull or freeze the opposing player&#39;s Rabbits  10   f / 20   f . Cats  10   e / 20   e  can move backward, forward, left and right. 
   The Dog  10   d / 20   d  is the third weakest piece and it can push, pull or freeze the opposing player&#39;s Cats  10   e / 20   e  and Rabbits  10   f / 20   f . Dogs  10   d / 20   d  can move backward, forward, left and right. 
   The Horse  10   c / 20   c  is the third strongest piece and it can push, pull or freeze the opposing player&#39;s Cats  10   e / 20   e , Dogs  10   d / 20   d , and Rabbits  10   f / 20   f . Horses  10   c / 20   c  can move backward, forward, left and right. 
   The Camel  10   b / 20   b  is the second strongest piece; it can push, pull or freeze all of the opposing player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  except for the Elephant  10   a / 20   a  and the equal strength Camel  10   b / 20   b . The Camel  10   b / 20   b  can move backward, forward, left and right. 
   The Elephant  10   a / 20   a  is the strongest piece; it can push, pull or freeze all of the opposing player&#39;s pieces  10 ,  20  except the equal strength Elephant  10   a / 20   a . The Elephant  10   a / 20   a  can move backward, forward, left and right. The Elephant  10   a / 20   a  cannot be pushed, pulled or frozen by any piece  10 ,  20 . 
   Notation for Recording Game Sessions 
   In the preferred embodiment of the game  400 , there are standard notations for recording game sessions. The pieces  10 ,  20  are indicated using upper or lower case letters to specify the piece color and piece type. Upper case letters are used for the white pieces  10  and lower case letters are used for the black pieces  20 . Generally the first letter of each piece&#39;s name is used in the notation, except in the case of Camel  10   b / 20   b  wherein the letter “m” (for black Camel  20   b ) or “M” (for white Camel  10   b ) is used. Thus, “E” and “e” are used for white Elephant  10   a  and black Elephant  20   a , respectively; “H” and “h” are used for white Horse  10   c  and black Horse  20   c , respectively; “D” and “d” are used for white Dog  10   d  and black Dog  20   d , respectively; “C” and “c” are used for white Cat  10   e  and black Cat  20   e , respectively; and “R” and “r” are used for white Rabbit  10   f  and black Rabbit  20   f , respectively. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , each space  302  on the board  300  is indicated by its intersecting column letter and row number. The lower case letters “a” through “h” are used to indicate the column and the numbers 1 to 8 are used to indicate the row, wherein the space a 1  (space  302   a ) is at the bottom left corner  302   a  of the board  300  for the White player  100 . 
   Each movement turn for a player  100 ,  200  is recorded on a separate line. The line starts with the turn number followed by the color of the side taking the turn (indicating white with a “w” and black with a “b”). For example  3 w means turn number  3  for White  100 ; this would be followed by  3 b which is turn number  3  for Black  200 . 
   Initial setup placement of the pieces  10 ,  20  is recorded by indicating the piece  10 ,  20  and the space  302  on which it is placed. For example Da 2  means the white Dog  10   d  is situated on space a 2 . 
   Movement of the pieces  10 ,  20  is recorded by indicating the piece  10 ,  20 , the space  302  from which it moves, followed by the direction in which it moved. Directions are north (“n”), south (“s”), east (“e”) and west(“w”) with respect to the white player  100  who is always shown located at the bottom of the board  300 , i.e., at the south end of the board  300 . For example, a notation of “Ea 3 n” means that the white Elephant  10   a  on space a 3  moves north (to space a 4  which is obvious and thus not included in the notation). For example, a notation of “hd 7 s” means that the black Horse  20   c  on space d 7  moves south (to space d 6 ). 
   The one to four steps of a player&#39;s turn are noted sequentially with a space between each notated step, but steps that are skipped are left blank. 
   When a piece  10 ,  20  is trapped and removed from the board  300 , it is recorded by using an “x” to indicate removal. For example, a notation of “cf 3 x” means that the black Cat  20   e  on space f 3  (one of the trap spaces  310 ) is removed. When a piece  10 ,  20  is trapped as a result of a push, the removal is recorded before the pushing piece&#39;s step that completes the push. For example, a notation of “rb 3 e rc 3 x Hb 2 n”, notates the following sequence of two steps involving a push by the white Horse  10   c : the black rabbit  20   f  on space b 3  is pushed east (to space c 3 ); whereupon the black rabbit  20   f  now on space c 3  is removed; and the white Horse  10   c  on space b 2  moves north (to space b 3  originally occupied by the black rabbit  20   f , thereby completing the push move). 
   When a player  100 ,  200  resigns, the word “resigns” is noted for the turn of the resigning player  100 ,  200 . If a player loses  100 ,  200  because the opponent&#39;s weakest piece (Rabbit  10   f / 20   f ) has reached the first row  1 ,  8  of the losing player  100 ,  200  then the word “lost” is noted for the final turn of the losing player  100 ,  200 . If the players  100 ,  200  agree to a draw, then the word “draw” is noted for a final turn. 
   According to standard rules for the preferred embodiment of the game  400 , a turn cannot be taken back (undone) after the completion of a player&#39;s  100 ,  200  turn. However, if the players  100 ,  200  agree to allow takebacks, then when a turn is taken back the word “takeback” is noted for the turn and the count of the next turn becomes that of the previous turn. 
   The following example shows the notation used to record turns of a game session.
       1 w Ra 2  Rb 2  Mc 2  Dd 2  (etc., noting initial setup positions for all of White&#39;s pieces  10 )     1 b ra 7  rb 7  rc 7  rd 7  (etc., noting initial setup positions for all of Black&#39;s pieces  20 )     2 w Ra 2 n Ra 3 e Rb 3 n Rb 4 e     2 b ra 7 s ra 6 s ra 5 e rb 5 e     3 w Dd 2 n Dd 3 n Mc 2 e Rc 4 s Rc 3 x     3 b rc 7 s rc 5 e rc 6 x rd 5 e re 5 s     4 w takeback     3 b takeback     3 w Rb 2 n Rb 3 n Rb 4 n   

     3 b . . . (etc.)
     . . . (etc. for turns 4 through 15)     16 w resigns   
   Seven tags according to the PGN (Portable Game Notation) format (as well as other tags) that are used in recording chess games can be used prior to recording the turns in an instance of playing the inventive game  400  (a game session). The tags are Event, Site, Date, Round, White, Black and Result. The format is simply the tag name followed by a colon (:) and a space character followed by a tag value. A blank line separates the tags from the turn listing. All tags are optional. 
   Here is a sample recording of a game session showing the use of tags:
     Event: Casual Game   Site: Cleveland, Ohio USA   Date: Jan. 15, 1999   Round: ?   White: Aamir Syed   Black: Omar Syed   Result: 1–0     1 w . . .     1 b . . .     2 w . . .     2 b . . .   . . .     16 b resigns   

   A tag which requires multiple lines should have the string “−=+=−” after the tag name. All lines until a next line that begins with this same string are considered to be the value of the tag. 
   For example: 
   
       
       Chat:−=+=− 
         2 b White: hi, how are u 
         2 b Black: fine, thanks 
       −=+=− 
     
  
   The “ 2 b” just indicates that this chat was done when it was turn  2 b (second turn for Black  200 ). 
   A sample position file, i.e., an easily printed representation of a specific board position is shown below. The first line of the file indicates the turn number and the player  100 ,  200  whose turn it is to move.                  
 
   Match Game Requirements 
   In the preferred embodiment of the game  400 , players  100 ,  200  may not offer a draw. The intention of a match is to determine a winner. So when two players  100 ,  200  enter into a match they are not allowed to mutually end the match as a draw, but one of the players  100 ,  200  may resign at any time to end the match. 
   Time Controls 
   In the preferred embodiment of the game  400  time controls are used. An official match must be played with some form of time control. The time control used is specified as: 
   M/R/P/L/G/T 
   wherein: 
   M (turn time) is the number of minutes:seconds allowed per turn; 
   R (reserve time) is the number of minutes:seconds in reserve; 
   P (percentage) is the percent of unused turn time that gets added to the reserve; 
   L (reserve limit) is the number of minutes:seconds to limit the reserve; 
   G (game limit) is the number of hours:minutes (alternatively, the maximum number of turns) after which the game session is halted and the winner is determined by score; and 
   T (maximum turn time) is the number of minutes:seconds within which a player  100 ,  200  must complete the turn. 
   On each turn a player  100 ,  200  gets a fixed amount of turn time (M) for completing a turn, plus there may be some amount of reserve time (R) left in the reserve. If a player  100 ,  200  does not complete the turn within the turn time (M) then the reserve time (R) is used. If there is no more reserve time (R) remaining and the player  100 ,  200  has not completed the turn, then the player  100 ,  200  automatically loses. Even if there is turn time (M) or reserve time (R), but the player  100 ,  200  has not made the turn within the maximum turn time (T), then the player  100 ,  200  automatically loses. If a player  100 ,  200  completes the turn in less than the turn time (M), then a predetermined fraction of the remaining turn time (M) is added to the player&#39;s  100 ,  200  reserve time (R) as determined by multiplying the percentage (P) times the remaining turn time (M). The resulting reserve time (R) is rounded to the nearest second. If a value for the percentage (P) parameter has not been specified then the value of the percentage (P) is assumed to be 100%. 
   The reserve limit (L) can be specified in order to set an upper limit for the reserve time (R) such that the reserve time (R) does not exceed the value L of the reserve limit (L) when more time is added to the reserve. If an initial value for the reserve time (R) already exceeds the reserve limit (L) then more time is not added to the reserve time (R) until its value falls below the reserve limit (L). The reserve limit (L) is optional and if a reserve limit value L is not specified (including a value of 0) then it implies that there is no limit on how much time can be added to the reserve. For practical reasons a game limit (G) may be set. If the game session is not finished within the game limit (G), then the game session is halted and a winner is determined by scoring the game session. The game limit (G) parameter is optional and if a game limit value G is not specified (including a value of 0), then it means there is no limit on the time or number of turns in the game session. 
   In general, the initial setup is timed according to the rules for timing a single turn. However, when the turn time (M) is less than 1 minute, each player  100 ,  200  is given a 1 minute turn time (M) for initial setup, and if the initial setup is not completed in 1 minute then the reserve time (R) is also used. However, the unused time from the initial setup is not added to the reserve time (R) unless the player  100 ,  200  completes the initial setup in less than the turn time (M) set for the game session, in which case the percentage (P) parameter is used in the normal way to determine the amount of time to be added to the reserve time (R), subject to the reserve limit (L), if specified. 
   Different time units for any of the time control fields (M, R, L, T, G) can be specified by adding one of the following letters after the numbers. In such cases the letter serves as the separator and a colon (:) should not be used.
         s—seconds   m—minutes   h—hours   d—days       

   When the game limit (G) parameter is being specified in terms of a maximum number of turns each player can take, then this is indicated by adding the letter t after the number. 
   In the preferred embodiment of the game  400 , the default standard values for the parameters are: 4 minutes per turn for the turn time (M), a starting reserve time (R) of 4 minutes, 100% for the percentage (P) of the unused turn time being added to the reserve time (R), a reserve limit (L) of 4 minutes maximum reserve time (R); and a game limit (G) of 6 hours, after which the winner is determined by score. 
   If a game session is stopped for exceeding the game limit (G), then the Scoring System must be used and the winner is determined by a score calculated according to the Scoring System. Details of the Scoring System are given below. 
   Scoring System 
   In the preferred embodiment of the game  400 , if a game session cannot be played out, then the Scoring System is used to determine a winner. The player  100 ,  200  with the higher score wins the game session. If the score of both players  100 ,  200  is the same, the game session is declared a draw. The score for each player  100 ,  200  is determined as follows:
 
score= Rp+P* ( C+ 1)
 
   Rp=Rabbit Points=a sum of points given for how far the player&#39;s Rabbits  10   f / 20   f  have progressed. A row value for the row to which each Rabbit  10   f / 20   f  has progressed is cubed (i.e., raised to the power of 3) and the cubed values are summed up to determine the total Rabbit points Rp. Each player&#39;s first row has a row value of 1 and each player&#39;s goal row has a row value of 8, with the rows in-between being valued sequentially from 2 to 7. 
   C=The number of Rabbits  10   f / 20   f  the player  100 ,  200  still has on the board  300 . 
   P=Piece Points=a sum of piece values of each of the piece  10 ,  20  that the player  100 ,  200  still has on the board  300 . The piece value for each piece is: 
   1—Rabbit  10   f   20   f    
   2—Cat  10   e / 20   e    
   3—Dog  10   d / 20   d    
   4—Horse  10   c / 20   c    
   5—Camel  10   b / 20   b    
   6—Elephant  10   a / 20   a    
   Preferably the piece values equal the piece strengths. 
   Alternative Embodiments 
   A few of many possible alternative embodiments of the game  400  are now listed as examples that are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. For example, a game board  300  may have more than 64 spaces  302 , and/or be gridded in other than an 8×8 arrangement of spaces  302 . For example, more than six different types of pieces  10 ,  20  could be used. For example, more or less trap spaces  310  can be deployed in various spaces  302 . 
   Advantages 
   The hereinabove described version of the present invention has many advantages, and results in a strategic board game  400  that is enjoyable and challenging for humans to play, but is difficult for computers. 
   There are several reasons why the game  400  is difficult for computers to play. First, the number of new board positions that can arise after a player  100 ,  200  takes a turn runs into the thousands as compared to an average of about thirty for chess. With a much greater range of possibilities at each turn it becomes extremely hard for computers to search through all of the potential moves to find the better moves. For example at the start of a chess game white has twenty possible moves. In the inventive game  400  a player  100 ,  200  has about 2,000 to 3,000 possible moves in the first turn depending on the way the player  100 ,  200  chooses to place the pieces  10 ,  20  for the initial setup. During mid-game the number of possible moves can range from about 5,000 to 40,000. If we assume an average of 20,000 possible moves at each turn, looking forward just two turns (each player  100 ,  200  taking two turns) means exploring about 160 million billion positions. Even if a computer was five times faster than Deep Blue and could evaluate a billion positions per second it would still take it more than five years to explore all the possible positions. 
   Another important factor is that the starting position of the game is not fixed as it is in chess. There are more than 64 million different ways in which each player  100 ,  200  can set up their pieces at the start of the game. This makes it very difficult for a computer to develop complete databases of opening moves. One of the difficulties that humans have when playing chess against computers is that they can easily fall into an opening trap. In order to avoid this, a human player  100 ,  200  must be extremely familiar with a very large number of chess openings. This basically boils down to memorization, which computers are extremely good at and humans are not. Even Bobby Fischer, a former World Champion, has proposed allowing different starting positions in chess to counter the problem of computers having an opening advantage. 
   Lastly computers will have difficulty with the inventive game  400  because it is much more of a positional game that relies more heavily on intuition than calculable tactics compared to chess. Computers are great at spotting tactics and taking advantage of them, but they have a much harder time trying to determine if a materially equivalent position is more advantageous for one side or the other. Chess Grand Masters are constantly trying to get their computer opponents into a positional disadvantage while trying to avoid tactical mistakes. After playing Deep Blue, Garry Kasparov wrote that the experience was like walking through a mine field. The inventive game  400  tips the scale in favor of humans by reducing reliance on tactics and giving more importance to position. 
   Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character—it being understood that only preferred embodiments have been shown and described, and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected. Undoubtedly, many other variations on the themes set forth hereinabove will occur to one having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention most nearly pertains, and such variations are intended to be within the scope of the invention, as disclosed herein.