Description

Pletore is a drawless territory game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the intersections (points) of an initially empty square grid (board). Each player must have access to a sufficient number of stones of their own color.

Two stones, or a stone and an empty point, see each other if they lie on the same row or column and there are no other stones between them along that line. You pinch a point if it sees stones of your color in at least one horizontal direction and one vertical direction. You control a point if you pinch it while your opponent does not. To flip a stone is to replace it with a stone of the opposite color.

Black plays first, then turns alternate. On your turn, perform exactly one of the following actions: a) Pass, provided that there are no empty points or every empty point is controlled by some player. b) Place a stone of your color on an empty point not controlled by your opponent. c) Flip an enemy stone on a point you control. On even-sized boards only, to prevent mirror play, the position after White's first move must be such that flipping the two stones on the board is not equivalent to rotating the board by 180º. The game ends when both players pass in succession. The player with the higher score in the final position wins. Your score is the number of stones of your color on the board, plus the number of empty points you control, plus komi in the case of White. The button is used to avoid ties.

Komi is the whole number of points which is added to White's score at the end of the game as compensation for going second. Before the game starts, the first player chooses the value of komi, and then the second player chooses sides. Alternatively, experienced players may agree on a standard value for all games. The button is a special token which is placed next to the board at the start of the game. It is only used when komi and the board size have the same parity (i.e. they are both odd or both even). On your turn, if neither player has taken the button yet, you may not pass, but you may take the button instead of making a board play. At the end of the game, a half point is added to the score of the player who has taken the button.

Pletore was inspired by Micha? Zapa?a's Tumbleweed.