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    Names: »kriegspiel.6«

└─⟦b20c6495f⟧ Bits:30007238 EUUGD18: Wien-båndet, efterår 1987
    └─⟦this⟧ »EUUGD18/General/Kriegspiel/kriegspiel.6« 

TextFile

.TH KRIEGSPIEL 6 "2 May 1986"
.UC 4
.SH NAME
kriegspiel \- A Chess Variant
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B kriegspiel
[-bwcaprsdh] user[@machine]
.br
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Kriegspiel
is a chess variant in which each player cannot see his opponents
pieces.  The computer acts as a judge for two players. The rules of
Kriegspiel are discussed at the end of this document.
.PP
The game must be invoked separately by two users.  Various options may be
chosen in the command line; conflicting options (such as if both players
choose white) are resolved with a flip of a coin.
.PP
Moves may be specified in either algebraic or descriptive notation.  Most
standard methods will work.  For example, all of the following are legal
(and equivalent) for white's first move:  p-k4, p/k2-k4, e2e4, e4, pe4.
In descriptive notation, always use the '-', except when attempting a
pawn take, where an 'x' is required (such as pxkb4).  Note that in
algebraic, moves must be entered from white's point of view; thus if
you are black, square a1 is in the upper right.  (See 'r'
option, below.)  Castling can be done with o-o (king side) and o-o-o (queen
side), or by moving the king two squares.
.PP
The other commands available are:
.PP
.br
.ns
.TP 15
resign
I resign.
.br
.ns
.TP
draw
Offer a draw.
.br
.ns
.TP
help
Give examples of legal commands.
.br
.ns
.TP
any
Can I take with any of my pawns?
.br
.ns
.TP
.RI say \ string
Send message to opponent.
.br
.ns
.TP
.I Control-L
Redraw the screen (when typed at any time).
.PP
Under the default options, you will be informed of the following
information when applicable:
.nf
(1) your opponent tries an illegal move
(2) you or your opponent is in check from the appropriate direction
(3) your piece is taken (but not your opponent's piece is taken)
(4) your opponent asks `any', and the response
.fi
.PP
The game ends if either player is checkmated or stalemated, if both players
have insufficient material, if either player resigns, if both players
agree on a draw, or the game can end due to hardware error.  (But not if
the same position comes up three times or if the game goes 50 consecutive
moves without a piece take or pawn capture, as in ordinary chess).

.SH OPTIONS
.PP
Options preceded by a `-' turn the option off.  If the players choose
conflicting option, then the option will be chosen by a flip of a coin.
.PP
.br
.ns
.TP 15
w
I wish to be white.  Negated by opponent choosing options `c' or
`w'
.br
.ns
.TP
b
I wish to be black.  Negated by opponent choosing options `c' or
`b'
.br
.ns
.TP
c
Force color to be chosen randomly.  This is the default if neither person
chooses a color.
.br
.ns
.TP
a
Announce to both players when a piece is taken, revealing also
whether it was a pawn or a major piece that was taken.  Also
announce if a pawn ever promotes.
.br
.ns
.TP
p
Announce to both players how many possible ways the player to move
can take with his pawns (if he can at all).  The player to move can
only try three moves which take with his pawns.  If, after exhausting these
three tries, the player's
only legal move is to take with his pawn, then the player is
checkmated or stalemated as appropriate.  If the player tries the
same take twice, this will not be counted against him.  The `any'
command is ignored under this option.
.br
.ns
.TP
r
Reverse the direction from which algebraic moves are accepted if I
am black.  (Thus, e2e4 on black's first move would move the pawn
in front of your king up two squares.  Without this option set, the
move would be entered as d7d5 in algebraic)
.br
.ns
.TP
d
Dumb terminal:  Use this option if the graphics don't seem to be
working well.  This may help.
.br
.ns
.TP
h
Print out this help file.
.br
.ns
.TP
s
Make me the server.  This option should only be used as a last
resort.  Invisibly to the user, one player is the
server, and one is the client.  These are usually chosen by the
program by a protocol.  If you're having troubles connecting with
your opponent, then try the following:  One player invoke the
program with the `s' option, and one with the `-s' option.
.br
.ns
.TP
.I n
A number to be used as the port.  This option
should only be used if you are having troubles connecting.  Both players
should select the same number to be used to compute
the port on which they communicate.
.SH RULES
Kriegspiel is a chess variation dating back at least before WWII.
It requires three people: two players and a judge.  The players sit back to
back, each with a board with only their own pieces.  The judge has a board
between the players, with the entire position.  Each player in his turn
tries different moves.  For each illegal move tried, the judge says
`illegal' aloud.  If a player is put into check, this fact is said out
loud, along with the direction from which he/she is in check: Check along
the file, rank, short diagonal, long diagonal (from the point of view of
the king), and knight.  When the player makes a legal move, that is the
move he must play.
.PP
Beyond this, the amount of information the judge should reveal is
controversial.  The author prefers the following.  If a piece is taken, the
judge (quietly) removes the piece from the injured party's board.  On
her/his turn, a person may ask `any?', meaning `Are there any ways of
taking any of my opponent's pieces with any of my pawns?'  The judge
answers aloud `yes' or `no', as appropriate.  The reason this rule is
included is to speed up the game;  otherwise each player would try all
possible pawn takes at the start of each turn.  The disadvantage with
asking `any?' is that the opponent also finds out the answer; the advantage
is that the player is under no obligation to actually take a piece with one
of his pawns, even if the answer is yes.  (Thus, he has gained information
for free.)
.PP
Some people prefer to play that takes are announced out loud,
along with whether the piece taken was a pawn or not, allowing the players
to have an idea how well their doing.  Furthermore, that it should be
announced not only whether a person has any available pawn tries, but also
how many on every move.  This extra information, it is said, makes the game
less chaotic and random, and keeps it from becoming like Battleship.
However, the extra information is somewhat tempered by the fact that a
person may only try to take in three different ways with his pawns, after
which a pawn take becomes illegal.
.SH AUTHOR
David Wolfe
.SH BUGS
There is no way of saving a game in progress.  This is particularly
frustrating if you are playing on an unreliable network:  If the network
goes down, give it up...
.PP
Other bugs, unknown.  Please notify me:  wolfe@ernie.berkeley.edu