What games would you induct into an abstract strategy game Hall of Fame?

[richardhutnik]

One IAGO project is to create an abstract strategy game Hall of Fame. I am curious which abstract strategy games people would induct into a Hall of Fame. This is my initial 12 now:

1. Checkers Family of Games (Successors to Alquerque)
2. Chess (Chataranga / Shatranj derived, like 11 and 12))
3. Fox & Geese / Hounds & Jackals / Officers & Sepoys Family of Games
4. Go (Territorial Capture/Control) Family of Games
5. GoMoku / Renju Family of Games
6. Halma / Star Halma (Chinese Checkers)
7. Hex (Connection games) Family of Games
8. Mancala Family of Games
9. Mill / Morris Family of Games
10. Tablut / Hnefatafl Family of Games
11. XiangQi (Chinese Chess)
12. Shogi (Chess-like game of Japan)

Misses first year (due to it being a commercial abstract strategy game):
Reversi (Othello). Note, the games are mostly in alphabetical order, outside of the last two.

What would you introduce? You can see some suggestions here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/34312

[chessandpoker]

hmmmmm....I'll try to think of some more for you. it seems like there should be more, but what am I forgetting?

[richardhutnik]

hmmmmm....I'll try to think of some more for you. it seems like there should be more, but what am I forgetting?

You can see what was discussed on Boardgame Geek to get some ideas. You can see what happens when Backgammon gets suggested, for example:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/34312

Connect 4 may make it someday, but does miss the first cut now. Rock, Paper, Scissors, despite some debating, didn't make this list. And poker is NOT an abstract strategy game. I don't think women's volleyball or high heels racing is either :)

[chessandpoker]

You can see what happens when Backgammon gets suggested

yes, backgammon is borderline. It seems like it should be considered an abstract game but I can understand votes in the other direction. however, it's pedigree as one of the top strategy games would push it through imo.

Connect 4 may make it someday, but does miss the first cut now. Rock, Paper, Scissors, despite some debating, didn't make this list. And poker is NOT an abstract strategy game.

def connect four. it's probably more widely played than many of the games already on the list. I mean, everyone has connect four in their game pile! I've been putting some work towards a connect four strategy guide since I read that it was a 'solved' game. however, I've been beating the programs such as Mustrum way too easily so I probably need to find someone who actually has a strong program to practice on. but it gets my vote nonetheless.

RPS is barely debatable as an abstract strategy game. I'd vote no for the categorization as abstract strategy, although I'm not sure what category I'd put it in except for one of my all-time favorites! Poker is also uber-popular but correctly not categorized as abstract. agreed agreed.

I don't think women's volleyball or high heels racing is either :)

what?! :dry: well....what about Women's High-Heeled Chess? follow my lead Richard it's where the future is headed anyway (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/) :)

AHA! here's the website I was thinking of. go to http://www.abstractstrategy.com/main.html and click The List. there are some games and puzzles on there I've never heard of, and it's just a cool site to click around on. Here's another site I stumbled through with a huge list of abstract games: http://www.funagain.com/control/category/~category_id=GENRE_0364 hope it helps richard!

I suppose Women's boom run is off the list too? :frustration:

[richardhutnik]

The problem with backgammon is that invariably leads to people wanting to consider Dominoes as an abstract strategy game. There are abstract games that are no abstract strategy games. Dominoes then leads to cards, and soon with abstract strategy games being all boardgames. I actually had someone literally ask me that. He even thought Monopoly could be an abstract strategy game. The only thing he didn't consider an abstract strategy game was a complex wargame (I guess like World in Flames or Advanced Third Reich).

Connect 4 was on the list to consider. The public domain is actually "Captain's Mistress". My interest the first round is to avoid anything remotely commercial, so you can get a safe baseline done. Imagine we get 10 games done, all public domain. This then can become a basis for a decathlon event, and a decent multigame set. Only possible exception would be Hex, which was jointly invented in Europe and America separately, and put connection games on the map. Parker Bros. did sell it one time as "Hex" so that is the only issue. And I also don't think solved is an issue to whether or not a game gets inducted.

RPS, if you look at elements, and care for variance off combinatorial game theory games (only core definition that is universally agreed abstract strategy games), then RPS can end up fitting.

By the way, the issue with abstract strategy games is everyone thinks they know what they are, once you discuss them. They just disagree as to what the definition for them is, outside of the combinatorial game theory games.