14 posts tagged with games by Wolfdog.
Displaying 1 through 14 of 14.

The Story of Lichess

The Story of Lichess [YT] - You may know that lichess.org is a popular, free chess server. How did it start? How did it grow? How does it stay free?
posted by Wolfdog on Aug 23, 2024 - 11 comments

The metapuzzle is where to find time for all the puzzles

Grandmaster Puzzles is a blog that posts a wide range of logic puzzles (many Sudoku variants, Minesweeper puzzles, Slitherlink, Fillomino, Nurikabe, Puzzle Hunts... and the list goes considerably on) designed by expert puzzle-makers. There's lots to see and do; you might like to start by browsing the Best Of... category, where some of the puzzles are dazzling to look at even if you have no intention of solving them.
posted by Wolfdog on Oct 8, 2019 - 10 comments

I can change your whole direction...

Hex: A Strategy Guide – Matthew Seymour's online book is a thorough guide to playing the abstract strategy game, from the rules and board to up-to-date, advanced strategy and tactics. It includes annotated games and many wonderful interactive diagrams in-line with the text. [more inside]
posted by Wolfdog on May 31, 2019 - 3 comments

"A perfect example of combinatorial explosion."

How I created a database of all interesting Rush Hour configurationsRush Hour is a 6x6 sliding block puzzle invented by Nob Yoshigahara in the 1970s. It was first sold in the United States in 1996 ... Ultimately I ended up with a complete database of every "interesting" starting position. It was quite challenging (and exciting!) and that's what I want to talk about in this article. My code is open source with a permissive license and the resulting database is available for download. And happiest of all, you can play the puzzles in an excellent browser-based implementation.
posted by Wolfdog on Jul 29, 2018 - 10 comments

You sank my battleship... with probability!

Battleship Probability Calculator by C. Liam Brown. Finds the best squares to try during the game.
posted by Wolfdog on Sep 17, 2015 - 14 comments

Rainy Day

Pencil and Paper Games is devoted to games you can play with nothing more than a pencil and a piece of paper (some of which can be played on the site, for those who do not have access to a pencil and paper, or remember what those are.) [more inside]
posted by Wolfdog on Nov 26, 2014 - 11 comments

Why did I do it? Because I could.

How I invented games, and why not - an essay by game designer Christian Freeling. Between 1979 and 1986 I invented some fourty abstract games, most of which can be found in the ArenA and the Pit. Dameo, HanniBall, YvY and Symple(x) are exceptions. Dameo's invention in 2000, after an incubation period of fifteen years, took two minutes. The invention of HanniBall and YvY in 2009 and Symple and Lhexus in 2010 were 'live' occurences decribed in a late arrival and a final whisper respectively. Looking back now, from a safe distance, and with the benefit of hindsight, I'd like to clarify how and why I invented these games, and more specifically why not...
posted by Wolfdog on May 11, 2011 - 5 comments

Elves Under Hoof

Elves Under Hoof (direct link to a zipped file of four PDFs) is a free print-and-play solitaire game from Dan Verssen. From the rules: Victory: You win when the last elf is dead. You achieve a Prancing Victory if you have 5 or more surviving reindeer. You get a Spoiled Meat Victory if you have 2 or less surviving reindeer. You lose if all your reindeer are killed and left to rot in the snow. It is included, naturally, in the Games involving Elf Death list at BoardGameGeek.
posted by Wolfdog on Dec 20, 2008 - 4 comments

LiveDosGames

LiveDosGames is a free, portable, fast Linux Operating System, which contains old, but legendary Dos games (and fits on a USB stick)
posted by Wolfdog on Dec 17, 2008 - 45 comments

Twisty megapost

Walter Randelshofer's Pretty Patterns collection (for Rubik's cubes up to 5x5x5) is one of the nicest twisty puzzle sites going. It's based on his CubeTwister software, which you can download (including a lovely OS X standalone). If you really want a treasure trove of twisty polyhedra, check out gelatinBrain's enormous collection of java applets (which unfortunately don't do so well on macs). Are those things even physically possible? Really? Mini bonus: Randelshofer also hosts an archive of fondly-remembered Amiga animations.
posted by Wolfdog on Mar 31, 2008 - 8 comments

Rocks 'n' Diamonds

Rocks 'n' Diamonds for some Friday puzzle-game fun. Described as "in the tradition of" Boulderdash and Sokoban, it's actually a superset of both, and you can waste tons of time playing all the old familiar levels or tons of others. (It's a quick download, for linux/os x/the other thing.)
posted by Wolfdog on Mar 28, 2008 - 12 comments

Kurnik online games

Kurnik is a (free) online game site - bridge, chess, go, hex, that sort of thing - that's been established for years but only recently launched an English-language version. It seems notable among the many many many online game sites for lightweight, clean, ad-free design. The games are java-based.
posted by Wolfdog on Aug 6, 2005 - 6 comments

Socrates is there, Socrates heads it in! Socrates has scored!

Phutball (Rules, Java Applet), aka Philosophers' Football or ConwayGo is a deceptively simple 2-player game you can play on a Go board, or any rectangular grid. (It may be simple, but finding the right move is [PDF] NP Complete.)
posted by Wolfdog on Aug 2, 2005 - 7 comments

Indeed I know it, brother

Bunnock - a game of skill, accuracy... and horse bones. Register your team for the world championship!
posted by Wolfdog on Jun 10, 2005 - 6 comments

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