Blosme

Description

Blosme (from Middle English: blosme, meaning "flower") is a drawless loop-forming game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the hexes (cells) of an initially empty hexagonal board. The game is guaranteed to end with at least one loop (flower). The recommended board size is 6 cells per side, although boards of 5 or 7 cells per side are also valid. Each player has an ample supply of stones of their own color. Definitions: A group is a maximal set of connected stones of the same color. A single stone is also a group. A flower is a closed loop of stones of the same color that completely surrounds a region of the board. The interior of a flower may contain empty cells, opponent stones, and friendly stones that are not part of the flower itself. The value of a flower is the number of stones that form it. If a stone belongs to two or more flowers, it is counted only once. Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, place one stone of your color on an empty cell. If the resulting group touches the edge of the board and is adjacent to one or more enemy groups, the placement is legal only if at least one of those enemy groups does not touch the edge. If you cannot place stones, pass your turn; otherwise, passing is not allowed. Before consecutive passes, there must be at least one adjacency between groups of different colors. End of the game:The game ends when both players pass on consecutive turns. A player's score is the sum of the values of all their flowers. The player who made the last placement receives an additional half point. The player with the higher score wins. To balance the game, before starting, the first player places a black stone and the second player chooses a side. This method of balancing is known as the pie rule. —description from the designer

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