Board Game Studies Colloquim Xi

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Proceedings of
Board Game Studies Colloquium XI
Jorge Nuno Silva (Ed.)
Associação Ludus
Lisboa, 2009
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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Sociable Game of the Goose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Adrian Seville
Jogos Matemáticos, A Portuguese Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Alda Carvalho, Carlos Santos, João Neto, Jorge Nuno Silva
An English riddle: Chess and Draughts in medieval England . . . . . . . . 27
Arie van der Stoep
At the crossroads of trade in the Indian Ocean - a ludic exploration . 31
Alex de Voogt
The development and dispersal of l’Attaque games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Fred Horn and Alex Voogt
Toward a Classification of Non-Electronic Table Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Bruce Whitehill
Alekhine’s Death: Murder or natural causes?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Dagoberto Markl
Elements of chance and skill in games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
David Parlett
Draughts and Academies des Jeux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Jürgen Stigter
Origami’s Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Liliana Monteiro
Puzzles with polyhedra and numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Jorge Rezende
The History of Combinatorial Game Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Richard J. Nowakowski
The use of the game of chess to represent famous battles . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Pedro Palhares
Mathematical Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Dores Ferreira, Pedro Palhares, Jorge Nuno Silva
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Goths, Vikings and Hanseatic Town.

Gaming pieces from the Museum of Archeology and
History Elbag collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Piotr Adamczyk
Pente grammai - the ancient Greek board game Five Lines. . . . . . . . .169
Ulrich Schädler
Education via a Board Game — Understanding forecasting . . . . . . . . 193
Rozainun Haji Abdul Aziz
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Introduction
Jorge Nuno Silva
The Board Game Studies Colloquium XI1 took place in the Museum of
Science of the University of Lisbon, organized by the Ludus Association, in
April of 2008.
The sequence of yearly colloquia, started in London in 1990, had one
more term. It is hard to put in words the meaning that this event had for
the Portuguese organizers. The subject of Bord Games is an emergent one
in Academia and the University of Lisbon is proud to have played a small
role in its development.
This colloquium was one of the activities linked with games that the
Ludus Association has been recently engaged in. The exhibition Mathemat-
ical Games Throughout the Ages2 , that was first seen by the participants,
the organization of the Portuguese Championship of Mathematical Games3
deserve mention.
Besides the cultural and technical studies that Board Games suggest, we
promote the practice of the best ones among the Portuguese school commu-
nity.
The next pages give an overview of the talks we attended. The subjects
are scattered, we invite the reader to jump immediately into any appealing
paper.
1
http://ludicum.org/bgs08/
2
http://wwmat.mat.fc.ul.pt/˜jnsilva/Exhibition/index.html
3
http://ludicum.org/cnjm
Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 1000–1014

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The Sociable Game of the Goose
Adrian Seville
City University, London
This is an expanded version of the paper presented to the Board Game

Studies Colloquium in Lisbon in April 2008.
References in the form [Ciompi n] are to the Goose-game site set up and
maintained by Dr Luigi Ciompi at http://www.giochidelloca.it where
legible images and further information on each particular game may be
viewed by typing the number n into the codice field on the archivio page.
Overview
The Game of Goose (Jeu de l’Oie, Giocodelloca, etc.) is a simple race game
played with dice on a spiral track, with the usual tokens, the aim being
to arrive exactly at the winning space, numbered 63 in traditional versions.
The track is provided with favourable spaces, each traditionally marked with
a goose, and with hazards, involving payment into the winner’s pool, and in
most cases delaying the player’s progress. In this traditional form, the game
is one of pure chance, the movement of the tokens being entirely determined
by the throw of the dice. Indeed, the course of the game can readily be
simulated by computer, with no human interaction [Seville, 2001].
However, there do exist variant versions, in which the human aspect of
the players becomes significant and the players are required by the rules to
interact in ways that are not confined to movement of a token according
to the dice throw or the payment of determined stakes. Into this category
fall many, but not all, educational variants. There are also a few games
in which different rules apply according to the gender of the player. Then,
there are games in which the player is called upon to undertake the playing
of a particular role, with or without influence on the actual play. And finally
there are games — such as those involving forfeits — where the player is
called upon to perform a particular action. These last exhibit some crossover
into the category of party games (jeux de societé).
4 The Sociable Game of the Goose
This paper discusses these variant categories, placing them in their his-
torical and social context against the background of the development of race
games over four centuries, and briefly indicates the relevance of this analysis
for the modern designer of games.
The traditional Game of Goose

Before discussing variant forms, it is helpful to review the social context
of the game in its ‘traditional’ form [Seville, 1999]. The Game of Goose is
historically the most important spiral race game ever devised. It has its
roots in the Italy of Francesco de Medici (1574–87), who, as [Carrera, 1617]
reports, sent it as a present to King Philip II of Spain. The game took hold
there and elsewhere in continental Europe, where it is still played. When
John Wolfe introduced it into England on the 10th June 1597 [Stationers’
Hall register, London] it was called The Newe and most Pleasant Game of
the Goose, though its princely roots led it often to be labelled as ‘Royal’, as
in the oldest surviving English board: The Royall & Most Pleasant Game
of Ye Goose printed by John Overton at the Black Lion in Exeter Exchange
[in the Hannas collection sold at Sotheby’s, London in 1984 and dated in
the catalogue as c. 1660]. Although the game was regarded as a suitable
diversion for a Dauphin of France, the game had also a popular following
and was regularly played for gambling stakes by men in taverns.
Figure 1 Goose as a gambling game in a tavern — detail from Het nieuw en

vermaekelyke GANSEN-SPEL, Charles de Goesin-Disbecq, Ghent, end 17th C
(author’s collection [Ciompi 992])

Adrian Seville 5
Over the years, this rough gambling element diminished and the game
became one that could be played in respectable mixed company [Figure 2]
or indeed in the family with children [Figure 3], until by the 20th century it
became regarded as a children’s game [Figure 4].
Figure 2 Goose in respectable mixed company — detail from Bowles’s ROYAL

and Entertaining GAME of the GOOSE, Carington Bowles, London, mid 18th C
(author’s collection [Ciompi 927])
Figure 3 Goose as family entertainment — detail from Nieuw Vermakelijk

Ganzenspel, Vlieger, Amsterdam, late 19th C (author’s collection)

Figure 4 Goose as a children’s game — detail from Het aloude Ganzenspel, Daan
Hoeksema, Netherlands, early 20th C (collection of Christine Sinninghe Damsté)
Variants of Goose
The question arises as to what games can properly be regarded as variants

of traditional Goose [Seville, 1999]. The present paper is essentially con-
cerned with unicursal race games played with dice or an equivalent random
number generator such as a teetotum (a spinner in the form of a small top).
Very many such games are derived from Goose, though not all: for example,
Snakes and Ladders, which may be regarded as unicursal if the ladder/snake
excursions from the track are implemented by forward or backward move-
ment, has a separate historical pedigree of comparable age [Parlett, 1999].
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of the influence of Goose is if the
game has favourable spaces embodying the Goose rule of moving the token
past the goose space to the extent of the throw. Another is the reverse
overthrow rule, seen in most versions of the traditional game (though not
in Spain), whereby a player overshooting the winning space must count
backwards from it until the throw is fully used. Again, the hazard spaces in
their particular rules and/or iconography may reflect those in the traditional
game, most notably death, on space 58, which requires the player to begin
the game again, or the prison or the well, both of which require the player
to remain unless and until rescued by another, who must then suffer the
same fate. In the examples set out below, the extent to which each game
resonates with traditional Goose will be indicated.

Adrian Seville 7
Educational Race Games
Educational race games based on Goose are a French invention of the 17th
century. The earliest known game of this type is Mariette’s Jeu Chronologi-
que, dated 1638 [D’Allemagne, 1950, p. 44] designed to teach History. It was
followed by games designed to teach Geography, the Arts of War, Heraldry
— indeed, all the accomplishments required of the noble cadet class studying
in the colleges of France. These were expensive games produced from finely
engraved copper plates, predominantly in and near the Rue St. Jacques in
Paris, as opposed to the more down-market provincial productions of games
for amusement, from woodcut blocks.
It is evident from these games that some participation was expected

of the players. For example, in Duval’s Le Jeu des Princes de L’Europe,
published by Nicolas Berey in 1662 [Ciompi 541], each of the 63 circular
spaces of the spiral track is a small map of a region or country of Europe,
with France as the winning space. A map of Europe is in the centre. A
note to the rules advises as follows: “He who would take some profit in
Geography concerning the knowledge of Europe should take care to say the
names of the countries where he arrives and to read those of the towns
that are found there” [present author’s translation]. Duval’s game is clearly
based on Goose, as is evident from the careful grouping of countries and
provinces to produce the canonical 63 spaces. And many of the particular
rules for the individual spaces derive from this source, for example Candie
at No. 57: Must be arrested to serve against the infidels and must stay
until another takes his place (cf. the Goose prison rule). Duval’s games also
take from Goose the fact that their rules are concise enough to be included
on the playing surface, so that the game could be played quite quickly, as
compared with more erudite educational games where there was continual
reference to a separate and often lengthy book of rules.
In England, the development of educational race games began about

100 years later than in France [Shefrin, 1999]. Whitehouse [1951] gives the
first dated game of this kind as that invented by John Jefferys in 1759: A
Journey through Europe, or the Play of Geography, published by Carington
Bowles in London [Figure 5]

Figure 5 The earliest dated English educational game, John Jefferys’ A Journey
through Europe, or the Play of Geography, Carington Bowles, London, 1759
(Whitehouse, 1951, plate 1)
The rules to be observed in the game begin: “The Journey through

Europe is to be played in all respects the same as the Game of Goose.
Whoever begins to spin the Totum first must place his man on the very
number that turns up...”. The ‘totum’ (later known as the teetotum) was
used because in this period the use of dice was frowned upon, as being
associated with gambling and cheating. The rules then explain how the next
move is to be made by adding the next number spun, that the directions
given for the various places encountered are to be followed, and that if the
number spun carries a man past the winning space (London, at 77), the
excess is to be counted negative — i.e., reverse overthrows are played, just
as in the Game of Goose. Indeed, the game has considerable structural
similarity to traditional Goose. The doubling forward of the throw when a
goose space is encountered is found in Jefferys’ game, where the equivalent
spaces are ‘...any number where a King lives’, and the player who lands on
such a number has the privilege of reckoning his spin twice over. The rules
for the individual hazard spaces are instructive, for example: “he who lands
on No. 42 Venice must stay one turn, to see the noble bridge called the
Rialto”. But no player-participation is required to reinforce the educational

Adrian Seville 9
message. There is, though, an element of role-playing for the winner: “He
who rests on No. 77 at London wins the play, shall have the honour of
kissing the King of Great Britain’s hand and shall be knighted and shall
receive the compliments of all the company in regard to his new dignity”.
Before the end of the century, English educational games were beginning
to follow the lead of the French in requiring active participation from the
players. For example, in Wallis and Newbery’s Royal Genealogical Pastime
of the Sovereigns of England [Ciompi 980], published in 1791, the rule is
expounded as follows: “As an encouragement to the player for the attention
he may pay to the useful Science of Genealogy, he will be entitled to move
one number forward when he can tell without looking into the description
of the game what King immediately preceded and followed that number on
which chance may have thrown his pyramid; and if he can tell the date
in which such King was born began his reign and how long he reigned he
shall be allowed to move one number more forward.” This game, though it is
deliberately made to look like a genealogical chart, is in fact a unicursal race
game, played with ‘pyramids’ as moveable tokens and using an eight-sided
‘totum’ in place of dice. The educational ‘utility’ of the game is clearly
set out: “This being a scientific game in which the amusement and the
instruction of the parties are equally considered, we hope that the young
player will not think much of exercising his memory to acquire a perfect
knowledge of it. Most games are calculated only to promote little arts
and cunning but this, while it will undoubtedly amuse, will not a little
contribute to make the players acquainted with the genealogy of their own
King” (George iii — the winning space at No. 52). Reverse overthrows are
played, as in Goose. There is no equivalent of the Goose doubling rule but
landing on Henry viii results in the instruction: “as his treatment of his
queens was so unjustifiable, the player must go back to No.1” — recalling
the death rule and being an early example of “go back to square one”.
The use of a separate rule booklet, following French precedents of the
17th century, is common in the many English games intended to teach his-
tory. Much more detail could be given in this form than could be shown
on the playing surface but at the cost of slowing down the game consider-
ably. Typical of such games is Wallis’ New Game of Universal History and
Chronology [Ciompi 854]. Published in 1814 with George Prince Regent as
the winning space at No. 138, the game was accompanied by a 24-page
booklet, of which pages 3 to 17 set out the rules to be observed on the in-
dividual spaces, which constitute a chronological track of historical events.
The pages that follow give an ‘Outline of History’ associated with certain
of the historical events that are judged to be particularly important, with

the rule: “Where a player is directed to read the history of an event, in

another page, he shall have the privilege, after so doing, of spinning again,
and be rewarded with a counter from each player”. The choice of important
events is to our modern minds a little obscure, e.g. No. 5 Babylonish and
Assyrian monarchies founded A M 1787. However, none can quarrel with
the selection of No. 10 Birth of Moses AM 2433 or No. 16 Birth of Homer
(“if you can say who he was and what he wrote receive 2 from each player;
otherwise place 6 [counters] on 13 [Trojan War] and learn there”). The se-
lection of the Birth of Mahomet (No. 58) as an important historical event
is an encouraging indication of some breadth of religious understanding in
Regency times; but this positive view was evidently too challenging for the
owner of the present author’s copy of the booklet where the relevant rule
has a chilling manuscript addition — begin again. This is an example of
another kind of social interaction with the game — the imposition of local
or family rules.
Our final example is a game published in Germany in about 1933: the
Reise der Deutschland (Tour of Germany) [Ciompi 526]. At first sight, this
looks like so many of the games published from the end of the 19th century to
promote tourism, especially in Switzerland. But there are differences! First,
this is the divided Germany that resulted from the Treaty of Versailles,
after World War 1, as sown by the swathe of white that represents the
Polish (Danzig) Corridor. It is significant that the ‘Tour’ swings confidently
through this region (by motor bus and with the appropriate documentation).
Next, though there is a general atmosphere of rural life, supported by the
images of country workers in traditional costume, a warship lurks in the
Baltic Sea. And the detailed account of the tour begins in Berlin, with
reference to the opening by Hitler of the first Reichstag of the Third Reich.
This game evidently had a political message — but, as the rules printed
on the envelope make clear, the message was not aimed at the tourist. At
various points in the tour, the player is required to repeat accurately a short
verse. For example, at No. 19, on the River Oder, two piles of crops are
shown, one labelled ‘with potash’ and the other, a smaller one, ‘without
potash’. The player landing there is required to repeat after the leader (the
oldest player):
Kartoffeln, Futter und Zuderrueben

Kali und Stallmist besonders lieben.
(potatoes, mangold and sugar beet like potash and stable-manure very
much). If this is done without error, the player advances to No. 24. The

Adrian Seville 11
game is in fact a promotional device for fertilisers produced by the German

firm of Kainits. The social interaction in this game is evidently complex,
with messages at various levels being imparted, and reinforced through au-
thority of seniority in the social circle.
Over the centuries, therefore, educational race games have developed
from those in which learning is incidental to the enjoyment of play, to those
in which success in learning is tested with rigour and rewarded by favourable
moves in the game itself. And, like other effective learning tools, they can
be used to promote a variety of ends, not all of them necessarily overt or
altruistic.
Male/Female rules
A few race games have rules that differ according to the gender of the player.
One might expect the various games of courtship and matrimony to fall
into this category but not all do. Thus Crepy’s Nouveau Jeu de l’Himen
(Paris, 1725) [Ciompi 790] has no such differences of rule. However, the
same firm’s Les Etrennes de la Jeunesse (1713) [Ciompi 921] has different
tracks for the two sexes and markedly different rules: this game is treated
below as a game of forfeits (section 7). In the 18th century English game
of Courtship and Matrimony [Ciompi 978] (publisher unknown) there is an
interesting and highly thematic rule difference. Though the track is 64
spaces in length rather than 63, this game is clearly derived from Goose, the
favourable spaces where the throw is counted again being denoted by the
titles of popular ballads of the period, several of which are familiar as the
tunes used in John Gay’s Beggars’ Opera of 1728. Most spaces are governed
by rules that are not gender specific but the Prison at No. 55 has the
following rule: “Pay 1 into ye pool stand there & lose 3 turns of throwing
unless released by another coming in. N.B. If one of ye other sex comes in
it is a Fleet marriage and you win the Game and divide the pool” (A Fleet
marriage was a marriage which took place in the Fleet Prison in London,
which claimed to be outside the jurisdiction of the Church. Disgraced or
pretending clergymen often conducted them, for a fee. Such marriages were
in fact legal until the Marriage Act of 1753).
The Dutch game of Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas) first published by
G Theod. Bom about 1858 [Ciompi 832] affords an example of another
kind. This is a 63-space game with favourable spaces of the Goose type,
marked by boots and shoes containing the presents traditional in Holland
for the season of the Saint’s day, in December. As is usual with Goose-

games, where the geese are spaces at intervals of 9 there are special rules to
deal with an initial throw of 9, which would otherwise give an immediate
win by jumping all the way to 63. The standard Goose rule is that if the
throw, with double dice, is by 6 and 3, the move is to space 26, whereas if
it by 5 and 4, the move is to space 53; these two spaces are traditionally
marked with images of dice, to remind the players of the rule. However, in
the Sint Nicolaas game, the special rule is that an initial throw of 6 and
3 leads to space 25 if the thrower is a man and to space 26 if a woman:
these two spaces respectively are marked with a young woman and a young
man, both eminently marriageable. But an initial throw of 5 and 4 leads
to space 51 if the thrower is a man and to space 53 if a woman: these two
spaces respectively are marked with an old woman and an old man, both
well beyond the age of marriage. These throws would no doubt have led to
much general amusement among the company.
An example of a different kind is provided by The New Royal Game of
Goose a 19th century English game [Ciompi 586] where the track is in the
form of a goose. Although the track has 63 spaces and does have Goose
spaces (though not at traditional numbers), the rules are very idiosyncratic.
One such rule is at space 57, which shows a man with a pipe: here, the rule
is that the player ‘must, unless a lady’ go back to 47 — plainly, no lady ever
smoked a pipe!
These male/female rule variations, though rare, are interesting in con-
firming that the games concerned were intended to be played in mixed com-
pany, even at periods of history when there may have been disapproval of
dice games and gambling generally.
Role-playing
An extension of the recognition of specific male/female roles is role-playing
of a more diverse kind. One might have thought that race games such as
Goose would lend themselves to such variations, with corresponding variant
rules that would perhaps wittily reflect the role assumed by, or assigned to,
the individual player. However, such is the strength of tradition — fortified
by the merit of the traditional rules in furnishing an exciting but fair game
— that examples are hard to find in close variants of Goose, notwithstanding
the huge range of thematic treatments over several thousands of published
games.
Thus, in the football game, Guioco del Calcio (Marca Stella, 1920)[Ciompi
113], suitable roles are assigned to players dependent on their initial throw

Adrian Seville 13
e.g. double six leads to space 34 (of 56) and the role of Arbitro (referee) is
assigned; roles of Captain etc are similarly assigned. Yet it is specified that
the players assigned these roles thereafter follow exactly the same rules as
everyone else.
For role-playing with appropriate and specific rules, we may look to a
race game published by the firm of Spear in several countries and languages:
Cat and Mouse (c. 1920). In this simple race game, playing figures of two
cats and four mice are provided as tokens. The specific rules differ for the
two species: for example, when a mousetrap is encountered, the mouse is
out of the game but the cat proceeds without hindrance.
A variation on this theme by the Swiss firm of Karlit, published in the
1950s, is interesting because of the ingenious mechanism by which the role-
playing is enforced. Here, the cat is represented by a large marble whereas
the mice are small marbles. The track is composed of holes of two sizes
punched in the horizontal playing surface, which is raised above the base
of the box. When a mouse encounters a trap (large hole) it falls through,
whereas the cat remains safe; both mouse and cat are safe on the small
holes.
It is interesting to reflect on the paucity of examples of role-playing in
Goose variants. Perhaps one reason may be that to alter the rules non-
uniformly will give one or another player an advantage that the remainder
will perceive as ‘unfair’. True, it is difficult to construct diverse rules within
a single game that would all be fair with respect to each other, especially in
a game as complex as Goose, with its traps, delays and re-starts. However,
if the discrepancy were not gross, then some unfairness might add spice to
the game e.g. by winning when in a role that was (or was thought to be)
unfavourable.
Forfeits and Actions

As mentioned above, there have been attempts to combine race games with
forfeits and other human actions, though it has to be admitted that some
of the resulting games are far from Goose both in concept and in playing
terms
In Crepy’s Les Etrennes de la Jeunesse (Paris, 1713) [Ciompi 921], the
females (‘Dames’, further referred to as shepherdesses) play on the left-
hand of two circular tracks, while the males (‘Cavaliers’ or shepherds), who
must be in equal number, play on the right. The two circles touch (one is
tempted to say ‘kiss’ !) in the middle of the sheet, and it is here that the

winning spaces are, each being marked with a crowned heart. Initially, each
‘shepherdess’ chooses her ‘shepherd’ to sit on her left, the choice being first
made by the highest thrower of the dice, and so on. The rules say that the
game ‘se gouverne à peu près de la jeu de l’oie’(the rules are quite like those
of Goose) though in truth they are peculiar to the game. Typical of the rules
is that for inconstance (inconstancy) on the left track. The unfortunate
shepherd who lands on the butterfly that marks this space must submit to
being tied to his chair by his shepherdess, using her scarf. But there are
penalties for the ladies, too: at La Jalousie (jealousy), the jealous one must
go and hide behind a curtain or half-open door, missing two turns and paying
to the pool. The game ended for the males (for example) when one of them
reached the crowned heart, where their circle touched the other. If no female
had reached the corresponding heart in the other circle, the males waited
until this had occurred. The two winners, on these two hearts, would then
share the pool and ‘seront unis ensemble’ (will be joined together). Clearly,
this was a game that depended for its success on having much leisure and
the right company! However, the rules do contemplate the possibility of
there being only two players, one of each sex, who then compete to see who
reaches their crowned heart first and do not share the pool — the state of
matrimony rather than courtship?
Forfeits are certainly an integral part of the game of Din-Don ovvero
Tutte le Strade conducono a Roma (Ding-Dong or really All Roads lead to
Rome — Caroccio, Milan, 1933)[Ciompi 316]. Here, the object is to get
from a starting place to the centre space, Rome. The starting places are
all Italian cities — but cities like Mogadiscio and Pola are included from
the Italian colonies, reflecting the sense of empire that developed under the
Fascist regime. It is not a unicursal game and is far from Goose in concept.
It is played with a single die, two faces showing ‘Din’ (being favourable),
two showing ‘Don’ (unfavourable) and the remaining two being blanks so
that the player does not move. The game is evidently meant to be played in
a bar, so that drinks can be bought when directed, and indeed several of the
playing spaces are hostelries. A forfeit to be dreaded in such circumstances
is shown by a pair of scissors, the meaning being: ‘cut off the tongue’, i.e.
remain silent for the rest of the game — a truly terrible punishment!
A danger of combining human actions with the playing of a race game
is that the game is apt to be slowed down unacceptably. An ingenious way
of avoiding this trap was found by the inventor (P. Louwerse) of the Dutch
game Schoolmeester en Collectant (Schoolmaster and Collector for Charity)
dating from about 1875. Here, in addition to usual penalties such as paying
to the pool, landing on certain spaces requires the player to ‘sit with puffed

Adrian Seville 15
cheeks’ or ‘with an agonised face’, cry “ooh, ouch!” according to the scene
depicted in the unfolding story. (The help of Christine Sinninghe Damsté
in suggesting the inclusion of this game and translating the instructions is
gratefully acknowledged).
Finally, in this short catalogue of games requiring human rather than
mechanical actions, mention should be made of the Dutch games advertising
biscuits. These were to be played with biscuits as stakes and indeed special
biscuits were also made to serve as playing tokens. An example is the Nutrix
Kabouter Spel (Leiden) [Ciompi 968], a unicursal game of 63 spaces depicting
a fairyland journey, with various imaginative delights and perils, and quite
evidently a Goose variant. Each player begins with 10 Nutrix biscuits and
puts two of these in the pot. At various points on the journey, the player is
directed to eat a biscuit from the pot; but a worse punishment is to have to
eat two of one’s own store of biscuits — and begin the game again.
Discussion
In surveying the field of goose-related race games, it is striking that —
with the exception of educational games — so few of them call for any
involvement of thought or judgement. Yet these games have been produced
and marketed successfully in thousands of versions and millions of copies over
four centuries. There is obviously a human need for ‘non-mind’ games that,
like Goose, are cleverly constructed to provide uncertainty and excitement
within a reasonably short — but not instant — time frame. This need is
more complex than the gratification associated with gambling. It involves
social interaction — competition, seeing who will win, learning how to win
without offending others, how to lose with equanimity — and, of course,
in a non-mind game, everyone is equal. Goose rules are therefore ideal for
the family environment, where young and old can compete on equal terms.
The design of the game provides variety of experience on the board: there
are many but not too many favourable spaces and hazard spaces, nicely
contrasted with the ‘plain vanilla’ spaces. The fear of the principal hazards
— well, prison, death — may be acute but the penalties are not final
and the unfortunate player is not banished from the game — indeed, he
or she may even win from an apparently hopeless position. Being ‘rescued’
by another of the social group — perhaps someone who does not even like
you — adds to the frisson. And the ‘reverse overthrows’ rule is brilliantly
conceived to maintain tension to the end — there is none of the boring
waiting for an exact throw on a space near the finish, as happens in many

other race games. Indeed, because the death space is within reach by a
reverse overthrow, a slowly approaching ‘tortoise’ can humble the proud
‘hare’. And the game can end in a couple of throws or, just occasionally,
can go on for many rounds: variety and unexpectedness is built in.
Designers of race games depart from these principles at their peril.
[Mascheroni & Tinti, 1981, p. 78, present author’s translation] comment
on the tedium of some of the geographical games dating from the 18th and
early 19th centuries:
The information was always of the same kind: the world was
divided into four sections. The principal cities were specified.
There were notes on economic resources but these were concerned
only with gold, diamonds, commerce in porcelain, and silk...
For movement along the track, it was necessary to refer to an ex-
tremely long series of rules that in practice consisted of a reward
of another throw or the payment of a penalty.
The need for repeated reference to a detailed rulebook, unlike in Goose

where the simple rules were apparent from the face of the game, was a worthy
but stultifying device, aimed at imparting detailed knowledge but sacrificing
playing values. By contrast, designers like Duval kept to the spirit of the
original game and used wit to make their educational points. For example,
in his Jeu des Princes de l’Europe [Ciompi 541], the rule for Muscovy,
though a familiar Goose rule, adds a comment that is entirely memorable,
making clear just why the player may not stay on the space concerned:
Must advance once according to the points on the dice. The

Muscovites do not permit entry to their country, yet you pay.
The design of successful race games with variants of Goose rules is there-
fore not easy, by comparison with the relatively simple task of providing
thematic variations around the invariant skeleton of the traditional rules.
Testing such variants in practical play would have been daunting in the past
and even now computer simulation is not without programming effort.
It may be for these reasons that games with complex variant rules have
never substantially displaced the traditional game, something that may ex-
plain the virtual absence of goose-derived games that allow through their
rules for individual role-playing.
As far as forfeits and actions are concerned, their introduction tends to
slow the game down to the point where the character of a race game is lost:

Adrian Seville 17
the game then takes on a wholly different character: that of a spectacle

where waiting for one’s turn is made bearable by watching the antics of
one’s fellow players.
It is hoped that these comments may be of some use to present-day game
designers who, though the resources at their disposal are now incomparably
greater than the simple engraved or lithographed playing sheet, might do
well to remember that the psychology of social interaction, as mediated by
board games, has not changed over the centuries to a like extent.
[email protected]
References
[D’Allemagne, 1950] D’Allemagne, H.R., 1950, Le Noble Jeu de l’Oie,
Paris, Libraire Gruend.
[Carrera, 1617] Carrera, P., 1617, Il Gioco degli Scacchi, Militello,

page 25.
[Mascheroni & Tinti, 1981] Mascheroni S. & Tinti, B., 1981, Il Gioco
dell’Oca, Milano, Bompiani.
[Parlett, 1999] Parlett, D., 1999, The Oxford History of Board

Games, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
[Seville, 1999] Seville, A.H., 1999, “Tradition and Variation in the

Game of Goose”, Board Games in Academia III. (Pro-
ceedings of Colloquium in Florence), pp. 163–174.
[Seville, 2001] Seville, A.H., 2001, “Statistics of Enjoyable Race

Games”, Board Games in Academia V. (Pro-
ceedings of Colloquium in Barcelona, unpub-
lished: available from the author by email
[email protected]).
[Shefrin, 1999] Shefrin, J., 1999, Neatly Dissected, Los Angeles, Cot-
sen Occasional Press.
[Whitehouse, 1951] Whitehouse, F.R.B., 1951, Table Games of Georgian

and Victorian Days, London, Peter Garnett.

1
Jogos Matemáticos, A Portuguese Project
Alda Carvalho Carlos Santos João Neto Jorge Nuno Silva
ISEL ISEC FCUL FCUL
This is an expanded version of the paper presented to the Board Game Stud-
ies Colloquium in Lisbon in April 2008.
Abstract
Ludus Association and other mathematical associations organize yearly the
Portuguese Championship of Mathematical Games. Since 2004, this tour-
nament has been growing: from 500 students in 2004 in Lisbon to 1200
students in 2009 in Covilhã. Students aged 7 to 17, from all the country,
join, each year, at a Portuguese city to play one of six different abstract
games.
Figure 1 Posters of the first four editions of the PCMG.
The Benefits of The Project

We don’t intend to prove that board games practice improve the cognitive
performance of the young students. We believe that board games can of-
fer very good mental exercises that, sometimes, are close to mathematical
thinking. There is some evidence about the positive correlation between
20 Jogos Matemáticos, A Portuguese Project
board games practice and mathematica achievement [1], however this kind
of study is not our task. There are some easily spotted skills associated with
our subject:
Focusing - Children learn the benefits of observing carefully and con-

centrating.
Visualizing - Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions

before it happens.
Thinking Ahead - Children start thinking before acting.
Weighing Options - Children understand clearly the advantage of good

choices.
Thinking Abstractly - Children develop the ability of grouping situa-

tions, games, positions etc so they apply the same tactics in similar
situations.
Board games do not replace the traditional mathematical curriculum. We

just state that some board games seem closer to mathematics than, for
instance, swimming, and the implementation of games seems a very good
thing to do.
How it Works
The Choice of Games
We pick games with no chance devices and no hidden information. There
is an huge number of board games that satisfy these criteria. To make the
choice we assess the games accordingly to their quality. They must have
easy rules. Using the terms of [2], simple rules help game clarity and help
the student to understand the basic dynamics and to concentrate in the
tactics and strategy. The elected games must have some depth, ie, allow
several levels of sophistication in their playing level. The chosen games
must be a dramatic, ie, they must allow volt-faces and traps, sequences of
errors, missing wins and defeats, etc. The elected games must also have
good interaction between opposite pieces. A game without interaction is
merely a double race. Another important factor is decisiveness in the sense
that if a player got a substantial advantage, winning should be an easy task.
It is important to choose games with simple material. If possible, we choose
games with recyclable material, i.e., the gaming parts can be used to play a
Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp.19–25

Alda Carvalho, Carlos Santos, João Neto, Jorge Silva 21
big number of good games. This idea allow us to diversify the tournament
throughout the years.
The games should also converge to an end, no matter how the players move,
for the organization to be sure that the matches evolve smoothly.
Figure 2 The game of hex, constructed by Portuguese students.
With these guidelines we show, in the next table, the choices for the first
four editions of PCMG:
Level PCMG1 PCMG2 PCMG3 PCMG4

dots’n boxes dots’n boxes dots’n boxes dots’n boxes
1st polyhedron puzzles traffic lights traffic lights traffic lights
(6-10 years) wari wari wari wari
pawns hex hex hex
2nd polyhedron puzzles traffic lights traffic lights traffic lights
amazons amazons amazons amazons
3rd pawns hex hex hex
amazons amazons amazons amazons
Secondary hex go go hex
(15-18 years) pawns hex hex slimetrail
Some of the chosen games have a relevant cultural component. Games like
go and wari are very old, being a part of human history. Some African
students enjoy seeing their traditional game in a national championship of
other country.

Figure 3 A student playing amazons.
We implemented a very interesting parallel competition, called Invent Your

Game. Some students designed new games with the materials existing in
the championship games.
In the fifth edition, in Covilhã, we introduced special boards to allow the

participation of blind students.
Figure 4 traffic lights board for blind students.
Mathematical Institutions Support and Interaction with Schools

The average budget of the project, in Portugal, is approximately 50000 eu-
ros. It is possible to get some support from scientific, educational, cultural
and technological institutions.
It is important to guarantee that the information about the tournament

and games reaches many schools. With the help of established institutions

it is possible to manage and use sufficiently large mailing lists to reach the
schools. In Portugal, we have the support of the two main mathematical
institutions of the country (Association of Teachers of Mathematics and Por-
tuguese Mathematical Society). In parallel, Ludus Association focus on the
promotion of recreational mathematics and abstract games.
The interaction with schools and students is fundamental. The organization

should pay attention to the following factors:
1. Along the year, before the final tournament day, the organization must
supply or lend gaming material, since many schools do not have games.
The schools should be able to get the boards or the information about
how to get them. Another way is to build them, so, the information
about this process must be easily known too.
2. Many teachers and students do not know the game rules. This infor-
mation must be known and easily accessed. The organization should
have a written document with the rules and must guarantee that the
document is distributed by enough schools throughout the country.
3. It is important to organize teacher formation and motivate open days

in schools for students and teachers.
4. The organization must help the schools with the preliminary phases.
In the final tournament day the participants are the school champions.
So, the schools must previously qualify their champions. Sometimes
the teachers need some help to understand how to organize tourna-
ments, etc.
5. The information about parallel events like Invent Your Game or par-
ticipation of blind students must also be well known by teachers and
schools.
6. The organization should try to have good prizes for the best classi-
fied players. In Portugal it is usual to have prizes like computers,
calculators, digital cameras, books, etc.
7. The organization must have a proper website with all the required in-
formation. The website must have more than the needed information:
it should include stuff about abstract games, links to online clubs, etc.
In Portugal, the url address is http://ludicum.org.

The “Tournament Day”

In our opinion it is very important the existence of an yearly “special day”.
Our project is centered in a day when the students play a final tournament
deciding who are the ultimate champions. There are several reasons for the
importance of this day:
1. The day remains in students memory. Every year the older students
remember who were the previous champions, how interesting was the
previous tournament, how fun it was, etc. Those factors help students
to participate. In a few years, almost every students and every teachers
will know about the existence of the project and remember the past
“special days”.
Figure 5 PCMG–fourth edition.
2. The existence of a “special day” helps the organizers to invite politi-

cians, institutional presidents, other VIPs and, so, attract some media
to the event.
3. With the existence of this special event, the organization can bring
gaming practice to many regions. Every year the final tournament is
played in a different city.

4. The existence of a “special day” helps the organization of exhibitions,

mathematical events, recreational activities, etc. It is important to be
sure that the “special day” remains in teachers memory too.
Final Remarks
In the five first editions of the PCMG we got the amazing numbers ≈ 500,
≈ 650, ≈ 665, ≈ 1100 and ≈ 1200 participants in the final. These statistics
show that, yearly, tens of thousand students play mathematical games in
Portuguese schools (since each student in the final is the winner of a school
local tournament).
There are about 1760 high schools (public and private). Yearly, the average
number of inscriptions is about 180 schools. So, more or less 10% of schools
participate in our project.
In Invent Your Game we had 30 invented games. This is a very good num-
ber for this kind of contest. We have strong evidence that computer games
do not replace mathematical board games. Students still like to play math-
ematical board games: they are immortal.
We believe that the practice of mathematical games helps the development

of mathematical thinking. We did not make any scientific study to support
this. However, we have thousands of students playing the PCMG. It provides
a very good opportunity to explore scientifically the question. Some steps
are being given in this direction.
References
[1] Ferreira, M.D., Palhares, P., “Chess and Problem Solving Involving
Patterns”, The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast. Vol. 5, n. 2 and 3.
pp. 249–256, 2008.
[2] Thompson, Mark, “Defining the Abstract”, 1999.

http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DefiningtheAbstract.shtml

1
An English riddle: Chess and Draughts
in medieval England
Arie van der Stoep
University of Leiden
Language: a disregarded tool at describing ancient

board games
In many ways, the language can contribute to our knowledge of board games
in times past. In this article I show how we can use the language to prove
that in medieval England chess was a minor board game and draughts a
major game. But first I give the information you need to understand my
claim.
Necessary information in advance
We modern readers rather easily understand medieval texts. The reason

is that our sentence structure and our vocabulary are largely the same as
centuries ago. Every modern language uses many medieval words, for the
greater part with an unchanged meaning.
Important for this article is the percentage of medieval words used today
in an unchanged sense. The computer can provide some figures. For Dutch it
is more than 97%, the result of an investigation of the Dutch linguist Nicoline
van der Sijs, published in Stoep 2007:135. This figure is not itemised; we
may assume that a word with a concrete sense as a name for a board game
or for other phenomena in our social world, like sun, river, house, horse, is
not susceptible to a change. I do not have figures for the English language,
but I do not have a reason to expect a significantly different result.
28 An English riddle: Chess and Draughts...
Medieval England: the names for chess and draughts

changed
An exception is more interesting than the rule. Chess is considered to have
been a well-known medieval board game — read chess historians — but
in England in the 14th c. this board game received a new name. This is
surprising; even more surprising however is that we encounter the former
name for Chess used as the name for ‘Draughts’. This is demonstrated in
the following two tables:
Such a change of meaning, the reflection of a change in reality, is rare,

but nevertheless so remarkable that linguists gave it a name, see below [Bree
1990:153–155].
How to explain these changes?

To explain tables 1 and 2, we must combine language and board game. The
linguist wants to establish if it regards a drag or a push chain — see below
—, to fill up his scanty material. But to decide he needs knowledge of board
games in England in the 14th c.
In the case of a drag chain, Chess players would reject the name chequer
and chose a new word to give their game a name: chess. Thus:

Arie van der Stoep 29
This option is plausible on one condition: that English chess players

changed the rules of their game to such an extent that they invented a new
board game, a game that needed a new name. But as far as we know this
did not happen.
Consequently, we conclude we have to do with a push chain: English
draughts players started to call their game chequer, and then chess players
felt obliged to look for another name for their game. Thus:
Linguistics: a rich source for the study of board

games
Table 4 gives information on the positions of chess and draughts in medieval
England: draughts was a major board game, chess a minor game, insignifi-
cant. Numerous other linguistic examples, embodied in Stoep 2007, confirm
this finding, not only for England but also for the European continent. The
two games kept their position until the second half of the 19th c., when chess
acquired more popularity and rose in estimation, whereas draughts socially
slid back into a humble state.
Note
1) Draughts was transferred from the lined board to the chequered board,
see Stoep 2007:157–165.
[email protected]
References
[1] Bree, Cor van Historische taalkunde, Leuven/Amersfoort 1990.
[2] Murray, H.J.R. A history of chess, Oxford, 1913, ed. Oxford
1962.
[3] Stoep, Arie van der Draughts in relation to chess and alquerque,
Hooge Zwaluwe 2005, ed. 2007.

1
At the crossroads of trade in the
Indian Ocean - a ludic exploration
Alex de Voogt
Leiden & Maastricht University
Research on the dispersal of board games, with the possible exception

of chess, is frustrated by a lack of historical evidence pertaining to rules
and playing practices.This is compensated by numerous systematic descrip-
tions of board games that detail board and rules showing patterns of similar
games across the continents as they are played today.
The rules of mancala are notoriously diverse and variants are less remarkable
than instances in which largely the same rules are played in more than one
geographical location. These places with near identical playing practices
form a pattern that in many cases follow known trade routes of the region.
Similar routes can be found involving draughts or alquerque games, which
seem to have a similar diversity of boards and rules but which have received
much less attention in the literature.
The possibilities of rules are diverse so that the introduction of a game
through a single traveler cannot always explain strong similarities over large
distances. The presence of a series of near identical games across wide
geographical areas is best explained through intensive contact (de Voogt
1999).Such contact is possibly established through trade, assuming that the
traders also play, which is frequently attested for shipmen. A second, equally
convincing, mode of dispersal is migration in which a group of players set-
tlesin another area. For instance, it is generally assumed that slave trade
has brought games from West Africa to the Caribbean (Herskovits 1932).
Unlike rules, the board and playing context do not necessarily accompany
the dispersal. Mancala boards are not known to travel except as prestige
gifts (Walker 1990) in which case they are not accompanied by playing rules.
Players are known to have traveled to seek out other players, but this is only
attested for competitive games (de Voogt 2005). As such, board games are
not an object of trade. Their dispersal is better compared to music (for the
Swahili coast, cf. Askew 2003), which is played by people but which does
not necessarily include the dispersal of the instruments.
32 At the crossroads of trade in the Indian Ocean...
This study concentrates on one four-row mancala game and one so-called
alquerque variation with a brief mention of draughts.The examples are taken
from the Seychelles and the Maldive Islands and compared to games found
on the African and Asian mainland.
Makonn and hawalis

Mancala games have rows of holes on a board or in the sand as well as a set
of identical counters, commonly seeds, shells or stones. The object of the
game is to capture the majority of the counters or to empty one or more
rows of the opponent. During a move the counters are spread in (counter)
clockwise direction one-by-one in consecutive holes. The last counter of such
a sowing determines the continuation of the move; the move may end, the
move continues with the counters from a specified hole or the player contin-
ues by making a capture.
The rules of mancala are diverse and apart from the description above there
is little that groups these games together. Men, women and children are
known to play in contexts that can be competitive, ceremonial or entertain-
ing. The boards are often made of wood but holes in clay or sand are equally
common with occasional examples of other material such as terra cotta or
stone (see de Voogt 1997, Walker 1990).
On the coast, playing counters are most often cowry shells or caesalpinia
bonduc seeds that are found in abundance on the tropical coasts. Other
areas use stones, particularly in the sand since they are somewhat larger
and less likely to fade among the grains of sand.
The boards have been divided into two-, three- and four-row boards. In
terms of rules, they are one circle and two circle games, meaning that a
player shares the rows when counters are distributed (two- and three-row
games) or that a player has two rows for him or herself. In the latter case,
captures can be made where the two rows of each player meet.
Capturing in mancala takes on many forms and books and websites have
been filled with their variations (e.g. www.manqala.org, Murray 1952). The
rules for spreading and capturing counters most clearly distinguishes one
game from another since the size of the board and the number of playing
counters sometimes varies according to the wishes of the players, mostly
to influence the duration of the game. There are few games in which the
number of holes per row structurally affects the playing rules.
In four-row mancala games Murray (1952) distinguished captures that are
taken from the board and those that are re-entered into the game. The
Proceedings of Board Game Studies Cooloquium XI, pp. 31–41

Alex de Voogt 33
consequences of capture rules for the remainder of the rules make them a
promising distinguishing feature.
Oman boasts a four-row mancala game, one of few found outside Africa,
by the name of hawalis. The game is played by men in clubs. Despite its
recent decline it can still be found in Muscat near taxi stands where card
and other games are also practiced. The Omani fixed the board to four rows
of seven holes and usually play in the sand using stones. Direction changes
for sowing, special houses and re-entry of captured counters are unknown
for this game.
The game strongly resembles descriptions that have been made of Mozam-
biquan mancala games. In the area between Oman and Mozambique this
game appeared remarkably absent until a field study in 2007 revealed a sim-
ilar game in the Seychelles.
The Seychellois still play makonn, as it is called. Players on Mahé recall
playing the game as far away as Diego Garcia, prior to its British occupa-
tion, and outlying atolls of the archipelago. The game is most likely played
in Mauritius as well based on information from the Seychelles. Makonn is
fixed on four rows of ten holes but despite the larger board, the rules and
thereby the playing strategies are remarkably similar to those of hawalis.
The following elements of the rules are identical in both games (for the
complete rules of both games, see de Voogt 2003 and de Voogt, in press):
- counters are always played counter-clockwise
- counters are captured from the front and back row together
- captured counters are not re-entered in the game
- a hole with a single counter cannot be used for play
- if all holes of a player contain only a single counter, the rules change:
– the player can move singles, but not into an occupied hole, and the
player can capture counters of the opponent in the same way as before
The Seychelles were uninhabited until the end of the seventeenth century
when French settlers took possession of the islands (Scarr 2000). African
slaves were introduced inthe course of the eighteenth century and slavery
has continued well into the nineteenth century. The supply of slaves is
said to originate from Mozambique and sometimes occurred via Zanzibar.
There is no link between the Seychelles and Oman in their history or in their
present contacts. Rather, one has to assume that the slaves that entered the
Seychelles played the same game as the Africans that settled and introduced
the game in Oman. The opposite route in which Omani traders introduced
the game to the East African mainland and that the game spread from here
to the Seychelles is ruled out. No other four-row games appear in Oman or
near Oman while two-row games in the Middle East are well attested.

Draughts, danm-la-tete and wagu thinhamma

Draughts is an European invention and was brought to the Indian Ocean in
different forms. The Seychelles play draughts on a 10×10 board with Anglo-
French rules, meaning that the king travels and captures across an entire
diagonal and that individual checkers capture forward and backward, but
move only forward (see Kruiswijk 1966, van der Stoep 1994). The British
protectorate of the Maldives did not successfully introduce the British form
of chechkers, instead the Maldivians prefer their own form of chess, known
as raazuvaa that was introduced via the Indian subcontinent.
The game danm-la-tete, “draughts with a head”, is a variation of an earlier
draughts form, also referred to as alquerque. Instead of squares on a board
it consists of intersecting lines. The pieces are only allowed to move from
one intersection to the next via a connecting line. As in draughts the pieces
jump over the opponent’s piece to make a capture. The game is played in
many variations and has been described for large parts of Asia but is also
known in Africa. Danm-la-tete is the variation played in the Seychelles and
similar boards can be found in the Maldive Islands where the game is called
wagu thinhamma. Both games are well-known for the Indian sub-continent
where they may have originated (Balambal 2007).
Danm-la-tete is found in the same so-called “baka” bars where makonn and
draugths are also played. Its board is usually drawn on wood or chalked on
stone. In the Seychelles, players have applied draughts rules to the danm-
la-tete board. They create kings when they reach the far end of the board
and these pieces may often move and capture backwards across more than
one point, something they are not allowed to do in the beginning phase.
The National Archive (1991) in the Seychelles published a short description,
otherwise this game is not described in the literature. The following data
were collected on Mahé, Seychelles, in 2007:
The National Historic Museum in Mahé, Seychelles, shows one

makonn and one “danm-latet”. The latter has four triangles at-
tached to a squaregrid of 5 × 5 intersections created by five hor-
izontal and five vertical lines in addition to four diagonal lines
that connect the triangles. The rules were not attached or known
and the wooden board was shown with checker pieces.
Louis Lazeau in Mahé made a danm-la-tete board identical to
the one on photo 1. He played the game mostly in high school
and had not played in over ten years. It has 16 pieces. Captures
are mandatory and made as in draughts both in forward and

Alex de Voogt 35
backward directions. Multiple captures are optional. A blocked

opponent or a wiped-out opponent has lost the game. Pieces
reaching the back row of the triangle make a king that crosses
and captures across more than one point in one direction. As in
draughts the king cannot jump across two or more pieces that
are adjacent to each other. Captures with a king do not come
before other captures.
Lusette Azémia plays the game with children and added the rule
that failure to capture leads to forfeiting that piece, as is com-
mon in some draughts games.
Richard Louis of 19 years old, played the game when he was
16 and when he tried to make a board he added four triangles.
He was not able to complete the board but confirmed that they
would play in fours.
Robin Pierre Mare, born on La Digue island in the 1930s, demon-
strated makonn in his bar where a 10 × 10 draugths board was
present and a danm-la-tete board with two triangles (photo 1).
Photo 1 Danm-la-tete as found in a bar on Mahé, Seychelles

Photo 2 Danm-la-tete as found in the National Historic Museum on Mahé,

Seychelles
Wagu or sometimes baburu thinhamma means large or “negro” thin-

hamma. It shares the name thinhamma with a morris-game that is also
played on the Maldives. Those Maldivians who play thinhamma are not
always familiar with the game of wagu thinhamma even after being shown a
photograph of a local wagu thinhamma board. The two games only share a
drawn configuration of lines and similar pieces. Wagu thinhamma is better
compared with draughts since it has little relation to strategies and moves
required in thinhamma. The simplest configuration is identical to damn-la-
tete as found on the Seychelles.
Wagu thinhamma can combine a complex configuration with a simplicity of
production. The lines are drawn on a board and additional lines are easily
applied. The following date were collected in 2003:
Moosa Ismail (70) was one of few to remember how to draw a

wagu thinhamma board on South Feydhoo, Addhoo Atoll. His
board is relatively small and much smaller than the board that
was briefly shown to him on a photograph.
Zaynab Ibrahim (53) of Feridhoo, Ari Atoll, drew a wagu thin-
hamma board of 5 × 5 with two triangular additions contain-
ing another six positions. Captures are made as in draughts by

Alex de Voogt 37
jumping over the opponent’s piece(s). One may traverse only

across the drawn lines. Capturing is not obligatory and a mul-
tiple capture is not mandatory when possible. One may move
forward or backward and moves are allowed in all sections of the
board. The winner has captured all the opponent’s pieces. No
promotion is made when reaching the far end of the board.
Saud, the island chief, and Mohammed Husayn (86) pose for
wagu thinhamma in Feridhoo, played according to the rules above.
In Nilandhoo, many players of wagu thinhamma appear:
Hauna Ibrahim (43) draws a design of 6 × 6 with six positions in
each triangle. An unusual design since the intersections created
by the diagonal lines are not used as playing fields.
Aishath Naasira (32) and Abdulganee Mohammed (34) demon-
strated a game of wagu thinhamma on the board belonging to
the Endherimaage house. It is a 9 × 9 board with six positions
in each triangle. Again, capturing is not mandatory, neither are
multiple captures over single captures. The triangle does not
know special rules. It is noted that a draw is possible in this
game.
Boards without players were found in other households on the
island. Such as a 7 × 7 board with thinhamma on the back and
a 5 × 5 board in the Irudheyamaage house.
Sirumeena Abdulrahman (20) and Ismail Waheedh (30) demon-
strated the 7 × 7 board. They maintain that captures can be
made backwards but moves are always forwards. Again, cap-
turing is optional. In Noorange house, grandmother Habeebaa
Moosa and the father of thehouse played on a 7 × 7 board with
six pieces in each triangle. They named the central position on
the board “raskan” (or “rasge” in neighboring islands), which is
the king’s house. On each of the far sides of this position, i.e. the
farleft and the far right, is “mudhinkan” which relates to persons
outside the lines of prayer. These three positions are considered
strategically importantand were marked on the board.

Photo 3 wagu thinhamma as found in the Maldive Islands
Photo 4
Photo 5

Alex de Voogt 39
The above description shows that wagu thinhamma has a limited distri-
bution in the Maldives. Only two islands had players while only one person
was found outside these two islands, an older man in Addhoo. It is likely
that there are players else where in the Maldives, but all the islands that
were visited in both northern and southern parts of the Maldives did not
indicate that the game was popular or even known. Feridhoo is a rather
small island and was quickly searched. In Nilandhoo many families are fa-
miliar with wagu thinhamma. Boards vary from 5 × 5, 6times6, 7 × 7 and
9 × 9 as is also illustrated in Maloney’s work on Maldivian culture (1980).
The triangle always contains six positions, with the exception of one board
made on Addhoo. Variations in rules are minor. The only clear variation is
the rule that pieces can only move forward. All other rules are consistent.
With the absence of wagu thinhamma in Fuamulaku, large parts of Addhoo,
Huvarafushi and even Kandholodhu, it is possible to conclude that wagu
thinhamma has a limited distribution that is concentrated in the central
part of the Maldives. In this limited distribution, variations of size are com-
mon, and sizes differ from house hold to household. In contrast, the sizes
of raazuvaa and thinhammaboards do not differ in any of the islands. This
is not surprising, since the difference in wagu thinhamma boards does not
affect any of the playing or capturing rules while they would affect such rules
in raazuvaa and thinhamma. Wagu thinhamma and thinhamma have little
in common but a name. Indeed, the name wagu thinhamma is probably
derived from wagu thinhamma, a sign that it was a later introduction. They
are both drawn on boards or in the sand but their contrasting distribution
pattern does not indicate that they obtained the same distribution or pop-
ularity.
Trade and play

Both damn-la-tete and wagu thinhamma are games coming from India where
the game was knowneven before the settlement of the Seychelles. Its dis-
tribution can be linked to the arrival of Indian indentured laborers in the
Seychelles and long-term trade relations with the Maldives. It is unlikely
and there are no historic reasons to assume that the Maldives and the Sey-
chelles had long-term trade contact.
Makonn and hawalis are games traveling from Mozambique during the slave
trade, possibly via Zanzibar. There is no trade or other connection between
the Seychelles and Oman that point to anyother mode of distribution.

Draughts was introduced by the colonial powers. Its rules have been partly
applied to danm-la-tete in the Seychelles but seem to have made no such
influence in the Maldives where British checkers is hardly known.
Both the Maldives and the Seychelles show that games travel without boards
and pieces but with players. Once introduced, they coexist and are not nec-
essarily limited to environments in which they were introduced. For instance,
games with an African origin are now played by Arabs in Oman and games
with an Indian background are played by a diverse group of Seychellois.
Trade, particularly trade in people, helps to understand the distribution of
board games in the Indian Ocean. The understanding of their popularity
and the social environments to which they may be confined require further
research.
References
[Askew, 2003] Askew, Kelly Michele, 2003, As Plato durly warned:
music, politicsand social change in coastal East
Africa, . Anthropological Quarterly 76(4) pp. 609–
637.
[Balambal, 2005] Balambal, V., 2005, Folk game of Tamilnadu Chennai,

India, The C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation.
[Herskovits, 1932] Herskovits, M.J., 1932, Wari in the New World, Jour-
nal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 62, pp. 23–
37.
[Kruijswijk, 1966] Kruijswijk, K.W., 1966, Algemene historie en bibli-

ografie van het damspel: met een representatie van
eindspelen uit de oudste damliteratuur The Hague:
Van Goor en Zonen.
[Murray, 1952] Murray, Henry J.R., 1952, A history of board games

other than chess Oxford: Oxford Press.
[National Archives, 1991] National Archives, 1991, Temwanyaz lo zwe

tradisyonel se selwa / younit sport D.13.74.473.A.
Mahé, Seychelles.
[Scarr, 2000] Scarr, Deryck, 2000 Seychelles since 1770: history of

a slave and post-slavery society, London: Hurst & Co.

Alex de Voogt 41
[Stoep, 1984] Stoep, Arie van der, 1984, A history of draughts:

with a diachronic study of words for draughts, chess,
backgammon and morris, Rockanje: van derStoep.
[Voogt, 1999] Voogt, Alex de, 1999, The distribution of mancala: a

methodological investigation, Journal of Board Games
Studies 2: pp. 104–114. Leiden: cnws.
[Voogt, 2003] Voogt, Alex de, 2003, Hawalis in Oman: a first ac-
count of expertise and dispersal of four-row mancala
in the Middle East, Journal of Board Game Studies
6: pp. 95–98, Leiden: cnws.
[Voogt, 1997] Voogt, Alex de, 1997, Mancala board games, London:
British Museum Press.
[Voogt, 2005] Voogt, Alex de, 2005, A question of excellence:

acentury of African masters, Trenton, New Jersey:
African World Press.
[Voogt] Voogt, Alex de, (in press) em Makonn and the Indian
Ocean: East African slave trade and the dispersal of
rules Journal of Board Game Studies 8.
[Walker, 1990] Walker, Roslyn A., 1990, Sculptured mankala game

boards of Sub-Saharan Africa, Ph.D.-thesis, Indiana
University.

1
The development and dispersal of
l’Attaque games
Fred Horn and Alex Voogt
Modern versus traditional games

The study of board games concentrates on board game materials, such as
boards and pieces, and game concepts, which include rules for moves and
positions. The dispersal and development of materials and playing rules
are central in the historical studies that exist on board games from the
beginning of the twentieth century dominated by Culin (1895), Murray
(1913,1952) and Bell (1960, 1969) up to the present with a recent overview
from Parlett (1999). Even though Murray was an anthropologist by training
(Wendling2002), his histories of board games resulted in a strong historical
focus on games from academic disciplines such as archaeology, philology and
art history with themes relating to development and dispersal.
Modern and traditional games are understood differently within this con-
text of mostly historical studies. Modern games maybe distinguished from
traditional games because their history is not only limited in years but also
considered to be of a different kind. Murray, for instance, did not discuss
games that had been invented in the United Kingdom in the twentieth or
even the nineteenth century. Although Murray does not explainthis selec-
tion, it is generally thought that games invented by a known individual
and distributed by a games company are to be treated differently. His-
torical studies on such modern games concentrate on tracing patents and
discussing the history of games companies (cf. Whitehill 1999) or occa-
sionally the artwork of the printed paper (Goodfellow 1998). On the other
hand, the traditional games are seen as part of a long historical develop-
ment and require research in the field and an inventory of variations such as
those made for mancala games (de Voogt 1999) in order to answer questions
on development and distribution which seem trivial in the case of modern
games.
Both the development and the dispersal of modern games may be in the
hand of a games company that determines the written rules and introduces
44 The development and dispersal of l’Attaque games
the game to a chosen market. Only the company changes the written rules
and the distribution is regulated through locally acquired patents. As a
consequence studies on the distribution and development of modern games
are unlikely to exist outside the study of games companies and inventors.
The following history has the game Stratego at its center. It is traced back
to the game of l’Attaque and related to Jun Qi as it is found in China. It
has a history prior to its patent and distribution in China that took place
outside the control of games company.
The game of l’Attaque

A study of modern games may have legal implications.The patents refer to
the uniqueness of a board game that may include the design of the board,
the pieces and the rules. When their origins are questions so are their intel-
lectual property rights. Fortunately, most battles have been completed for
the game that is here referred to as the game of l ’Attaque.
The game of l ’Attaque has at least four elements that together create a
game that can be distinguished from all other board games: the ranking
of pieces, the hidden position of the pieces, the presence of both static and
movable pieces, the capture mode and the general design of the board. In
addition, the military ranks and the conquest of a flag make the game easily
recognizable.
l ’Attaque was most probably developed at the beginning of the twentieth
century or perhaps as early as 1880 in France. Boutin (1999) states a patent
deposited by Hermance Edant in 1909 based on a game she developed in the
1880s. A patent on a game, called Jeu de la Guerre, was filed in 1907 by
Julie Moller for quite possibly a similar game.
After the First World War, the game was also published under the trans-
lated name Attack by the London-based firm H.P. Gibson & Sons, Ltd. So
far, this is the only publication of this game at the time.
The board consists of 9 × 10 squares. In the center of the board there are
three obstructions in the shape of three lakes with a size of two squares each.
There are movable and immobile pieces. The first are ordered by rank. Each
higher rank is stronger than all lower-ranked pieces. Two, or in rare cases
four, players fight each other with an army of pieces while the rank of the
pieces of one player is hidden from the opponent. The players may position
the pieces on their side according to their own views. The purpose of the
game is to conquer the flag of the opponent.
Each piece moves one square orthogonally and in some cases more than one

Fred Horn and Alex Voogt 45
square. Pieces are captured after they are engaged in aduel with a neigh-
boring piece. The strongest piece then remains on the board.
This general description of the rules is valid for all l’Attaque games, varitions
mostly relate to the size of the board and army. l’Attaque is resembling Strat-
ego, a game that became internationally successful when it was published
by Jumbo in the Netherlands. Before establishing a possible link between
l’Attaque and Stratego, the latter’s recently uncovered patent history is re-
counted.
Patent history of Stratego
On April 20, 1942, the name Stratego was registered by Van Perlstein &
Roeper Bosch N.V. in the Netherlands. Four years later the game was pub-
lished by Smeets & Schippers in Amsterdam. Between 1948 and 1949, the
game was also produced using the brand name Clipper. In 1951 the license
to produce the game seems to have been returned to Mogendorff by Smeets
& Schippers.
This series of events is the prelude to the negotiations between Mogendorff
and Hausemann & Hötte N.V. in Amsterdam about the publication of the
game under the latter’s brand name Jumbo. These talks between Mogen-
dorff and the Jumbo representative de Graaff are said to have taken place
between 1952 and 1957. On February 28, 1958, Van Perlstein & Roeper
Bosch N.V. sign over the property rights of Stratego to Jacques Johan Mo-
gendorff. Correspondence between Mogendorff and de Graaff confirm this
and also note that an international registration is still to completed and that
Attack seems to be a copy of the game Stratego. Further research shows that
the Hausemann & Hötte company has a 1920 l’Attaque game in their archive
suggesting that the similarities between the two games were known to them.
On March 7, 1958, Smeets & Schippers N.V. also declared that Mogendorff
can use the name and the appearance of the Stratego game. An official men-
tion in Merkenblad confirms Mogendorff’s registered name under number
130494. From May 17, 1958 until April 8, 1960, the Stratego name becomes
registered in a series of countries, including England, South Africa, Aus-
tralia, USA and Canada.
Meanwhile, on June 10, 1958, Mogendorff and Hausemann & Hötte agreed
to publish and distribute the game Stratego for Europe. A second agree-
ment for the rest of the world was added with a royalty agreement on April
21, 1961. In August of that same year, Mr. Mogendorff dies and his heirs
make a new agreement with the company that transfers all the rights to
Hausemann & Hötte, a situation that has persisted up to this day.

1 The Canadian connection

The 10 × 10 board of Stratego requires a higher number of pieces than the
board of l’Attaque. The principles of play appear near identical to each
other. The route of dispersal is partly revealed by the presence of an inter-
mediate game, owned by the late Mr . Voorn and discovered in Leiderdorp,
the Netherlands.
Voorn’s father had made one issue of a game he called Tek, presumably in
1942. The game had been made at the instigation of a shot-down Canadian
pilot who was in hiding.The leaflet with the rules and the instructions on
how to manufacture the game is still in existence. The maker had been
unfamiliar with Stratego.
Both Voorn and Mogendorff had been residing in The Hague during the
Second World War, and it is suggested that such a contact may have trans-
mitted the idea of a l’Attaque game to Mogendorff.
Although the firm Gibson had published Attack before, both the name and
the rules of the game had not been registered by Gibson in England. But
in 2003, the heirs of Gunger Sigmund Elkan from Vancouver, Canada, com-
menced a lawsuit against Hasbro, the license holder in the USA of Stratego
since their grandfather had registered a game named Strategy on June 1,
1948 and a booklet with the same name registered on May 25, 1948 in the
USA. A vague copy of the rules was entered as well that mentioned a 10 × 10
board but did not mention any blocking fields. The case was not strong but

shows a possible American connection. They mention Mr. Elkan who was to
have invented the game in the Second World War after which he emigrated
from Europe to Canada. Where in Europe is unknown and all involved, Mo-
gendorff, Elkan and Voorn have since died so that their possible connection
cannot be established.
This short history of l’Attaque and Stratego shows that multiple inventors
and different routes of dispersal are possible and likely.
That transmissions of an idea took place with and without the help of
patent offices that only assist in settling an ownership debate but not a
chronology of events and inventions. This transmission of an idea is futher
illustrated with a chinese game for which no patents are known.
The Chinese connection
A number of different companies produce Jun Qi, or flag game, under var-
ious names, including Liuzhangi, Siguodanzhanqi (played with four people)
and even with an English translation of their name Superduty Amry Chess
(sic) or ChaojiLuzhan Qi. Rules and descriptions can be found in Lhôte
(1994) and on the internet (www.chessvariant.com/oriental.dir/tezhi.html).
They come in hard plastic or carton boxes, which depict tanks, army planes
and helicopters. The pieces are small, i.e. 1.5 cm, rectangular blocks made
out of plastic and with printed or relief Chinese characters. The board in-
variably consists of a plastic white sheet with red print. These sheets are
also common for other board games popular in China, including Chinese
chess. Some luxury editions do not have printed carton but fabric-covered
boxes, which contain massive plastic stone-like pieces with engraved char-
acters but of a similar size. Few if any of the games are accompanied by
game rules, even though the rules appear quite complicated and are of at
least two different kinds.

All pieces are blank on one side and have Chinese characters on the other
side indicating the (military) rank of a piece. Sometimes the characters for
the Army Flag also feature a flag symbol. Pieces move one square at a time
and enter combat as in Stratego. Except that the board features a railroad
on which pieces move unlimited empty squares in one direction along the
track. The Engineer may also take corners on the railroad within one move.
The board consists ofa grid of 13 rows of five intersections each. Each player
places his pieces on their six rows of five intersections. The middle or sev-
enth row is left empty and has only three positions thereby limiting the
connection between the two camps.
Each side has five army camps, usually depicted as round, which are safe
havens in which pieces cannot be captured but which are also left empty in
the initial set-up. Therefore, only 25 pieces for each player are used in the
line up. Diagonal lines connect the five camps with all surrounding posi-
tions, i.e. eight connecting lines. The third and the fifth row count two of
those camps and the fourth row has one in the middle which is connected to
the remaining four. There are two encampments at the bottom of the board
of a different shape either of which should contain the flag in the initial
set-up in certain variations of the game.
A railroad is depicted on the lines connecting the intersections of the first
and fifth file of each player with the exception of the back rows as well as
the second and sixth row on either side also including the lines that connect
the two opposing camps on the seventh row.
The game is won when one side moves the flag of the opponent to one of
their own encampments. As in Stratego, in case of a stalemate the party
with the greatest number of moving pieces wins.

There appear three variations available in Beijing. One requires each player
to design a positionas in Stratego and continue as described above. A second
allows for the game to be played with four persons on an enlarged board
that also shows extra bends of the railroad. The third variation requires all
pieces to be the same blank color on the outside and different color charac-
ters on the inside. These pieces are mixed and put at random face down on
the squares used for positioning. With each turn a player may turn a piece
or move a piece that is already turned and belongs to their color. Other
rules stay the same.
This brief description of Jun Qi identifies a number of similarities to Stratego
that are not likely to be incidental. Stratego was never directly introduced to
China but when Stratego was introduced to the United States, it may have
transmitted to Asia and developed into a local flag game as early as the
1950s. The long-time study of Chinese games (Culin 1895, Schlegel 1869,
Röllicke 1999) has concentrated on their introduction to the West rather
than the other way round. The particularities of a railroad and the marked
places on the board warrant further research of Chinese appropriation pro-
cesses in post-war China.
Development and dispersal

The development and dispersal of l’Attaque is complex and crosses many
borders. The combination of r ules that have made the game unique and
suitable for a patent and has also made the connection with China more
probable. The transmission and transformation of board games in China is
largely unexplored for modern games and opens up an area of board games
research as complex and revealing as that of traditional games.
The history of a modern board game is not always in the interest of board
games manufacturers and the hesitation of proclaimed inventors and patent

owners is understandable in the light of the above. However, the context in

which these games develop and the transformations they experience when
they are transmitted from one to the other reveal the processes of devel-
opment and dispersal that has been at the center of board games research
since the beginning of the twentieth century.
We wish to thank Luo Jun, Du Chun Feng, Xu Mingqi for their patience
and assistance. We owe particular thanks to Xiaohong Zhang whose help
has made this article possible.

References
[Bell, 1979] Bell, R.C., 1960/1969 (1979 revised edition). Board
and table gamesfrom many civilizations, Volume 1 &
2. New York, Dover Publications.
[Boutin, 1999] Boutin, M., 1999, Le livre de jeux de pions, Paris,

Éditions Bornemann.
[Culin, 1895] Culin, S., 1895, Korean Games with notes on the cor-
responding games of China and Japan Dover Publica-
tions & The Brooklyn Museum.
[Goodfellow, 1998] Goodfellow,C., 1998, The development of the English

Board Game, 1770-1850. Journal of Board Games
Studies 1, Leiden, CNWS Publications pp. 70–80
[Horn, 1993] Horn, F., 1993, Stratego, Het Spel 2.
[Horn, 2004] Horn, F., 2004, How about Stratego, Paper presented
at the Colloquium Board Games Studies VII, April
10, 2004, Philadelphia, USA.
[Lhôte, 1994] Lhôte, J.M., 1994, Histoire des Jeux de Societé, Flam-
marion.
[Murray, 1952] Murray, H.J.R., 1952, A history of board games other

than chess, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[Parlett, 1999] Parlett,D., 1999, The Oxford history of board games,

Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[Röllicke, 1999] Röllicke, H. J. , 1999, Von “Winkelwegen”,

“Eulen” und “Fischziehern” - liubo: einaltchinesiches
Brettspiel für Geister und Menschen, Journal of
Board Games Studies 2, Leiden: CNWS Publications,
pp. 24–41
[Schädler, 1997] Schädler, Ulrich, 1997, XII Scripta, Alea, Tabula -

new evidence for the Roman history of ‘backgammon’.
In: A.J. de Voogt (ed.), New Approaches to Board
Games Research, Asian Origins and future perspec-
tives, IIAS: Working Papers Series 3, Leiden.

[Schlegel] Schlegel, G., 1869, Chinesische Bräuche and Spiele in

Europa, Inaugural-Dissertation, Breslau.
[Voogt, 1999] Voogt, A.J. de, 1999, Distribution of mancala board

games: a methodological inquiry, Journal of Board
Games Studies 2, Leiden, CNWS Publications pp.
104–115
[Wendling, 2002] Wendling,Th., 2002, H.J.R Murray and the study of

games in the era of the Cambridge School of Ethnology
Paper presented at the Colloquium Board Games in
Academia V, University of Ramon Llul, Barcelona.
[Whitehill, 1999] Whitehill, B. , 1999, American Games: a historical

perspective, Journal of Board Games Studies 2, Lei-
den, CNWS Publications, pp. 116–141

Toward a Classification of
Non-Electronic Table Games
Bruce Whitehill

Abstract
Game theorists have long attempted to devise a method of classifying or
cataloguing the myriad types of games that exist and have existed. His-
torians examine specifics within board games, cataloguing games by their
method of play. Modern game companies separate their game product line
into children’s games, family games, and adult games. Players use divisions
according to the level of strategy and the type of game, such as board game,
card game, skill & action game or party game. Classification by characte-
ristics, such as game mechanisms, is differentiated from ways of sorting, such
as by complexity or theme.
This author examines whether all the factors used to differentiate games
can be employed in one system of classification, and attempts to determine
if they can be applied to all games, past and present. Further, an effort is
made to classify “indoor” games and, in greater detail, board games.).
Introduction
The Need for Classification
Why classify games? The need to classify games comes with the yearning
to understand the similarities and differences between games old and new
across cultural boundaries, and to develop a system of description and ter-
minology that assists in simplifying communication about games. The desire
to compare and contrast is held by both historians and modern players.
54 Toward a Classification...
History
Around the turn of the 20th century, games researcher Stewart Culin exami-
ned games of the world and, especially, of American Indians. He categorized
games as games of chance, games of dexterity, and “games of pure skill and
calculation”. He called these “classes of games”. He broke down games of
chance into two categories, dice games and guessing games, which he descri-
bed as games of concealment. Culin’s main writings in 1896 and 1907 were
produced when the commercial game industry in the United States was little
more than 60 years old.
Half a century later, H.J.R. Murray, in his 1952 book, The History of
Board Games Other Than Chess, proposed a classification of games that
included race games, war games, hunt games, alignment or configuration
games, and mancala games. At that time, manufactured games in America
were still primarily for children, and the industry itself was still in its infancy.
Murray’s primary interest was in examining ancient and classic games.
It wasn’t until 1962 that the 3M Game Company began to produce games
of strategy and calculation aimed at adults, an impetus which repeated it-
self in Germany four years later when 3M used its world-wide marketing
presence to introduce these games to the continent; the style of strategic,
tactical games synonymous with that country today has added the words
“German game” or “Eurogame” to the vernacular.
Since the late 20th century, games have evolved considerably, and more
and more types of games have been introduced to a public that devotes more
time to play than its ancestors did.
In the 1999 The Oxford History of Board Games, author David Parlett
compares the system of classification of board games used by Murray with
the similar system used by R.C. Bell and one advanced by himself. Since the
1980s and, indeed, even since Parlett’s book, there has been a great increase
in the number and types of games that have made it to market. This makes
it more urgent—and more difficult—to develop a system of classification
that works for all non-electronic games.

Bruce Whitehill 55
What Is a Game?
Before one can classify or categorize games, one must define what a game is.
A game is a pastime, a form of play, in which players compete, each trying
to emerge the winner according to a specific set of rules and a predetermined
end; the winning player is the first to reach a particular goal, be it to attain
a certain position or accumulate the pre-requisite requirements. In a soli-
taire game, considered by some purists to be more a puzzle than a game, a
player is either competing against himself—trying to better a previous score
or accomplish a goal in a shorter amount of time—or is competing against
the game itself, in a sense playing against the game’s inventor, trying to
fulfill the author’s objectives.
Many activities are referred to—sometimes mistakenly-as games. One

of the problems is the overlap and lack of distinction between certain games
and some sports. We “play” at sports just as we “play” a game. In most
sports, all players play at the same time, as opposed to the turn—order used
in games. But there are many exceptions. In the sport of golf-also called the
“game” of golf-players play one at a time (in an order that usually changes
throughout the game). Sports usually require a field or a hall or arena,
whereas games can be played within a small confine. Those pastimes, then,
that fit the requirements of rules and a prescribed end that are played in
a large outdoor area are sports, whereas those played inside the home or
similar structure are games. However, this leaves us with an in-between
area, the “backyard”, where such pastimes as Croquet, Horseshoes, Quoits,
and Boce are played and referred to alternately as both games and sports.
Similarly, some ”street games” such as Hopscotch, played on the “sidewalk”
or asphalt, blur the line between play and a game. It is interesting to note
that all these examples and others that come to mind are pastimes that
require some physical action and activity.
Initial Classification
The difficulty in developing a system of classification for games-even after
we have agreed on a terminology-is that there are so many overlaps (where a
game may be classified in two or even more categories), so many exceptions,
and an inordinate combination of different variables.
The first classification that is needed, then, is the division of games into

Indoor Games and Outdoor Games, with the understanding that Indoor
Games may be played outdoors, such as Wari played on a front porch
or chess played in the local park; but Outdoor Games, in their normal
fashion, cannot be played indoors. Lawn games such as Quoits, Croquet and
Lawn Bowling have been miniaturized to allow Ring Toss, Table Croquet and
Carpet Bowls to be played indoors; even Hopscotch has been transformed
into an indoor game played on a vinyl mat.
Once indoors—if we stay with a linear classification of games—we need

to differentiate between games played with no implements (save for, perhaps,
those needed for record-keeping) and those games that use some materials.
Games with no implements are usually called “parlor games” or, more re-
cently, “party games”, and in earlier times included an entire category called
“forfeits”, in which someone would have to answer a question or riddle or
perform some dexterous activity, and, if unsuccessful, would then have to
take the mild consequences, mostly deemed humorous in those times.
The latter division, “Games with implements”, can be broken down into
three sub-categories: pencil & paper games, games using common house-
hold objects, and classic or proprietary games that have a set of materials,
be they unique or standard game pieces. These are the games referred to
by R.C. Bell and others as “Table Games”. Pencil-&-paper games, often
designed for two players, include such classics as Battleships, Boxes, and
Noughts & Crosses or Tic-Tac-Toe. It is interesting to note that all of these
pencil-&-paper games have been made commercially, employing anything
from pencils and a pad to a slate to a more elaborate molded plastic or
carved wooden base.
Games using household objects include hidden object memory games

and games such as a Shove Ha’Penny variant in which a coin is finger-
flicked across a table top, with the aim being to get the coin as close to the
far edge of the table without falling off.
Classic games and proprietary games constitute a large category today,

and here is where devising a system of game classification becomes complex.
There are three primary systems that are possibilities for classification: the
historic, put forth primarily by Murray; the “company model”, used by
today’s game companies; and the players’ system of classification, used in-
formally by many game players today. Certainly these three groups—the
historians, the manufacturers, and the players—are interested in much of the

Bruce Whitehill 57
same information, but the emphasis of each is quite different. The historians
are looking primarily at the origins of games, the materials employed, and
the games’ social and cultural significance; the manufacturers are catego-
rizing their games according to the intended audience—that is to say, the
consumer; and the players are looking at (and for) special mechanisms that
make games unique and/or interesting to play.
If we can successfully set up a linear system—and this could prove an

impossibility—then that would mean establishing a hierarchy. But each
group making the assessment would want, at the very least, its own system
to be at the top of the pyramid. However, as we have entered an age of
computers and databases, and have access to instant “Find” and “Sort”
possibilities for our data, it may be possible to combine the three classifica-
tions, allowing the hierarchy to change depending on the end user.
There are many attributes to a game that are important in analyzing

and describing a game, but they may not necessarily be part of an overall
classification. These include:
Theme, as it relates to historical, geographical or socio-cultural sub-

jects presented in or promoted by the game;
Strategy vs. Chance (Luck), two factors which should total 100%;
Simplicity vs. Complexity, which cannot be assigned a percent value

but can be shown as a range.
Whereas such things as game implements, style of board, illustrator, con-

dition, source, and notes or background information, among other things,
can be useful in sorting games listed in a database, only certain basic ele-
ments should be employed in designing and clearly defining an uncompli-
cated system of games classification.
Historical Interests
Many 19th century and early to mid 20th century games as well as games of
antiquity are still played today, such as Chess, Checkers, Chinese Checkers,
Halma, The Game Of Goose, Mill, Mah Jongg, Reversi, Snakes & Lad-
ders, Mancala games and the more luck-based games such as Parcheesi and

Backgammon. Games of antiquity such as Senet (Senat), The Royal Game

Of Ur, The Game Of Twenty, and Fifty-Eight Holes include games that
originated 5000 years ago. Historians try to decipher not only where and
how a game originated, but also how it might have been played. There is
also considerable interest in whether the game traveled to other parts of the
world, and, if so, how and where, and in what way it may have changed over
time and distance. A game may suggest something about the social order
of a particular society in those times, just as information about the culture
could suggest what purpose the game served.
Sub-categories of prime interest for historical research, then, would in-

clude land of origin; the range of areas where the game is/was known to be
played; existence of rules of play; variations of the gameboard, materials, or
rules in different areas; and the eras during which the game was played.
Commercial Manufacturing
Since the mid to late 1800s, game companies in the United States and Eu-
rope have been manufacturing games as products which must then be sold
for public consumption, whether it be through direct (retail) or indirect
(wholesale) means. Game companies put their games into categories to
make them easier to market. The categories are based primarily on the au-
dience to whom the game is targeted—children, family, or adults—or to the
theme or style of game.
The three main categories used by many mass-market game companies

are: Children’s Games (including educational games); Family Games (games
suitable for the entire family, or, at the very least, which adults won’t be too
bored playing with children); and Adult Games (games which have either
“adult” themes or a relatively complex method of play). Other categories,
which have changed and will continue to change over time, include:
Party Games - games for groups usually of five or more; the games are
often word games or games that require physical actions or stunts.
Trivia Games - a separate category that normally falls under Party

Games, requiring individuals or teams of players to answer trivial ques-
tions.

Bruce Whitehill 59
Skill & Action Games - dexterity games that require players to throw,
roll, balance, build, or otherwise manipulate materials or objects.
Some Skill & Action games actually require no skill and are all action,
such as in some top-spinning games.
An exploration of game company catalogs also reveals that companies
classify games according to price and theme; Milton Bradley catalogs from
the early 1900s, for example, had a section of low-priced “5 Cents” games,
while in the 1980s there was a special group of one-dollar games. Some cata-
logs in different years had pages devoted to games representing a particular
popular theme of the time, such as cartoon games or mystery games.
Players’ Games
Game players have a few select primary interests: they want the game they
are playing to be fun and/or challenging. They are interested in the game
mechanism (how it plays), or the level of interaction with other players that
the game creates. In some cases, they even may be interested in what they
may learn from the game. Whereas historians are interested in the oldest
games, players pay attention to the newest of games, making a game’s “date”
of indirect importance. Many players are also interested in the theme. One
popular website lists over 70 categories it uses as themes in its classification
of non-electronic games. Serious players, who are more attuned to the game
market, are also often interested in knowing the manufacturer, the game’s
author, level of strategy, and duration (games can last from ten minutes to
several hours).
The 7 Categories of Table Games

To begin, it is necessary to have an overall classification of indoor games, or
“table games” as we refer to them here. The seven main categories are:
Board Games
Card Games
Dice Games
Word Games
Dexterity Games

Domino Games & Linear Tile-Laying Games
Memory Games
One cannot expect a classification of games to be without exceptions and

overlaps. Board games, for instance, may have cards or use dice, and a dice
game or card game may employ a small gameboard, but the distinctions are
made according to the primary material or mode of play. A game in which
cards are laid out on a table and then played upon could be considered a
board game rather than a card game.
A board game consists of, predominantly, a game board that directs the
movement or style of play. Boards might be carved in wood, etched in
stone, printed on linen, or commercially manufactured with lithographed
paper pasted to cardboard.
A card game can be one of two types of games:
1. games played with a standard pack of playing cards (example: Rummy,

Pinochle, Skat, Canasta);
2. games which use a special set of cards (examples: Old Maid; Authors;
Snap; Pit; Quartet; Schwarzer Peter, Bohnanza).
Games played with playing cards are considered generic, while games with
special cards are usually proprietary, though some may have fallen into the
public domain. Dice and markers or playing pieces might be included with
a card game.
Dice games are those that use dice exclusively or as the primary mode
of play. Yahtzee and Liar’S Dice are prime examples.
Word Games are games that use words or phrases as the principle method
of play, regardless of the materials. Scrabble is a word game played on a
board (and would be considered by many to be a board game); Perquackey,
a popular game for many years, used letters on dice-like cubes to form words;
other popular word games were pencil-&-paper games. Many modern word
games also fit under the classification of Parlor Games.
Dexterity games have been referred to by other sources as “Skill & Ac-
tion” games. These are games in which objects may be rolled, thrown,

Bruce Whitehill 61
pushed, flipped, finger-flicked, balanced built, or otherwise moved, the out-

come depending on the skill or manual dexterity of the player. However,
some Skill & Action games, such as many of those involving tops, depend
primarily on the “action”, as the player has little control (or skill) over the
object’s movement.
Domino games share a category with linear tile-laying games. A modern

linear tile-laying game, Tutankhamen, forms a pathway, the object being
to move your pieces strategically and be the first player to reach the end.
Though the name “dominoes” is usually used to refer to both the playing
pieces and the basic game that is played with it, there are many different
games that can be played with dominos, allowing “domino games” to stand
as its own category.
Memory games are worthy of their own classification since they repre-
sent a particular style of game with the same game mechanism, whether
the game is played with a deck of cards, a molded plastic three-dimensional
unit, or as a TV-based licensed product.
A Classification of Board Games

The predominant category of games is Board Games. One of the main pur-
poses of this paper has been to devise a system that would serve not only as
an overall classification of games but specifically as a classification of board
games, designed to pull together and update the proposals of Culin, Murray,
Bell and Parlett.
The category of Board Games can be subdivided into games with fixed
boards and those with variable boards-that is, game boards which are laid
out in sections at the start of a game and therefore will most likely be diffe-
rent each time the game is played; the most popular example: The Settlers
of Catan and the many variants in that series.
Here, then, are the seven categories that encompass fixed-board and
variable-board board games.
Games of alignment: the object is to line up your pieces in a straight

line or particular order; examples are Pente and four-in-a-row games
such as Hasbro’s Connect Four and its many knock-offs.

Race games: the object is to move one or more playing pieces across
or around a gameboard in order to be the first player to arrive at a
prescribed destination; the game might have one piece per player or a
number of pieces (often four) that must reach the end position. There
are three types of Race Games:
1. Path game: Players begin at Point “A” and race along what may
be a circuitous path to Point “B”, though there may be detours
and shortcuts along the way; examples are SSnakes & Ladders,
which has one playing piece per player, and the game of India, in
which each player has four pieces.
2. Track game: Players begin at Point “A” and race along a usually
oval track near the perimeter of the gameboard back to Point “A”;
one circuit of the track is the norm, but more may be required;
players normally are controlling one playing piece. Examples are
most horse race or car race games.
3. Goal game: the object is to be the first player to get all his pieces
from a starting “home” area to a target zone, usually an oppo-
nent’s home area. Examples are Halma and Chinese Checkers.
Games of Capture: the object is to capture an opponent’s pieces or

to capture the most (or best) territory; examples are Mancala games,
in which the playing pieces are neutral, and Chess, in which all playing
pieces have a clearly defined power and movement, and Reversi or
Othello and combinatorial games in which territory is captured either
through expansion or by changing an opponent’s pieces to your own.
Games of capture can be symmetrical (players have identical pieces)
or asymmetrical, in which each player has either a different number
of pieces or pieces that have different strengths from the opposing
player’s pieces; piece strength may vary according to the type of space
on which the piece stands. Games of capture can be classified into five
subcategories:
1. Placement Only: pieces are placed on a gameboard during turns

but are not moved; example: Reversi/Othello.
2. Movement Only: pieces are pre-positioned on a gameboard as
per the game’s criterion and are moved during turns; examples:
Checkers/Draughts, Chess.
3. Place & Move: pieces are placed as chosen by the players, then
moved; example: Stratego.

Bruce Whitehill 63
4. War & Simulation: themed games which represent real or fic-

tional battles; armies need to capture or kill (remove from play)
opposing troops; examples: Risk and Axis & Allies.
5. Mancala Games: abstract games with a defined system of cyclical
movement during which neutral pieces are captured and brought
to your home cells.
Building Games: the object is to build, develop or acquire ownership

in objects or geographic areas; examples: Acquire, Carcassonne, and
Catan games (see also immediately below).
Trading & Negotiation Games: these are games in which players

are required to interact in order to negotiate goals or barter for ma-
terials they need; examples are Diplomacy (which is also a War &
Simulation game), Clue/Cluedo, and Catan games.
Games of Survival: the object is, simply, not to lose your piece or
pieces as parts of the gameboard disappear; examples include Sur-
vive/Atlantis, in which pieces of a volcanic island in the middle of the
gameboard and removed, forcing islanders to vie for boats to get to
the mainland, and Isolation (Lakeside, 1978), Niek Neuwahl’s Arctic,
both of which require a figure to be able to continue moving on the
gameboard as parts of the board are removed from play, and Vineta.
Other: Historians and researchers are loath to have a “miscellaneous”

category because the implication is that their system has flaws or
needs a “catchall” for exclusions or exceptions. But in a system of
classification of games, not only is there likely to be a great deal of
overlap of categories and subcategories, but also the development of
ideas and technology in the future will introduce games that do not
conform to the current system. The system is not broken because of
this, but it must contain a category that allows for growth. At some
point, a number of games that have found their way into the “Other”
category will be seen to be similar enough to one another that a new,
specific category can be formed and added to the system. In this way,
this proposed system of classification of games and, more pointedly,
board games, will serve to include not only ancient games but also
games not yet invented.
[email protected]

1
Alekhine’s Death:
Murder or natural causes?
Dagoberto Markl
National Museum of Ancient Art (Lisbon)

Abstract
On the 24th of March 1946, the World Champion Alexander Alekhine was
found dead in his bedroom at the Hotel do Parque in Estoril. Over the
causes of his dead there are some theories. This paper supports the murder
hypothesis.
On March 24th 1946 the World champion Alexander Alekhine was found
dead in his hotel room at the Park Hotel in Estoril. He was sitting on an
armchair; in front of him was a table where his dinner laid; next to him
was a chessboard, chess pieces left untouched. Alekhine had his overcoat
on and looked as if he was asleep. A fact worth mentioning is the existence
of two photographs taken by Luı́s Lupi, Francisco Lupi’s father, a chess
mastermind and regular partner to Alekhine. Luı́s Lupi was known for
having connections with both the Portuguese political police (PVDE) and
the North-American secret services.
66 Alekhine’s Death: Murder or natural causes?
Figure 1 Alekhine’s body at the Park Hotel in Estoril.
There are several versions regarding the World champion’s death. The
Portuguese police tried to convey the idea of a suicide, caused by a laceration
in the throat by means of a razorblade. Another version defends the theory
of heart failure. Nonetheless, the official version, and the most commonly
accepted, is that he died by asphyxiation due to a piece of meat caught
down his throat. This was the cause of death determined after the autopsy
by a pathologist named António Ferreira, who passed away recently in the
United States where he resided. Let’s have a look at a document written by
Dr. António Ferreira on the 8th of September 1967:
“I was present at Alexander Alekhine’s autopsy which took place in the

Department of Legal Medicine, of the Medical Faculty, University of Lis-
bon. Alekhine had been found dead in his room in an Estoril hotel under
conditions that were regarded as suspicious and indicated the need of an au-
topsy to ascertain the cause of death. The autopsy revealed that Alekhine’s
cause of death of (SIC) asphyxia due to a piece of meat, obviously part of a
meal, which lodged itself in the larynx. There was no evidence whatsoever
that foul play had taken place, neither suicide nor homicide. There were no
other diseases to which his sudden an unexpected death could be attributed.”
Nevertheless, this doctor could have only been an assistant during the au-
topsy for he was still a student at the Medicine Faculty at that time, as
stated by himself to a Yugoslavian reporter, Bjelica, a statement that was

Dagoberto Markl 67
later published [Bjelica, 1993]:
“Yes, I was present during Alekhine’s autopsy. Back then I was a medicine
student in Lisbon. It was mere chance that I was on duty; thus I had the
opportunity to attend the autopsy. I didn’t have the slightest idea of whose
body that was. A colleague of mine asked me, quite carried away by the
solemnity of the moment: ’Do you know who that is? It’s Alekhine.’ I was
speechless. ”
Oddly enough and according to GM Anthony Saidy’s recent investigations,

GM Kevin Spragget found that, without giving any detail whatsoever as
to how and when, Luı́s Lupi had told him in a private conversation that
Alekhine’s death wasn’t due to asphyxiation but due to a bullet injury. We
also know that Dr. António Ferreira told some friends that Alekhine’s body
had been found on the street in front of his hotel and that he had been shot.
He also confessed to have been pressured by the Portuguese governmental
authorities to state in the autopsy report that he had died of asphyxiation.
As we already wrote in our book [Markl, 2001]:
“What we find peculiar is the peaceful position of Alekhine’s body. It is

hard to believe that a person victim of asphyxiation would die with the
serenity shown by the photographs and recorded in the files. Dr. António
Ferreira himself states that the asphyxiated man fell on the floor. Sup-
posedly it is easy to understand that in such a situation the victim would
have kicked and choked in convulsion. But none if this is shown in the pic-
tures.”
The photos are suspicious. It is taken for granted that when a person dies
in such a place, the Police are present at the scene and no one is allowed to
touch the body or contaminate the crime scene. However, the photographs
taken from different angles by Luı́s Lupi prove that something has been
changed. In the up-right corner we see a piece of furniture over which we
see a glass and a book and a folded newspaper that mysteriously disappears
in another photograph. This strengthens the theory that a stage has been
set up to cover up the incident.

Figure 2 Alekhine’s body at the Park Hotel in Estoril (compare with Figure 1).
The suspicions that my book stimulated were confirmed by a news article

sent to me by GM Boris Spassky (ex-world champion), who had also been
working on the events of Alekhine’s death, writing a text later published in
a Moscow weekly chess magazine.Spassky told me that, in a lunch he had
in Paris in 1985 with Aristides Sain, a Romanian industrial who at that
time lived in Estoril and was acquainted with Alekhine, he told him that in
the night of the 23rd to the 24th March he received a telephone call from
the police notifying him that a man had been found dead in the street. On
his pocket he had a telephone book with his telephone number and so they
asked Sain to identify the body. The Romanian rushed to the place and
identified Alekhine. This comes to confirm what Dr. António Ferreira said:
Alekhine had been murdered.
Who would be interested in such a deed and who carried out the crime?
According to GM Kevin Spraggett, Alekhine was killed by a super-secret
Death Squad created by the French Resistance. This Squad’s main objec-
tive was to estimate and alphabetically register each and every French col-
laborator with the Nazi Regime. It is good to bear in mind that Alekhine
had been previously naturalized as French. The convicted list had 200.000
names upon it. But this is not our opinion though.
On February the 4th 1946 Alekhine received the following letter from Mikhail
Botvinnik (ex-world champion):
World’s Championship.

Dagoberto Markl 69
Mr. A. Alekhine!
I regret that the war prevented the organization of our match in 1939. But
I herewith again challenge you to a match for the world’s chess champi-
onship.If you agree, a person authorized by myself and the Moscow Chess
Club will conduct negotiations with you or your representative on the ques-
tion of conditions, date and the place where the match should be held,
preferably through the British Chess Federation.
I await your answer, in which I also ask you to state your ideas about the
date and the place of the match. I beg you to state your ideas about the
date and the place of the match. I beg you to send a telegraphic reply, with
subsequent postal confirmation, to the Moscow Chess Club.
February 4th, 1946

Mikhail Botvinnik
A controversial arousal settles amidst the Soviet Chess Federation after

Botvinnik’s proposal. In an interview [Vainshtein, 1993], Boris Vainshtein,
the former president of the Soviet Chess Federation and ex-member of the
secret services NKVD, describes the session of 1945 in which a voting took
place to decide whether the match was to be held or not:
“When the polemic issue of Alekhine’s participation was proposed for voting,
I declared that it simultaneously arouse a question concerning the continuity
of my position as president. If the committee voted in favour of Alekhine’s
participation, then I would automatically cease my presidency. The vote
was 5 to 4 against the match. Obviously I gave up my vote, since I was
the president and member of the committee and since I had advanced the
motion of my departure. Voting was done by raised hands and I recall that
both Kotov and Ragozin (Botvinnik’s trainer to be) were against Botvin-
nik’s idea. In that moment, one of the assistants (I think it was Abramov)
told Kotov: but Sasha, we decided in the party’s committee meeting that
the match was to take place. Kotov mumbled: ’I didn’t know that... Then
we shall have to repeat the voting’. We voted once again and this time
around every party member raised their hands accordingly to the party’s
guidelines. Nevertheless, Viacheslav Ragozin, and I cannot emphasize this
enough, voted against the match.”
I can only assume that a movement was created in order to prevent the ac-
tual realization of this event due to this division. The London Tournament
occurred between the 14th and the 26th January 1946. Alekhine wished to

enter the tournament and asked Francisco Lupi to put in a good word for
him among the best chess players attending the competition. Lupi was there
when the great court or the great judgement took place. The assembly was
gathered by Max Euwe and Arnold Denker; George Thomas, Ossip Berns-
tein, Tartakower, List, Friedmann, Medina, Abrahams and Herman Steiner
attending. It was deliberated that Alekhine was to present himself to the
French Chess Federation authorities and make his own defense case towards
the accusations made against him.
This meeting occurred the day before the tournament. It was held fore-
hand because the organization decided they needed proof that the invitation
made previously to Alekhine had been redraw.
In [Parr, 2005] dedicated to the memoir of the late Arnold Denker, Larry
Parr wrote as follows:
“When we began writing The Bobby Fisher I Knew and Other Stories in the
early 1990s, he said that the time had come to admit the wrong he had done
to Alexander Alekhine. Although a half century had passed since a player’s
meeting was held during the 1946 “Victory” International in London to dis-
cuss Alekhine’s alleged collaboration with the Nazis, Arnold averred that it
seemed as if that meeting had happened yesterday. “I found myself in an-
guish”, he wrote of that meeting. “Back in the Depression years of the early
1930s, Alekhine lavished me with kindnesses-free dinners, superb analysis
sessions, instructive practice games... He even chose me as his partner in
consultation games. This king of chess treated a young, unknown player like
a prince. He became my hero and chessic guiding light. And now, I found
myself going along with the condemnatory herd, repaying the currency of
kindness with the coin of unproved accusation... To this day, nearly a half
century past, I regret that more of us did not act like... Dr. Savielly Tar-
takower, who publicly pleaded Alekhine’s case and then, facing down the
entire group, proceeded to take up a collection for the stricken champion,
who was penniless in Portugal.” Arnold said that he could feel Alekhine’s
sense of abandonment at the hands of chess players.”
Faced with the Soviet Chess Federation’s decision, the political power de-
cided that killing Alekhine was the only way to prevent the match from
happening. In my opinion, the secret police of both countries (the Soviet
Union and Portugal - PVDE) managed to arrange a plan of action along
with a hotel employee, so it seems, who allegedly gave Alekhine some poi-

Dagoberto Markl 71
son. This might have been the cause of the symptoms that led Alekhine
to go out to the chemist. The watchful criminals were waiting outside and
fired the shot that killed him.
The date for the attack was meticulously calculated, for in the afternoon
of the 24th of March a telegram came in the Park Hotel. It came from Eng-
land and it confirmed the match. Meanwhile, it also stated that a French
visa was being issued and sent. Someone was able to inform the conspirators
of this telegram.
An improbable but also current idea is that Botvinnik was a NKVD Colonel
and was intimately linked to the murder. The intention was not to play
against Alekhine. This makes little sense because if indeed the match took
place and considering Alekhine’s physical and emotional state, Botvinnik’s
would very likely be the winner. The fact that the match didn’t occur forced
a tournament in which Botvinnik had to face some excellent players of the
time and that surely didn’t guarantee an easy victory. We mustn’t for-
get that Botvinnik had already defeated Alekhine in the Avro International
Tournament (Amsterdam, 1938) and that they have come to a tie in the
Nottingham Tournament in 1936.
Unfortunately we have no documents to insure the good course of our in-

vestigation. The Portuguese secret police (PIDE-DGS) files were either
destroyed or sent back to Moscow after the April Revolution in 1974. We
can only to hope that one day the files will eventually show up and thus
allow us to shed some light over the details involving Alexander Alekhine’s
death.
[email protected]
References
[Bjelica, 1993] Bjelica, D., 1993, Alexander Alekhine, Madrid, Zu-
garto Ediciones.
[Markl, 2001] Markl, D., 2001, Xeque-Mate no Estoril - A Morte de
Alekhine, Campo das Letras, page 81.
[Vainshtein, 1993] Vainshtein, B. (interview), 1993, Jaque Magazine.
[Parr, 2005] Parr, L., 2005, Chess Life Magazine, Vol. 60, Nr. 3.

1
Elements of chance and skill in games
David Parlett
In the course of a simultaneous display... I [once] said to one

of my opponents, “Tell me, Mr McMahon, how long did it take
you to learn to play Chess so badly?” He replied, “Sir, it’s been
nights of study and self-denial”. Geral Abrahams1
Like Gaul, games are anciently and popularly divided into three parts:
games of skill such as Chess and Go, games of chance such as Snakes & Lad-
ders and Roulette, and games of mixed chance and skill such as Backgammon
and Bridge. Such categorization is patently inadequate. It is slightly more
adequate to demolish the divisions and regard chance and skill as polar
opposites of a single continuum, so that any given game — or any given in-
stance of one — may be regarded as involving x per cent skill and (100 − x)
per cent chance.
But then skill and chance are themselves inadequate terms. Games in-
volve many different forms of chance, some of which are perceived rather
than real. A more appropriate term for this end of the spectrum is un-
certainty, or unpredictability as to the outcome of a game. All games by
definition involve a degree of uncertainty, for if the outcome of a game were
ever entirely certain or predictable there would be no point in playing it.
At the opposite end of the spectrum lies the antidote or counter to
uncertainty, which is the degree, if any, to which you can control or at least
influence the outcome of a game. The opposite of uncertainty is better
characterized as controllability rather than skill, as skill itself is not an
atomic property: there is no such thing as a single, universal “skill at games”
but rather many different types of skill. People tend to play those games
for which their particular talents suit them, or, if their talent is not one of
controllability, to which they are most attuned by temperament.
I am interested in exploring the elements of uncertainty or types of
chance that may be encountered in games, and the corresponding elements
of skill or types of controllability that may be employed to counter them.
1
Abrahams, Gerald, Brains in Bridge (1962), Preface.
74 Elements of chance and skill in games
This exploration takes me into specialized disciplines, such as mathematics,

psychology, and pedagogy, in which I have absolutely no qualifications or
expertise. I write purely as a games enthusiast and inventor, and can only
hope that my comments might be found to have some bearing on (a) the
classification of games, (b) inventing games, and (c) games appreciation.
1 Elements of uncertainty (chance)

Randomisation
The primary, most fundamental and oldest embodiment of uncertainty is the
occurrence of randomizing events such as the cast of lots or dice, for which
reason many suppose games to have originated in the practice of divination.
Equally fundamental, but historically more recent, is the randomization of
an initial position, which is classically embodied in the deal of playing-cards
from a shuffled pack.
Compulsion (lack of choice)

An element of uncertainty occurs in randomizing games that give you no
choice of play. A classic example is the Indian ancestor of our Snakes &
Ladders (Chutes & Ladders). Why such a game should continue to exist is
well explored by Salen & Zimmerman in Rules of Play2 . I would paraphrase
their argument by suggesting that Snakes & Ladders may be regarded as an
overlap between, on one hand, the playing of games, and, on the other, the
performance of plays, a point which I think would have appealed to Johan
Huizinga. Compulsion also overlaps with divination, in that it is an essential
property of Fate. The opposite of compulsion is choice, or free will, which
provides an essential opportunity for the exercise of skill.
Hidden information
Careless commentators tend to lump randomization together with imperfect
information, but in fact there is a significant difference between the types of
informational imperfection. Taking Backgammon and Bridge as exemplars:
Backgammon starts from a predetermined opening array and all subse-

quent moves are visible to both players. To this extent (only) the game
2
Salen, Katie, and Zimmerman, Eric, Rules of Play (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.,
2004), p. 179.

David Parlett 75
is one of perfect information at least as to the present and the past.

The element of randomness is introduced by the unpredictable roll of
dice, so the type of uncertainty involved here may be characterized as
“future imperfect information”.
Bridge, on the other hand, starts from a randomized opening array.

Thereafter, however, it is entirely free from uncontrollable randomizing
eventualities. It is, therefore, a game of “past imperfect information”.
The differences are significant in that they call for distinctive skills in
order to exert some degree of control over their outcome.
In Backgammon, skill consists in gradually setting up positions in

which you can benefit from a greater proportion of possible future
casts than your opponent, whom you try to manoeuvre into such a
position that very few possible casts are favourable.
In Bridge, skill consists in deducing or inferring the lie of cards in other

players’ hands, initially by means of the auction, and subsequently by
playing your cards in such a way as to uncover existing information in
time to take advantage of it. Bridge and other intelligent card games
are therefore not so much games of imperfect information as games of
perfecting information.
Besides perfect and imperfect information, further distinctions may be

drawn between certain and uncertain information, and complete and incom-
plete information; but let this suffice for the moment3 .
Inequality and indeterminacy

Inequality is associated with a random and therefore indeterminate opening
array such as the initial distribution of cards. Its effect is reduced by suffi-
ciently increasing the number of deals that constitute a whole game. It is
also inherent in asymmetric board games like Hnefatafl and Fox & Geese,
where the two players have different forces and different objectives; but here,
too, it is easily overcome by playing an even number of games and alternat-
ing the positions. You might say that it is a feature of most combinatorial
games, at least in so far as it is usually advantageous to move first.
Here it might be relevant to note that one of the ways in which games
evolve is by deliberate alteration of the rules in order to reduce potential
3
See Wikipedia, s.v. Complete information.

inequalities of players’ experience. If you subscribe to the online news-

group rec.games.abstract you will be aware of a current interest in devis-
ing forms of Chess with indeterminate openings, such as Fischerchess (aka
Chess960). In these variants the opening array is unknown in advance, but
is fully open before play begins so there is no lack of information. What is
lacking here is an experience of playing with a particular configuration of
pieces. On these grounds one might propose novelty as a carrier of uncer-
tainty, and, for its counter, experience as a component of skill.
Opacity
An element of uncertainty, or at least uncontrollability, is induced by the
opacity of a game. By opacity I mean the opposite of clarity, a property I
think Robert Abbott was the first to point in an article entitled “Under the
Strategy Tree”.4 Abbott writes:
Clarity is essentially the ease with which a player can see what
is going on in a game... [It] has nothing to do with simplicity,
or even with elegance. Edward de Bono’s L-Game is elegantly
minimal — it uses only four pieces and is played on a board
of only 4×4 squares. It is not, however, clear. I find it very
hard to picture what the board will look like when I turn my ‘L’
over, I find it harder still to visualize my opponent’s responses,
and it’s impossible for me to look ahead to my next move. A
game can be simple yet lack clarity, and conversely a game can
be complicated but still clear. Playing a game soon reveals its
degree of clarity. The greater the clarity of a game, the farther
you can see into it, and therefore the greater its depth for you.
Perplexity (= perception + complexity)

Chance and skill may differ according to whether they are perceived from
the inside, subjectively by a player, or from the outside, objectively by an
observer. As Salen and Zimmerman put it, “the perception of randomness
is more important than randomness itself”. They quote the example of
Chinese Checkers with four or more players:
As the game unfolds..., the centre... becomes crowded with a

seemingly random arrangement of pieces... even though every
4
Abbott, Robert, “Under the Strategy Tree — the concept of Clarity in games”, Games
& Puzzles (Series 1), No 36, May 1975, pp. 4–6.

David Parlett 77
single move... is the result of a player making a strategic choice

about where to play next. If you closed your eyes and opened
them only when it is your turn to move, it might seem like the
board is merely reshuffling itself, particularly in the middle...
game, when the centre area is most crowded. This feeling of
randomness is only an illusion, however, as there is no formal
chance mechanism in the game. [Hypothetically] logical play-
ers... wouldn’t feel any randomness: they could look at the board
and immediately trace every move back to a series of strategic
decisions. However, for human players, this feeling of random-
ness is an important part of what makes the game fun to play...
[T]he feeling of randomness creates a sense of open-ended pos-
sibility and players are rewarded for taking advantage of chance
configurations on the board... Seeing a pattern emerge out the
chaos that allows you to jump a piece back and forth all the
way across the entire length of the game board is a moment of
wonderfully meaningful play.5
Another subjective perception of chance comes into play when a Chess

master plays a novice. Both have perfect information as to the moves and
changing positions, but whatever the weaker player does, the stronger sees
through it to what led him to make that move, what he has in mind, what
situation it might ultimately lead to, and how to circumvent or take ad-
vantage of it. The weaker, however, will often be baffled by the master’s
unforeseen move with what are to himself unforeseeable implications. As
far as the novice is concerned, he might as well be confronting a completely
random move determined by the roll of a die, and exhibiting no perceptible
past cause or future effect. As Philip Ross puts it:6
The feats of chess masters have long been ascribed to nearly

magical mental powers. This magic shines brightest in the so-
called blindfold games in which the players are not allowed to
see the board...
Ross’s reference to magic reminds me of the converse of perceived but

unreal chance, namely that of perceived but unreal skill. An example is
provided by Dennis Tedlock:7
5
Salen, Katie, and Zimmerman, Eric, Pop. cit., p. 176.
6
Ross, Philip, “The Expert Mind” Scientific American, August 2006.
7
Tedlock, Dennis, Introduction to Culin, S, Games of the North American Indians —
Volume 1, Games of Chance, Nebraska University Press, 1992, p. 23.

We might call it a “game of chance,” which is what Culin calls

similar games in this book, but that expresses the point of view
of an observer. Meanwhile, the participants constantly think in
terms of strategy, pitting their wishes against chance in momen-
tary acts of magic, which is what we all find ourselves doing
when we throw dice. / [A] paradox of the Zuñi game of wooden
dice is that, technically, it is not what Culin calls a “game of
dexterity,” and yet the players do try slightly different ways of
handling the sticks, as if they could influence the outcome of a
throw. [...] So if there is any dexterity here, it must remain on
the side of magic [...]
Extrinsics
We might mention, for completeness, the existence of chance factors that
are extrinsic to the game. I first became aware of these in my schooldays,
when my friend’s mother raised some objection to our playing Chess on a
Sunday. “It’s a game of skill”, we protested, not a game of luck”. “Well”,
she replied, “You’re lucky if you win, aren’t you?”. It was at this point that
I realised that (a) luck and chance are not the same thing, and (b) you are
indeed lucky if in a Chess tournament you happen to be drawn against a
weaker player, or one whose opening you have just been mugging up, or one
who happens to be feeling unwell at the time. Of such chance factors, no
more need be said.
2 Controllability (skill)
Cheating
The best way to exercise control over the outcome of a game is to cheat. This
pits maximum controllability on your behalf against baffling uncertainty on
the part of your victim, who, if sufficiently gullible, may look upon your
constant success as a form of magic. And why not — when you consider
that cheating and magic are little more than differing interpretations of the
same conjuring trick?
Memory — past and future

The importance of memory is obvious, but its ramifications are subtle and
it would be impossible to outline them here without going into dispropor-

David Parlett 79
tionate detail.
Abrahams, in The Chess Mind,8 holds that memory is easily overesti-
mated, especially if it is taken to imply remembering a number of standard
openings. Very long retentiveness, indeed, is “often a concomitant of minds
lacking in originality”. More important than the consciously recollected “is
that set of mental habits which smooths the action of the mind”, a capa-
bility best described as “technique”, and most relevant in the endgame. Of
greatest significance, however, is what he refers to as “holding in [one’s]
mind a clear conception that is in part constituted by the memory of what
will have happened, i.e. what has already happened as a mental event”.
Here we find ourselves talking about the forward visualisation involved in
combinatorial games like Chess. What do we mean by forward visualisation?
At first sight we mean looking ahead to our next move and to the sequence
of moves likely to result from it. This has been described as examining the
branches of the strategy tree, and is something that computers are very good
at. In human terms it seems like a form of memory, only in reverse, in that
we are following a sequence forward into the future rather than backward
into the past. I have always described this ability as mental “projection”, in
that we are projecting ourselves into the future. Abrahams refers to it simply
as “vision”. But in fact “future recall” or “reverse memory” is a pretty good
term for it, as experiments have shown that exactly the same parts of the
brain light up as when it is engaged in tracing backward memories.9
Apperception and experience

Against this, however, must be set the discovery that Chess masters do not
normally go down this analytical route on a step-by-step basis. Capablanca,
on being asked “How many moves do you see ahead?”, is said to have replied
“Only one — but it’s always the best one”. As Philip Ross observes:10
He thus put in a nutshell what a century of psychological re-

search has subsequently established: much of the chess master’s
advantage over the novice derives from the first few seconds of
thought. This rapid, knowledge-guided perception, sometimes
called apperception, can be seen in experts in other fields as
well. Just as a master can recall all the moves in a game he has
8
Abrahams, Gerald, The Chess Mind, London 1951.
9
Marshall, Jessica, “Future recall: your mind can slip through time”, The New Scien-
tist, 24 March 2007, pp. 36–40.
10
Ross, op. cit.

played, so can an accomplished musician often reconstruct the

score to a sonata heard just once. And just as the chess mas-
ter often finds the best move in a flash, an expert physician can
sometimes make an accurate diagnosis within moments of laying
eyes on a patient.
How do they do this? They see total situations as in a photographic

memory, to such an extent that it seems to an outside observer — or to
their hapless opponents — more like a stroke of intuition than a process
of cerebral analysis and future recall. Ross notes that it was in 1894 that
Alfred Binet, co-inventor of the first intelligence test, hypothesised that
Chess masters achieved an almost photographic image of the board, but he
soon concluded that the visualization was much more abstract, resembling,
rather, the same kind of implicit knowledge that the commuter has of the
stops on a subway line. The expert relies not so much on an intrinsically
stronger power of analysis as on a store of structured knowledge, enabling
him to reconstruct any particular detail at will by tapping a well-organized
system of connections. A weaker player, confronted with a difficult position,
may calculate for half an hour, often looking many moves ahead, yet miss
the right continuation, whereas a grandmaster sees the move immediately,
without consciously analyzing anything at all. In brief, experts rely more
on structured knowledge than on analysis.
Ross goes on to invoke the theory of information “chunking” developed
by [Herbert A.] Simon and [William] Chase, of Carnegie Mellon University.
Simon explained the masters’ reconstruction of Chess positions with the aid
of a model based on meaningful patterns called chunks, enabling them to
manipulate vast amounts of stored information that would be expected to
strain the working memory beyond its normal capacity to contemplate more
than seven items at a time.
It occurs to me that a metaphor other than chunking, but achieving
the same effect, might be termed “networking”. The novice, examining
a complicated Chess position, sees little more than a collection of pieces
occupying specific squares, unconnected with each other, like a cloud of
dots on a page. The master, however, upon glancing at the same position,
immediately “sees”, in his mind’s eye, not just a collection of discrete dots
but also a network of interrelationships between them.

David Parlett 81
Intuition
An alternative explanation is offered by Lois D. Isenman in her paper on
Intuition.11
Intuition as a bridging function brings the power of the un-

conscious into conscious thought. Through intuition, the un-
conscious with its vast memory banks, its associative accessing
system, its speed, and its ability to process multiple items in
parallel, greatly enriches the ability of conscious mental activ-
ity to manipulate logic and construct empiric tests... As dreams
demonstrate, the unconscious frequently communicates in the
language of symbols. In symbol formation, each object can be
represented by multiple associative categories. In symbolic ex-
pression, any one of these aspects can stand for the whole item;
however, symbols often simultaneously encode a number of dif-
ferent levels, presenting a richly textured and very often sur-
prising understanding of the object under consideration. In the
unconscious, in effect, each item is categorized by all its differ-
ent component parts, as well as its descriptive, situational, and
affective associations. Intuitions very frequently come through
to awareness in symbolic form and tend to share in the rich
and unexpected quality that characterizes unconscious mental
processes... Associative processing, an important component of
symbol formation, plays a central role in intuition whether or
not intuition is expressed in consciousness in symbolic form.
Intuition may be closely allied to the skills of deduction and inference

required of intelligent card games. Does it also shade into elements of extra-
sensory perception as might be the case in the game of Pelmanism, also
known as Memory? If so, are we also encroaching on the borders of what
some might categorise as “magic”?
Inference and deduction

When I was a teacher in my early twenties I played a lot of Chess. At one
school most of the staff played Kriegspiel, even those members who did not
normally play Chess. I soon discovered, to my surprise, that I was better
at Kriegspiel than at Orthochess. Then I noticed that the annual Kriegspiel
11
Isenman, Lois D., Toward an understanding of intuition and its importance in scien-
tific endeavour, 1997.

tournament was invariably won not by the strongest Chess players but by the
strongest Bridge players. It was obvious that one of the skills demanded by
Kriegspiel was that of deduction or inference as to the positions of the playing
pieces; that this was a skill particularly demanded of card-players; and that it
might therefore be appropriate for me specialize in card games rather board
games. In reading the literature on games I also became aware that Chess
players tend to look down on card-playing on the grounds that cards are not
games of perfect information, with the further implication that games of
perfect information require more skill than games of imperfect information,
which are therefore to be equated with games of chance. Mortimer Collins,
in Attic Salt (1887), writes:
There are two classes of men, those who are content to yield
to circumstances, and who play Whist; and those who aim to
control circumstances, and play Chess.
But of course this is nonsense. Information is not absent from strategic

card games: rather, it is released gradually as cards are played or announce-
ments made, and much of the information that has not yet been revealed
is to be deduced or inferred — or even ‘intuited’ — from that which has.
The acquisition of information is as much the goal of strategy in strate-
gic card games as the positional moves made as a result of the knowledge
acquired. Indeed, in the higher trick-taking games positional moves may
be made specifically for the purpose of acquiring information, even at the
expense of loss of material — a device equivalent to the gambit at Chess.
Specific and peculiar skills

Another question from personal experience. My favourite abstract board
game is the game of Pentominoes originally proposed by Solomon Golomb
and sometimes referred to as Golomb’s Game. Why do I enjoy this game
so much more than games of the Chess / Draughts variety? I would say
that it involves what I call the packing skill. It’s interesting that I happen
to be very good at efficiently packing suitcases, loading excessive amounts
of luggage into the car when going on holiday, and finding new ways of
rearranging my expanding collection of books and videos without taking up
much more space than they did when I started.
In what way does Pentominoes differ from (say) Chess or Draughts? My
first observation is that it is a game of placement rather than movement. It
starts with an empty board and play proceeds with each in turning placing

David Parlett 83
a piece but not thereafter moving it. The same applies to another game I
enjoy, namely Reversi (Othello). On these grounds, I often wonder whether
I might have had some aptitude for Go, also a game of placement rather
than movement, had I only discovered it earlier in life.
This is one example of how the classification of games may relate to a
classification of different types of skill involved in playing them, and perhaps
also taste and temperament. It is not surprising that some people will play
only word games, and some only war games or fantasy games.
Types of intelligence
I have long been seeking a classification of mental skills that might be ap-
plicable to games classification. In other words, can we classify games by
reference to the skills required in playing them rather than directly by ref-
erence to the contents of the games themselves? Eric Solomon tells me
that this was the basis of a booklet he was planning some years ago, but
found too difficult to follow through. The most promising line of enquiry
that I have discovered derives from Howard Gardner’s concept of “multiple
intelligences”.
Gardner originally distinguished seven types of intelligence as follows:
Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Musical, Bodily-kinaesthetic, Spatial, In-
terpersonal, and Intrapersonal. He later added an eight, designated Natu-
ralistic. I will comment on these in a different order, which I think more
relevant to their application to games.
Spatial intelligence: the potential to recognise and manipulate the pat-
terns of wide space (those used, for instance, by navigators and pilots) as
well as the patterns of more confined areas (such as those of importance to
sculptors, surgeons, chess players, graphic artists, or architects).
Obvious in most board games, with possible exception of Man-

cala; irrelevant to most card games (even Patience) except those
designed to imitate board-game activity.
Logical-mathematical intelligence: the capacity to analyze problems

logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientif-
ically.
Is this involved in the type of forward thinking relevant to most

abstract board games? Does it relate to the deduction/inference
skill of most card games? If not, how does deduction/inference

fit into Gardner’s schema? Should we not also posit some kind
of creative intelligence?
Musical intelligence: skill in the performance, composition and appreci-

ation of musical patterns.
I’m not aware of any musical games, but it is worth noting

the frequent association of skill at Chess with advanced musical
skills. Many good musicians are good Chess-players, and vice
versa. In medieval universities, music and mathematics were
closely linked.
Linguistic intelligence: sensitivity to spoken and written language, the

ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish
certain goals.
At first sight this would appear to be relevant only to word

games. But consider what the essence of language is: it is the
ability to encode our multi-dimensional experience of the world
and our interaction with it into a linear stream of a limited num-
ber of discrete sounds, from 20 to 50 according to the language
we use. This seems to me clearly related to both the logical-
mathematical and the musical intelligence.
Interpersonal intelligence: a capacity to understand the intentions, mo-

tivations and desires of other people and, consequently, to work effectively
with others.
In other words, a theory of mind. If we convert the phrase “work

effectively with others” into “work effectively against others”, we
find this obviously fundamental to the skills required to play any
strategic game against a live opponent. An interesting sidetrack
in this day and age, of course, is how relevant this ability is to
playing against computer software. Interpersonal intelligence is
especially relevant to all intelligent card games.
Intrapersonal intelligence: a capacity to understand oneself, to have an

effective working model of oneself — including one’s own desires, fears and
capacities — and to use such information effectively in regulating one’s own
life.
Poker. Need I say more?

David Parlett 85
Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence: the capacity to use one’s whole body

or parts of the body (like the hand or the mouth) to solve problems or to
fashion products.
Obviously relevant to outdoor sports and to games of dexterity,

manipulation, and hand-eye coordination. It would appear to be
related to spatial intelligence.
Naturalist intelligence: relates to observing, understanding and organiz-

ing patterns in the natural environment. A naturalist is someone who shows
expertise in the recognition and classification of plants and animals.
(No suggestions.)
Re “creative intelligence”
There must be such a thing as creative intelligence, but I’m not quite sure
where it fits into Gardner’s scheme of things. I would take it to be at
least related to, if not a form of, the skill of inference already mentioned.
Abrahams observes:12
What distinguishes the player of any of the best-known card

games from the player of one of the main board games is that
the former frequently analyses, whereas the latter always syn-
thesises...
Synthesizing is a form of creativity, and inference a form of inductive

reasoning, classically tested in Abbott’s celebrated game of Eleusis13 —
which, pace Abrahams, is not a board game but a card game.
Intelligence is not the same as skill

Interesting as the concept of multiple intelligences may be, I feel that it
doesn’t entirely answer my enquiry into the skills involved in game-playing;
for a skill is not the same as an intelligence: rather, it is the application of
an intelligence, which is not only a skill in itself but also introduces another
potential element of differentiation into the subject. In brief, I have still not
been able to track down a classification of mental skills as distinct from the
mere intelligences on which they may be based.
12
Abrahams, Gerald, Brains in Bridge, 1962, p. 132.
13
Abbott, Robert, Abbott’s New Card Games, New York, 1963, pp. 73–92. See also
<http://www.logicmazes.com/games/eleusis/index.html>

Endquote
Arthur C Clarke’s Third Law of Prediction14 states ‘Any sufficiently ad-
vanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’. Perhaps we may say
the same of any sufficiently advanced intelligence.
[email protected]
14
Clarke, Arthur C., Profiles of the Future, 1962.

Draughts and Academies des Jeux
Jürgen Stigter
Introduction
How do you know when and where a game was played and how popular it
was?
The evidences come from written accounts and illustrations, game arti-
facts found and linguistic analyses. But the reason for mentioning a game
— or not — are erratic, so it is very difficult to draw firm conclusions from
this evidence.
E.g., it may be the case, that Chess was a “sexy” game, about which
much was written, though it may not have been played much, while on the
other hand draughts was often played, but not a game you would like to
write about. It would not be interesting to explain its rules, because these
were well-known!
Following a query from Arie van der Stoep,1 I went through the many
editions from Academies des Jeux (which all contain Chess). A frontis, first
published in the 1721 edition shows that Chequers was played and must
have had some popularity, but there is no reference in the text itself and
no description of the game in any edition until the end of the 18th century!
Can one conclude that Chess was less well-known?
Draughts and Academies des Jeux in the 17th cen-

tury
The standard work for books on (board)games upto 1700 is Manfred Zollinger’s
Bibliographie der Spielbücher des 15. bis 18. Jahrhunderts. Erster Band:
1473–1700. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 1996. For the bibliographical
description of such books, I’ll refer to description with the number in this
bibliography. For académies des jeux in French, I will also refer to an-
other standard work, Thierry Depaulis’s Les loix du jeu. Bibliographie de
1
Chequers historian.
88 Draughts and Academies des Jeux
la littérature technique des jeux de cartes en francais avant 1800 / Suivie

d’un supplément couvrant les années 1800–1850. Paris: Cymbalum Mundi,
1994.2
The chronological search in my library starts with La maison des jeux
academiques. In the edition of 1668,3 the following request is placed at
the end of the table of contents: “Le Lecteur est prié, s’il a quelques Ieux
parciculiers qui ne soient point dans ce Receuil, de les vouloir donner, pour
adjouter a ce Liure, & le Libraire fera vne honneste reconnaissance.”4
But without result: still no Chequers in any later edition, though this
game was well-known already in 1654. Kruijswijk5 cites the first edition
(1654) which places Tricque-trac above Chess and Chequers:
“Car les dez, les eschecs, les dames, ... ce sont tous les jeux communs
et populairs, où il y peut avoir beaucoup de fraude, et peu d’esprit. Mais
au grand tricque-trac, il n’y a que les gens d’honneur qui le pratiquent, et
encore les plus spirituels, actifs et vigilants, qui le peuvent comprendre.”6
Another quote given by Kruijswijk shows that Chequers was very popular
in 1668; it is taken from Francois Mallet’s Le iev des dames:
“on en sera facilement persuadé, si on considère, qu’il n’y a point d’hon-
nêtes maisons, òu il n’y ait un damier au moins, et souvent deux et plus,
et qui même il n’y a personne qui ne joue aux dames, ou au moins qui
n’en connaisse le jeu, qui est aussi commun chez les rois, princes, seigneurs,
gentils-hommes, et bourgeois, que chez les soldats, matelos, artisans et autres
personnes populaires, et qu’il n’y a pont de personne de qualité, ni de cavalier
d’honneur, qui allant en campagne, ou ã la guerre, ne fasse porter un damier
dans son équipage.”7
2
Both [Zollinger 1996] and [Depaulis 1994] are still in print.
3
La — maison — des ievx — academiqves, — contenant — vn recveil general de tous les
Ieux diuertissans — pour se réjoüir & passer le — temps agreablement. — Et augmentée
de la Lotterie plaisante. — A Paris, — Chez Estienne Loyson, au Palais, — a l’entrée de
la Galerie des Prisonniers, — au Nom de Iesvs. — M. DC. LXVIII. — Avec privilege dv
roy. [= Depaulis #16, Zollinger #121 (Anonymous), refers to first ed. Zollinger #103,
ed. 1654: La Mariniere [Depaulis #11: Jean Pinson de La Mar(t)iniere ?]].
4
“The reader is asked, in the case that certain games are not in this collection, to give
these, to add to this book, & the publisher will show an honest gratitude.” [Zollinger Nr.
121, p. [viii]; my translation].
5
[Kruijswijk 1966], p. 94, from p. 41 of La maison academique 1654 (Zollinger no. 103).
Repeated on p. 109 of the 1668 edition.
6
Because dicing, chess, draughts, ... are all common and populair games, where there
can be lots of cheating and little thinking. But the grand Tricque-trac, is only played by
gentlemen, and then only the most clever, active and vigilant ones who can understand
it. [My translation].
7
[Kruijswijk 1966], p. 95, from p. 267 of Mallet 1668 (Zollinger No. 122): “you will be

Jürgen Stigter 89
From the index of Zollinger, it is clear that very little was written on
Chequers: till 1700, only six books with Chequers (of which five were pub-
lished in Spain) are listed, while Chess has over hundred entries and the
“noble” game of Tricque-trac twenty six!
Interestingly, the use of j’adoube (I adjust) in Chess appears to have been
derived from Tricque-trac. It is already used in 1668:
“En ce jeu c’est vne maxime tres-inuiolable, & qui deuoit estre aussi des
premieres, que Dame touchée, Dame joüée, si l’on ne dit ce mot, i’addoube,
horsmis dessous le bois; car si l’on en peut tenir dans ses mains, à plus forte
raison y peut-on toucher innocemment, & sans en estre repris, & encourir
ny perte ny contrainte de joüer: C’est mon auis que ie soumets à tout autre
meilleur en ses raisons, ou en ses regles & pratiques.”
The next book I looked at was The complete gamester after Charles
Cotton (first ed., 16748 ). In all editions, only Gentile Games are given —
hence no Draughts! Chess is often called “the royal game”, apparently with
the double meaning of game of and game for kings. The fifth edition of the
The complete gamester (by Richard Seymour, 1734) is “Written for the Use
of the Young Princesses”. In the description of Chess, the draught-board
(Chequers board) is used to explain the Chess board and to be used instead,
showing that Chequers was better known and more often played than Chess:
“III. The Theatre upon which this Game is acted, is a chequered Board,
half black, and half White, painted like a Draught-board, which may serve
for this Use upon Occasion.”9
easily convinced, if you consider, that there are no honest houses, where there is not at least
one Chequers board, but often two or more, and that even no one doesn’t play Chequers,
or at least knows the game, which is as common to kings, princes, lords, gentlemen and
bourgeois, as to the soldiers, mariners, craftsmen and other lower people, and that there
is no higher person, nor cavalier d’honneur, who will travel or go to war without taking a
Chequers board in his equipment.” (my translation). To give a taste of the curious book,
here is the full title: Pierre Mallet: Le — iev des dames. — Avec toutes les Maximes — &
Régles, tant générales — que particuliéres, qu’il faut — observer an icelui. Et la Méthode
d’y bien joüer. — Ortografe nouvéle, & rézonée, sui- — vie par l’ordre de l’Alfabet, par —
lequel on se pora aûsi pronte- — mant, que parfétemant instruire — an icêle. — Le tout
acompagné de pluzieurs discours,autorités & rézonemans — instructifs, tirés de la Morale,
de la Politique, & de l’Istoire. — A Paris, — Par Mr PIERRE MALLET, Ingénieur —
ordinére du Roy, & Proféseur aux — Siances Matématiques, rüe de la Hu- — chéte, an
l’Académie de Mr. de la Sale, — Mêtre d’Armes. — Et av pale’s, — Chés Th. Girard an
la grand Sale. 1668. — Avec Privilége de sa Majesté.
8
Zollinger No. 137.
9
The complete gamester (by Richard Seymour,1734), First part: The Royal Game of
Chess, p. 125.

90 Draughts and Academies des Jeux
18th century — conclusion
In the 18th century, not much changed. The academie des Jeux contain no
draughts. Draughts was (more) well-known and often played than Chess,
but Chess was the noble or royal game. Chessplayers knew Chequers as
well. The situation is symbolized by the frontis of the 1721 edition of the
Academie de jeux (see picture), showing gentlemen playing Chess — very
respectable — in the foreground and gentlemen playing Draughts, but kept
in the background.
[email protected]
References
[Zollinger 1996] Manfred Zollinger, Bibliographie der Spielbücher des 15. bis
18. Jahrhunderts. Erster Band: 1473–1700. Stuttgart: Anton
Hiersemann, 1996.
[Depaulis 1994] Thierry Depaulis, Les loix du jeu. Bibliographie de la

littérature technique des jeux de cartes en francais avant 1800
/ Suivie d’un supplément couvrant les années 1800–1850. Paris,
Cymbalum Mundi, 1994.
[Kruijswijk 1966] K.W. Kruijswijk, Algemene bibliografie van het damspel.

Den Haag: van Goor Zonen, 1966.

Jürgen Stigter 91

1
Origami’s Geometry
Liliana Monteiro
Introduction
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper.
Mathematically, it can be identified with a reflection on a line, named
the folding line.
The operations that are possible with points and lines in Origami, with
one single fold, are described in seven axioms that are due to the mathe-
maticians Huzita (who is responsible for the first six axioms) and Hatori
(responsible for axiom seven). In the following, we will see what these ax-
ioms allow.
Huzita-Hatori Axioms
(O1) Given two points P1 and P2 , we can fold a line connecting them.
[This axiom consists in folding the line that passes through the two
initial points.]
94 Origami’s Geometry
(O2) Given two points P1 and P2 we can fold P1 onto P2 .

[This axiom consists in folding through the perpendicular bisector of
the line segment defined by the two initial points.]
(O3) Given two lines `1 and `2 we can fold line `1 onto `2 .

[If the lines aren’t parallel, this axiom consists in folding through the
bisector of two vertically opposed angles. If the lines are parallel, this
axiom consists in folding through a line that is parallel to the initial
ones and is at the same distance from both of them.]
(O4) Given a point P and a line ` we can make a fold perpendicular to `

passing through P .
[This axiom consists in folding through a perpendicular to the initial
line that passes trough the point.]

Liliana Monteiro 95
(O5) Given two points P1 and P2 and a line `, if the distance between P1
and P2 is equal or superior to the distance between P2 and `, we can
make a fold that places P1 onto ` and passes through the point P2 .
[This axiom consists in folding through the line that passes through P2
and the middle point of the segment defined by P1 and an intersection
point of ` with the circle with center P2 and radius equal to the length
of [P 1P 2]. More exactly, this consists in folding through a line tangent
to a parabola with focus P1 and directrix `.]
(O6) Given two points P1 and P2 and two lines `1 and `2 , if the lines aren’t
parallel and if the distance between them isn’t larger than the distance
between the points, we can make a fold that places P1 onto line `1 and
places P2 onto line `2 .
[This axiom consists in folding a line simultaneously tangent to two
parabolas.]

(O7) Given a point P and two lines `1 and `2 , if the lines aren’t parallel, we
can make a fold perpendicular to `2 that places P onto line `1 .
[This axiom consists in folding through the perpendicular to `2 that
passes through the middle point of [P I] where I is the point resulting
from the intersection of `1 with the parallel to `2 that passes thought
P .]
Is the list complete?

Now that we have seen all axioms, there is a question left to answer: does
this list include all possibilities for one single fold?
The answer to this question is due to Robert Lang, in his paper “Origami
and Geometric Constructions” of 2003. Let’s see it.
As said before, the basic idea of Origami is of a reflection in a line.
Let’s consider lines `, `1 , `2 and `F (resulting from a folding); and points
P, P1 and P2 ; in order to see the alignments between these elements and find
out the degree of the equation we need to solve to perform these operations.
Let’s pay more attention to nontrivial cases, that is, the cases where we need
to create new points or lines:
Symbol Description Degree
r(P1 ) ↔ P2 Fold point P1 to another point P2 2
r(P1 ) ↔ ` Fold point P to line ` 1
r(`) ↔ P Fold line ` to point P 1
r(`1 ) ↔ `2 Fold line `1 to different line `2 2
r(`) ↔ ` Fold line ` onto itself 1
r(P ) ↔ `F Align point P with the fold line 1
The alignment that aligns a line ` with the fold line `F is not considered
above because it is trivial, as it doesn’t creates a new element. We just need
to fold by an already existing line.

Liliana Monteiro 97
To define a line we need to determine the values of two variables. This

means we need a degree two equation.
In the cases of alignments of two different points and lines, we already
have them. These operations correspond to axioms (O2) and (O3).
r(P1 ) ↔ P2 Axiom 2
r(`1 ) ↔ `2 Axiom 3
In the cases where the alignments have only one degree we can join them
two by two:
r(P2 ) ↔ `2 r(`2 ) ↔ P2 r(`2 ) ↔ `2 r(P2 ) ↔ `F

r(P1 ) ↔ `1 Axiom 6
r(`1 ) ↔ P1 Axiom 6 Axiom 6
r(`1 ) ↔ `1 Axiom 7 Axiom 7 ∗
r(P1 ) ↔ `F Axiom 5 Axiom 5 Axiom 4 Axiom1
The alignment that places two lines onto themselves (∗) has no solutions
if `1 and `2 are nonparallel and infinitely many solutions if they are parallel.
Each of the remaining pairs correspond to one of the Huzita-Hatori ax-
ioms. Since these represent all possible alignments that create exactly two
degrees of freedom, this shows that the axiom list is complete (and that
Hatori’s seventh axiom is indeed necessary for completeness).
Solving Quadratic Equations

The quadratic formula tells us that if we know how to perform the operations
of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square roots, then we
know how to find the roots of any quadratic equations.
Let’s proove that Origami allows all these operations. For that, it will
be considered that each number is the length of a line segment.
Addition and Subtraction

To add or subtract one length to another we only need to transfer one length
to the point P , the end of the other length.
For that, it’s only necessary to fold a perpendicular to AB that passes
through A (or B) and a perpendicular to that line that passes through P .
Next, it’s required to fold a perpendicular to AP that passes through A
(or B) and perpendicular to that line that passes through P . All these
operations are possible by Axiom 4.

The initial length is equal to the distance between P and the intersection
point of the two last lines created in each one of the steps.
Division
To divide a length in two equal parts, it’s only necessary to fold it in the
middle.
To divide it in thirds, we can follow the instructions below, where A is
the origin and the paper’s side is one unit long.
Let’s proove that this gives that division. By construction, AF : y = x

and BC : y = −2x + 2. Intersecting these two lines, we get
2
x = −2x + 2 ⇔ x = ·
3
as we wanted to prove.
To divide in more than three parts, we can follow the previous instruc-
tions, but, instead of folding the paper in the middle vertically, we have to
fold at 1/(n − 1) units from the border.

Liliana Monteiro 99
To get this folding it is only necessary to use the method in a recursive

way.
Multiplication
To multiply by a number n, it is only necessary to notice that n = bnc +
(n − bnc) , where bnc is the integer part of n. This way, multiplication is
just an extension of adding and dividing.
Square Root
Let r be the length whose square root we want to find. Let’s consider the
point P1 = (0, 1) and the line ` be defined by y = −1.
We can construct the folding that places P1 onto `, passing through point
P2 = (0, −r/4) (possible by Axiom 5).
Let P10 = (t, −1) be the image of P1 under the folding/reflexion.

The line created by the folding is the bisector of [P1 P10 ]. Thus, the folding
line and P1 P10 are perpendicular lines, and M = (t/2, 0) is the middle point
of the line segment [P1 P ”1 ]. This way, the equation of the folding line is
t t2
y = x− ·
2 4
As this line passes through P2 ,
r t t2 √
− = ×0− ⇔ t = r,
4 2 4
0
witch means that the coordinates of P1 give the value of the square root.
We have now the proof that Origami’s Geometry allows solving any
second degree equation.
Solving Cubic Equations

Origami’s geometry also allows to solve cubic equations. This is possible by
Axiom 5. Let’s see some examples.
Angle Trisection
To trisect an angle, we just need to follow this procedure. In this case, we
represent an acute angle, but it can be generalized to any angle.
We will prove that this procedure does actually trisect the angle.

Liliana Monteiro 101
The angles Y XC and ZXP1 are equal by construction.

Also by construction, AB = BC = CD.
Therefore the triangles ABP1 and CBP1 are equal.
The same happens with the triangles CBP1 and CDP1 .
This proves that the angle defined by `2 and the horizontal is trisected,
as we wanted to prove.
Doubling the cube

To double the cube, we just need to follow this procedure, that is possible
by Axiom 6.
Let’s prove that this procedure actually doubles the cube. For that, let’s
define y = 1. Thus, the length of the side of the paper is x + 1;

2 2 2 x2 + 2x
AC = AB + BC ⇔ (x + 1 − d)2 = 12 + d2 ⇔ d = ,
2x + 2
x+1 2x − 1
AD = x − ⇔ AD = ·
3 3
Also, the triangles ABC and ADE are similar, therefore:
2x−1 √
BC AD d 3 3
= → = x+1 →x= 2.
AC AE x+1−d 3
which finishes the proof.
Comparing
Origami’s geometry goes beyond Euclidian geometry, allowing to make all
ruler and compass constructions, and solving classic problems, like those
considered above.
Actually, it was proved by George E. Martin, in his paper “Geomet-
ric Constructions” in 1998, that Origami’s geometry is equivalent to The
Marked Ruler Geometry.
[email protected]

Puzzles with polyhedra and numbers
Jorge Rezende
University of Lisbon
Introduction
1 Introduction
Consider a polyhedron. For example, a platonic, an archimedean, or a dual
of an archimedean polyhedron. Construct flat polygonal plates in the same
number, shape and size as the faces of the referred polyhedron. Adjacent to
each side of each plate draw a number like it is shown in figures 1-5. Some
of the plates, or all, can have numbers on both faces. We call these plates,
two-faced plates. In this article, the two-faced plates have the same number
adjacent to the same side.
Now the game is to put the plates over the polyhedron faces in such a
way that the two numbers near each polyhedron edge are equal. If there
is at least one solution for this puzzle one says that we have a polyhedron
puzzle with numbers.
2 Definitions using combinatorics

2.1 Platonic and archimedean polyhedra
From now on, assume that the numbers belong to the set {1, 2, . . . , n}, and
that all the numbers are used.
If we have plate faces which have the shape of a regular polygon with j
sides, one can ask how many possible ways ν are there to draw the numbers
1, 2, . . . , n, without repeating them on each plate face. The answer is
a) For j = 3 (equilateral triangle) and n = 3, then ν = 2.
b) For j = 3 and n = 4, then ν = 8 (see figure 1); 8 is precisely
the number of the octahedron faces. With these 8 plates we make the
octahedron puzzle (≡ the octahedron (1) puzzle).
104 Puzzles with polyhedra and numbers
c) For j = 3 and n = 5, then ν = 20 (see figure 2); 20 is precisely the

number of the icosahedron faces. With these 20 plates we make the
icosahedron (1) puzzle.
d) For j = 3 and n = 6, then ν = 40; 40 is precisely the double of

the number of the icosahedron faces. Construct different plates with

Jorge Rezende 105
the numbers written on both faces. This gives 20 plates. We call the related
puzzle, the icosahedron second puzzle (or icosahedron (2)).
e) Consider again j = 3 and n = 6. Construct different plates with the

numbers written only on one face, but in such a way that the numbers grow
if we read them, beginning with the minimum, counter clock-wise. This
gives 20 plates (see figure 3). We call the related puzzle, the icosahedron
third puzzle (or icosahedron (3)).
f) For j = 4 (square) and n = 4, then ν = 6 (see figure 4); 6 is precisely

the number of the cube faces. With these 6 plates we make the cube
puzzle (≡ the cube (1) puzzle).

g) For j = 5 (regular pentagon) and n = 5, then ν = 24; 24 is precisely

the double of the number of the dodecahedron faces.
Construct different plates with the numbers written on both faces. This
gives 12 plates. We call the related puzzle, the dodecahedron first puzzle
(or dodecahedron (1)).
h) Let again j = 5 and n = 5. Construct different plates with the num-
bers written only on one face, but in such a way that the numbers read
counter clock-wise, abcd5, are such that abcd form an even permutation.
This gives 12 plates (see figure 5). We call the related puzzle, the dodeca-
hedron second puzzle (or dodecahedron (2)).

Jorge Rezende 107
i) Consider n = 4. With j = 3, one has ν = 8 (see figure 1). With j = 4,

one has ν = 6 (see figure 4). Remark that 8 is precisely the number of the
cuboctahedron triangular faces and 6 is precisely the number of its square
faces. This is an example of an interesting puzzle using an archimedean
polyhedron. We call it the cuboctahedron puzzle (≡ the cuboctahedron (1)
puzzle).
The general formula for ν is

n n!
ν = (j − 1)! = .
j (n − j)!j
2.2 More puzzles

Take now a deltoidal icositetrahedron. It has 24 deltoidal faces. If we have
24 plates which have the deltoidal shape the number of possible different
ways to draw the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, without repeating them on each plate
is precisely 24. This an example of an interesting puzzle using a dual of an
archimedean polyhedron (see Reference [6]).
Consider again the cube. It has 6 faces that are squares. The number of
possible different ways to draw the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, with two repetitions
of the form aabb (the numbers are read counter clock-wise) on each square
plate is precisely 6. This gives the cube (2) puzzle.
Consider again the icosahedron. It has 20 faces that are equilateral trian-
gles. The number of possible different ways to draw the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
with one repetition on each triangular plate is precisely 20. This gives the
icosahedron (4) puzzle (see Reference [7]).
These are simple examples of polyhedron puzzles with numbers, which
are enough in order to understand the following sections. There are, obvi-
ously, others as we shall see. For more examples see Reference [2], which is
a development of Reference [1]. Reference [3] is a collection of some of these
puzzles paper models.
3 Polyhedron symmetries
Consider a polyhedron in R3 . From now on V denotes the set of the poly-
hedron vertices, E denotes the set of the polyhedron edges and F denotes
the set of the polyhedron faces.
The group of the polyhedron symmetries, Ω, called the polyhedron group,
is the set of all isometries ω of R3 , that send vertices to vertices, which im-
plies that they send edges to edges, faces to faces. Every symmetry ω ∈ Ω

induces three bijections, that we shall also denote ω, whenever there is no

confusion possible: ω : V → V , ω : E → E and ω : F → F . Denote also
Ω ≡ {ω : V → V } ≡ {ω : E → E} ≡ {ω : F → F }, the three sets of these
functions. One can say that each one of these three sets Ω is the set of the
polyhedron symmetries. Remark that not all one-to-one functions F −→ F ,
E −→ E, V −→ V are in Ω. With the composition of functions each one
of these three sets Ω forms a group that is isomorphic to the group of the
polyhedron symmetries. If ω1 , ω2 ∈ Ω, we shall denote ω1 ω2 ≡ ω1 ◦ ω2 .
When no confusion is possible, ω ∈ Ω represents also the group isomor-
phism ω : Ω → Ω, ω (ω1 ) = ωω1 ω −1 , for every ω1 ∈ Ω. Note that ω1 and
ω (ω1 ) have the same order. Look at the octahedron in figure 7. If ω is a
counter clock-wise rotation of 90o around the z-axis, and ω1 is a counter
clock-wise rotation of 90o around the x-axis, then ω (ω1 ) is a counter clock-
wise rotation of 90o around the y-axis. In simple words, ω transports x over
y. Here, a counter clock-wise rotation around the z-axis, for example, means
that we look from the positive z-semiaxis.
If Ω1 is a subgroup of Ω, then Ω1 acts naturally on the face set, F : for
ω ∈ Ω1 and ϕ ∈ F , one defines the action ωϕ = ω (ϕ).
In the following we only consider polyhedra centered at the origin, Ω+
denotes the subgroup of Ω of the symmetries with determinant 1 and Ω−
denotes the subgroup of Ω of the symmetries with determinant −1.
3.1 The tetrahedron group

Consider the tetrahedron (see figure 6) and its group, Ω.

Jorge Rezende 109
An element of Ω is, for example, the function ω (x, y, z) = (−x, y, z),

that induces the function ω : E −→ E
ω (e1 ) = e1 ω (e2 ) = e3 ω (e3 ) = e2

.
ω (e4 ) = e5 ω (e5 ) = e4 ω (e6 ) = e6
This symmetry has determinant −1 and is one of the twelve elements of

Ω with determinant −1. They reverse the orientation. The tetrahedron has
no central symmetry.
The symmetries with determinant 1 (Ω+ ), can be seen like this: one
transports a chosen face in such a way that it goes to one of the four tetra-
hedron faces; as one has three possibilities of making them coincide (they
are equilateral triangles), there are 12 (3 × 4) symmetries with determinant
1.
The advantage of describing in this way the symmetries of Ω+
is that it can be easily adapted to other polyhedra, and used in
their computation in a computer program.
Another way of counting the symmetries de Ω+ is the following: the
identity (1); the rotations of 180o around the three axes defined by the
centers of opposite edges (3); the rotations of 120o and 240o around the
four axes defined by each vertex and the center of the opposite face (8).
The symmetries with determinant −1 (Ω− ) are the compositions of the
symmetries de Ω+ with a symmetry with determinant −1. The cardinal of
Ω, the order of Ω, is, therefore, 24.
3.2 The octahedron (cube) group

Consider the octahedron (see figure 7) and its group, Ω. Everything that we
say here about the octahedron group can be translated to the cube group
interchanging faces with vertices. In other words the group is the same.

An element of Ω is, for example, the central symmetry ω (x, y, z) =

− (x, y, z), that induces the function ω : E −→ E, ω (e1 ) = e11 , ω (e2 ) = e12 ,
ω (e3 ) = e9 and so on.
The central symmetry has determinant −1. The symmetries with deter-
minant 1 (Ω+ ), can be seen like this: one transports a chosen face in such
a way that it goes to one of the eight faces of the octahedron; as one has
three possibilities of making them coincide (they are equilateral triangles),
there are 24 (3 × 8) symmetries with determinant 1.
Note once more that the advantage of describing in this way the sym-
metries of Ω+ is that it can be easily adapted to other polyhedra, and used
in their computation in a computer program.

identity (1); the rotations of 90o , 180o and 270o around the three axes
defined by opposite vertices (9); the rotations of 180o around the six axes
defined by the centers of opposite edges (6); the rotations of 120o and 240o
around the four axes defined by the centers of opposite faces (8).

symmetries de Ω+ with the central symmetry. The cardinal of Ω, the order
of Ω, is, therefore, 48.
In Reference [5] one can see two examples of such symmetries and a
detailed description of the octahedron puzzle case.
3.3 The icosahedron (dodecahedron) group
Consider the icosahedron (see figure 8) and its group, Ω. Everything that we
say here about the icosahedron group can be translated to the dodecahedron
group interchanging faces with vertices. In other words the group is the
same.

Jorge Rezende 111
An element of Ω is, for example, the central symmetry ω (x, y, z) =

− (x, y, z), that induces the function ω : E −→ E, ω (e1 ) = e16 , ω (e2 ) = e17 ,
ω (e3 ) = e18 and so on.
The central symmetry has determinant −1. The symmetries with deter-
minant 1 (Ω+ ), can be seen like this: one transports a chosen face in such
a way that it goes to one of the twenty faces of the icosahedron; as one has
three possibilities of making them coincide (they are equilateral triangles),
there are 60 (3 × 20) symmetries with determinant 1.
identity (1); the rotations of 72o , 144o , 216o and 288o around the six axes
defined by opposite vertices (24); the rotations of 180o around the fifteen
axes defined by the centers of opposite edges (15); the rotations of 120o and
240o around the ten axes defined by the centers of opposite faces (20).
symmetries de Ω+ with the central symmetry. The cardinal of Ω, the order
of Ω, is, therefore, 120.
4 Permutation groups and puzzle solutions

Consider a puzzle with numbers 1, 2, . . . , n drawn on the plates. From now
on P denotes the set of its plates which have numbers drawn, and call it the
plate set. If no confusion is possible, P will also denote the puzzle itself. Sn
denotes the group of all permutations of {1, 2, . . . , n}; σ ∈ Sn means that
σ is a one-to-one function σ : {1, 2, . . . , n} → {1, 2, . . . , n}. The identity is

σ0 : σ0 (1) = 1, σ0 (2) = 2, . . . , σ0 (n) = n. The alternating group, the Sn

subgroup of the even permutations, is denoted by An . If σ1 , σ2 ∈ Sn , we
shall denote σ1 σ2 ≡ σ1 ◦ σ2 .
We shall write σ = (α1 α2 · · · αk ) · · · (β1 β2 · · · βl ), if
σ (α1 ) = α2 , σ (α2 ) = α3 , . . . , σ (αk ) = α1 , . . . ,

σ (β1 ) = β2 , σ (β2 ) = β3 , . . . , σ (βk ) = β1
where α1 , α2 , . . . , αk , . . . , β1 , β2 , . . . , βl ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n}.

If γ ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n} {α1 , α2 , . . . , αk , . . . , β1 , β2 , . . . , βl }, then σ (γ) = γ.
The permutation (α1 α2 · · · αk ) is called a cyclic permutation, or a cycle
(in this case a k-cycle); k is the length of the cyclic permutation.
We shall use also the group {−1, 1} × Sn denoted by Sn± . If δ1 , δ2 ∈
{−1, 1} and σ1 , σ2 ∈ Sn , then (δ1 , σ1 ) (δ2 , σ2 ) = (δ1 δ2 , σ1 σ2 ). We denote
Sn+ = {1} × Sn ≡ Sn , (1, σ) ≡ σ, (−1, σ) ≡ σ − .
If Λ is a set, then |Λ| denotes its cardinal. Hence, if G is group, |G|
denotes its order.
As before E denotes the set of the polyhedron edges and F denotes the
set of the polyhedron faces. A solution of the puzzle defines a function
ε : E → {1, 2, . . . , n}. Denote E the set of these functions. One can say that
E is the set of the puzzle solutions.
We shall also consider the group Sn ×Ω. If (σ1 , ω1 ) , (σ2 , ω2 ) ∈ Sn ×Ω, one
defines the product (σ1 , ω1 ) (σ2 , ω2 ) = (σ1 σ2 , ω1 ω2 ). We use here a different
definition from the one in Reference [4].
4.1 The plate group
Some Sn subgroups act naturally on P . Let π ∈ P and σ ∈ Sn . Assume

that a, b, c, . . . are drawn on π, by this order. Then σπ is a plate where the
numbers σ (a) = a1 , σ (b) = b1 , σ (c) = c1 , . . . are drawn replacing a, b, c, . . .
(see figure 9).

Jorge Rezende 113
Let s ∈ Sn± and π ∈ P . If s ≡ s1 = (1, σ) ≡ σ, then sπ = σπ. If

s ≡ s2 = (−1, σ) ≡ σ − , then sπ is a reflection of σπ. In this last case, if the
numbers a, b, c, . . . are drawn on π, by this order, then sπ is a plate where
the numbers . . . , σ (c) = c1 , σ (b) = b1 , σ (a) = a1 are drawn by this order
(see figure 9).
The plate group, GP , is the greatest subgroup of Sn± that acts on P . If
s ∈ Sn± and sπ ∈ P , for every π ∈ P , then s ∈ GP .
4.2 The solution group
Let ε : E → {1, 2, . . . , n} be a solution of the puzzle. The group of this

solution, Gε , is a subgroup of Sn × Ω; (σ, ω) ∈ Gε if and only if
σ ◦ ε = ε ◦ ω.
Denote Ωε the following subgroup of Ω: ω ∈ Ωε if and only if there exists

σ ∈ Sn such that (σ, ω) ∈ Gε . Remark that if ω ∈ Ωε there exists only one
σ ∈ Sn such that (σ, ω) ∈ Gε . From this one concludes that ω 7→ (σ, ω)
defines an isomorphism between Ωε and Gε and that (det ω, σ) ∈ GP . This
defines gε : Ωε → GP , gε (ω) = (det ω, σ), which is an homomorphism of
groups.
For a lot of puzzles (det ω, σ) defines completely ω. It is the case of all
puzzles considered in this article. Hence, when (det ω, σ) defines completely
ω, gε establishes an isomorphism between Ωε and gε (Ωε ) ⊂ GP . Denote
GP ε ≡ gε (Ωε ). Finally, Gε and GP ε are isomorphic. We can identify (σ, ω)
with (det ω, σ), and Gε with the subgroup GP ε of GP .

4.3 Equivalent solutions

Let ε1 , ε2 : E → {1, 2, . . . , n} be solutions of the puzzle. One says that these
solutions are equivalent, ε1 ≈ ε2 , if there are ω ∈ Ω and σ ∈ Sn , such that
σ ◦ ε1 = ε2 ◦ ω.
Remark that (det ω, σ) ∈ GP .

If σ = σ0 and det ω = 1, what distinguishes the solutions ε1 and ε2 is
only a rotational symmetry. In this case
ε1 = ε2 ◦ ω
expresses another equivalence relation, ε1 ∼ ε2 . When we make a puzzle, in

practice, we do not recognize the difference between ε1 and ε2 . We shall say
that they represent the same natural solution, an equivalence class of the
relation ∼.
Figure 10 shows two solutions of the octahedron puzzle that represent
the same natural solution.
Let ε, ε1 , ε2 ∈ E. As ε1 ∼ ε2 and ε1 ≈ ε, implies ε2 ≈ ε, one can say that

the natural solution represented by ε1 is equivalent to ε.
This equation involving ε1 and ε2 defines an equivalence relation, and
a natural solution is an equivalence class of this relation. Remark that if
ε1 = ε2 , then ω1 is the identity.
For ε ∈ E, represent by [ε] the set of natural solutions equivalent to ε.
Choose now ω− ∈ Ω, such that det ω− = −1. For ε ∈ E and s = (δ, σ) ∈
GP , denote εs = σ ◦ ε ◦ ω, where ω is the identity if δ = 1 and ω = ω−

Jorge Rezende 115
if δ = −1. The set {εs : s ∈ GP } includes representatives of all natural

solutions equivalent to ε. Then
|GP |
|[ε]| = .
|GP ε |
The cardinal of all the natural solutions is then given by

X |GP |
,
|GP ε |
[ε]
where the sum is extended to all different equivalence classes [ε].
5 Examples
Some of the examples we give in this section can easily be studied directly.
It is the case of the cube, the octahedron and the dodecahedron (2) puzzles.
We give also results for the dodecahedron (1), icosahedron (1) and (3)
puzzles. These results were obtained mostly with a computer. Similar results
for the icosahedron (2) puzzle are left to the reader.
There are good reasons for presenting results for these two icosahedron
puzzles. The icosahedron (1) puzzle is mathematically rich, has a lot of
natural solutions (over one million!). On the other hand, the icosahedron
(3) puzzle is also very instructive because it has few natural solutions (”only”
2322), which means that it is difficult to do it without the help of a computer.
5.1 The cube puzzle

In this case there is only one equivalence class. Gε ≈ Ω+ ≈ S4 . |Gε | = 24.
|GP | = 48.
If one puts a plate on a face then one has 2 different possibilities for the
other plates (2 natural solutions): 48/24.
These two different possibilities and the equivalences Gε ≈ Ω+ ≈ S4 can
be used to translate the cube symmetries into permutations, in the same
way as we shall do later with the icosahedron (1) puzzle and its canonical
solution.
5.2 The octahedron puzzle

There three equivalence classes. One can distinguish them in the following
way. Take a solution. On every vertex of the octahedron, note the numbers

that correspond to its four edges. There are two possibilities for a vertex: a)
four distinct numbers; b) three distinct numbers, with one of them repeated.
In the solution, count the number of vertices where the situation a) happens.
They can be 6, 2 or 0, that distinguish the three equivalence classes.
The first class group is of order 24. The second class group is of order 8.
The third class group is of order 6. As |GP | = 48, one has that if one puts
a plate on a face then one has 16 different possibilities for the other plates
(16 natural solutions): 48 48 48
24 + 8 + 6 .
Although the cube and the octahedron are dual polyhedra, puzzles are
not. Solutions can be dual. The first class of the octahedron puzzle is dual
of the cube puzzle class.
5.3 The dodecahedron (1) puzzle

This puzzle has three equivalence classes that we can distinguish in the
following way. Consider a solution. On every dodecahedron vertex note the
numbers that are on the edges around the vertex. There are 20 possibilities,
but not all of them belong to the solution. There are some repetitions: 7
or 3. The solutions that have 7 repetitions on the vertices are equivalent.
The solutions that have 3 repetitions on the vertices belong to 2 different
equivalence classes. One of these classes has the repetitions on opposite
vertices. The other has the repetitions on vertices that belong to the same
edges.
The first class group is of order 8. The second class group is of order 24.
The third class group is of order 12. As |GP | = 240, one has that if one puts
a plate on a face then one has 60 differentpossibilities for the other plates
(120 natural solutions): 21 240 240 240
8 + 24 + 12 .
5.4 The dodecahedron (2) puzzle

This puzzle has 2 equivalence classes that can be distinguished in the fol-
lowing form. Consider two opposite dodecahedron edges. There are other
four that are orthogonal to these two. The six edges are over the faces of a
virtual cube where the dodecahedron is inscribed. There are five such cubes.
The first equivalence class has the same number associated to the edges that
belong to the faces of each cube. The second equivalence class has the same
number associated to the edges that belong to the faces of one of the fives
cubes.
The first class group is of order 120 and the second class group is of order
24. As |GP | = 120, one has that if one puts a plate on a face then one has

Jorge Rezende 117
120 120
6 different possibilities for the other plates (6 natural solutions): 120 + 24 .
5.5 The icosahedron (1) puzzle

The icosahedron (1) puzzle has 5592 equivalence classes: 5366 have groups
of order 1, 165 have groups of order 2, 36 have groups of order 3, 1 has a
group of order 4, 4 have groups of order 5, 10 have groups of order 6, 1
has a group of order 8, 4 have groups of order 10, 2 have groups of order
12, 2 have groups of order 24, 1 has a group of order 120. As |GP | = 240,
one has that once one puts a plate over a face there are 1311360 different
possibilities (1311360 natural solutions):

165 36 1 4 10 1 4 2 2 1
240 5366 + + + + + + + + + + .
2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 24 120
There are two possible natural solutions with a group of order 120. One
of them, that we call canonical solution, is dual of the dodecahedron (2)
solution with a group of order 120. The group of these two solutions is
equivalent to the icosahedron group: Gε ≈ Ω ≈ {−1, 1} × A5 . The canonical
solution is represented in Figure 11.
5.6 The icosahedron (3) puzzle

This puzzle has 197 equivalence classes: 190 have groups of order 1, and 7
have groups of order 2. As |GP | = 12, one has that, once one puts a plate

over a face there are 2322 different possibilities (2322 natural solutions):
190 × 12 + 7 × 12
2 .
Remark that the actions of all these 7 groups of order 2 are equivalent.
Figure 12 shows representatives of all these 7 equivalence classes.
6 More on icosahedron puzzles
As we have already seen there is a natural solution of the icosahedron (1)

puzzle which is dual of the dodecahedron (2) natural solution with a group
of order 120 (see Figure 11). This group is equivalent to the icosahedron
group Ω: Gε ≈ Ω ≈ {−1, 1} × A5 . As this solution is very easy to construct,
one can use it in order to translate in terms of {−1, 1} × A5 everything
that happens in Ω. For example, all subgroups of Ω are equivalent to the
corresponding subgroups of {−1, 1} × A5 .

Jorge Rezende 119
6.1 Subgroups of the icosahedron group

The icosahedron group Ω has 22 different equivalence classes of subgroups:
1 of order 1 ({σ0 }); 3 of order 2; 1 of order 3; 3 of order 4; 1 of order 5;
3 of order 6; 1 of order 8; 3 of order 10; 2 of order 12; 1 of order 20; 1 of
order 24; 1 of order 60; 1 of order 120 (Ω ≈ {−1, 1} × A5 ). In the following
a, b, c, d, e ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} are different numbers, and in angle brackets we
give the number of equivalence classes of solutions in the icosahedron (1)
puzzle.
6.1.1 Groups of order 2.

The 3 equivalence classes are generated by (ab) (cd) h148i, (−1, (ab) (cd))
h5i and (−1, σ0 ) h12i. Look at Figure 11. The rotation around the z-axis by
an angle of 180o , corresponds to the permutation (23) (45). This rotation
belongs to the first equivalence class. The reflection using the xy-plane
(orthogonal to the z-axis) as a mirror, corresponds to (−1, (23) (45)). This
reflection belongs to the second equivalence class. The third equivalence
class corresponds to the central symmetry (x, y, z) 7→ − (x, y, z).

The unique equivalence class is generated by (abc) h36i. In Figure 11, the
rotations around the axis x = y = z by angles multiple of 120o correspond
to group generated by (234).

Let σ1 = (ab) (cd) and σ2 = (ac) (bd). Remark that σ1 σ2 = σ2 σ1 = (ad) (bc).
The 3 equivalence classes are generated by σ1 and σ2 h0i, σ1 and (−1, σ0 )
h1i, σ1 and (−1, σ2 ) h0i, respectively.

The unique equivalence class is generated √ by (abcde) h4i. In Figure 11, the
rotations around the axis x = 0, z = − 2 y (this is the z 0 -axis in Figure
1+ 5
13), by angles multiple of 72o , correspond to group generated by (12345).

Let σ1 = (ab) (cd) and σ2 = (ae) (cd). The 3 equivalence classes are gener-
ated by σ1 and σ2 (≡ S3 ) h3i, (−1, σ1 ) and (−1, σ2 ) h0i, (abc) and (−1, σ0 )

h7i, respectively.

Let σ1 = (ab) (cd) and σ2 = (ac) (bd). As before, remark that σ1 σ2 =
σ2 σ1 = (ad) (bc). The unique equivalence class is generated by σ1 and σ2
and (−1, σ0 ) h1i.

Let σ1 = (ab) (cd) and σ2 = (ac) (be). The 3 equivalence classes are gener-
ated by σ1 and σ2 (≡ D5 , the dihedral group of order 10) h2i, (−1, σ1 ) and
(−1, σ2 ) h0i, (abcde) and (−1, σ0 ) h2i, respectively.

Let σ1 = (ab) (cd) and σ2 = (acd). The 2 equivalence classes are generated
by σ1 and σ2 (≡ A4 ) h2i, S3 and (−1, σ0 ) (≡ {−1, 1} × S3 ) h0i, respectively.

The unique equivalence class is generated by D5 and (−1, σ0 ) (≡ {−1, 1} ×
D5 ) h0i.

The unique equivalence class is generated by A4 and (−1, σ0 ) (≡ {−1, 1} ×
A4 ) h2i.

The unique equivalence class is A5 h0i.

The unique equivalence class is {−1, 1} × A5 ≈ Ω h1i.
6.2 Subgroups of plate groups

All the subgroups of the icosahedron group have cyclic groups of order 2,
3 or 5 as generators. Let us look at the actions on the faces of such cyclic
groups.

Jorge Rezende 121
The first equivalence class of the order 2 groups has 10 orbits with 2
elements and the determinant of the generator is 1: (1, 10 × 2). The sec-
ond equivalence class has 8 orbits with 2 elements, 4 orbits with 1 element
and the determinant of the generator is −1: (−1, 8 × 2 + 4 × 1). The third
equivalence class has 10 orbits with 2 elements and the determinant of the
generator is −1: (−1, 10 × 2).
The equivalence class of the order 3 groups has 6 orbits with 3 ele-
ments, 2 orbits with 1 element and the determinant of the generator is 1:
(1, 6 × 3 + 2 × 1).
The equivalence class of the order 5 groups has 4 orbits with 5 elements
and the determinant of the generator is 1: (1, 4 × 5).
6.2.1 The icosahedron (1) puzzle
The plate group is GP = {−1, 1} × S5 . The only cyclic groups of GP whose

actions on the plates have orbits of the type (1, 10 × 2), (−1, 8 × 2 + 4 × 1),
(−1, 10 × 2), (1, 6 × 3 + 2 × 1) and (1, 4 × 5) are those generated, precisely,
by (1, (ab) (cd)), (−1, (ab) (cd)), (−1, σ0 ), (1, (abc)) and (1, (abcde)).
6.2.2 The icosahedron (3) puzzle
Let σ1 = (123456) and σ2 = (16) (25) (34). The plate group, GP , is gen-
erated by (1, σ1 ) and (−1, σ2 ). The only cyclic groups of GP whose ac-
tions on the plates have orbits of the type (1, 10 × 2), (−1, 8 ×2 + 4 × 1),

(−1, 10 × 2) and (1, 6 × 3 + 2 × 1) are generated by 1, σ13 , −1, σ1j σ2 ,

−1, σ1k σ2 , 1, σ12 , j = 1, 3, 5, k = 0, 2, 4. There are no subgroups of

order 5. It is easy to see directly that there are no solutions corresponding

to the subgroups of order 3. The solutions correspondingto subgroups of
order 2, are only those related to the generators −1, σ1k σ2 , k = 0, 2, 4.
6.3 Finding solutions of a puzzle with a prescribed group
A way to find a solution for a puzzle is to use the group relations between
the polyhedron and the plate groups. Take, for example, the icosahedron
(1) puzzle and the third equivalence class for groups of order 10.

This class is generated by an element σ of order 5 and (−1, σ0 ). The num-

bers on the edges must respect the central symmetry and a rotational sym-
metry group of order 5. Let σ = (12345). In Figure 13, that illustrates this
example, a, b ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and aj = σ j (a), bj = σ j (b), j = 1, 2, 3, 4. The
numbers a and b must be chosen so that a 6= b, a 6= σ 3 (b) = b3 , b 6= σ 2 (a) =
a2 . These three conditions give 9 possibilities, but only 5 of them corre-
spond to solutions of the puzzle: (a, b) = (2, 1) , (2, 5) , (3, 4) , (4, 2) , (4, 3).
The third one is the canonical solution. The first and the fourth ones be-
long to the same equivalence class. The same happens with the second and
the fifth ones. These last two classes are the ones already listed.
7 From groups to polyhedron puzzles

Let S be a subgroup of Sn± and h1 , h2 : Ω → S be two isomorphisms.
One says that h1 and h2 represent the same natural isomorphism if there
exists ω ∈ Ω+ such that
h1 = h2 ◦ ω.
Two natural isomorphisms, represented by h1 and h2 are said to be

equivalent if there exists s ∈ S and ω ∈ Ω, such that
s ◦ h1 = h2 ◦ ω.

Jorge Rezende 123
Consider a puzzle solution ε and its group GPε ≡ Ωε . Take ω1 , ω2 ∈ Ωε .

If ω1 is a rotation of order k, and ω2 is a rotation of order j, then ω1
transforms ω2 in another rotation of order j, ω3 , which is ω1 ω2 ω1−1 ≡ ω1 (ω2 ).
The isomorphism between Ωε and GPε suggests that if one wants to
translate the isometries into elements of Sn± the function must be such that
if ω1 7−→ s1 , ω2 7−→ s2 , then ω3 ≡ ω1 (ω2 ) 7−→ s1 s2 s−1
1 .
Note that if s1 = (δ1 , σ1 ), s2 = (δ2 , σ2 ), where
σ2 = (α1 α2 · · · αl ) · · · ,
then ω3 ≡ ω1 (ω2 ) 7−→ s3 = (δ2 , σ3 ), with
σ3 = (σ1 (α1 ) σ1 (α2 ) · · · σ1 (αl )) · · · .
We assign to every semiaxis of order k (≡ ω), a k-cycle σ = (α1 α2 · · · αk ),

so that to the counter clock-wise rotation of 2π k , ω, corresponds the permu-
tation σ. This association must be coherent in the sense that it generates a
group isomorphism.
In the cases we are interested in (the tetrahedron, the octahedron and the
icosahedron), it is enough to make the association to two neighbor semiaxes.
In these cases the semiaxes are defined by the vertices, the edges (the middle
point of each edge), the faces (the center of each face), and have their origin
at the polyhedron center.
If we assign to ω and ω1 (two neighbor semiaxes) the cycles σ and σ1 ,
then to the semiaxis ω (ω1 ) = ωω1 ω −1 we must assign σσ1 σ −1 . When σ1 =
(α1 α2 · · · αk ), then σσ1 σ −1 = (σ (α1 ) σ (α2 ) · · · σ (αk )).
In this section we use group theory in order to find puzzles, for a given
polyhedron, such as, for example, maximal puzzles. These are important
examples, but others could be given.
To avoid ambiguities, in the puzzles we give in the following, all the
edges have numbers, and we use the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 in the tetrahedron
and octahedron (cube) groups cases, and the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the
icosahedron (dodecahedron) group case.
7.1 The tetrahedron group

In the tetrahedron a vertex represents a semiaxis of order 3. Associate to a
given vertex the permutation (123). It is not difficult to see that the only
natural possibility is the one represented in the l.h.s. in figure 14. Something
similar happens with permutation (132) and the result is in the r.h.s. of the
same figure. Hence, there are two natural isomorphisms for the tetrahedron

group (see figure 14) which are equivalent. This equivalence can be done,
for example, by any transposition and an element of Ω+ . In this case
S = ({1} × A4 ) ∪ ({−1} × (S4 \ A4 )) .
7.1.1 Cube puzzles

Figure 15 shows the two solutions of the cube (2) puzzle, which represent
even better than figure 14 the tetrahedron group.
7.1.2 Octahedron puzzles

Figure 16 represents solutions of two equivalent puzzles, that we call the oc-
tahedron (2) puzzle. These solutions correspond to the natural tetrahedron
isomorphisms. Note that
S = ({1} × A4 ) ∪ ({−1} × (S4 \ A4 ))
is precisely the plate group.

Jorge Rezende 125
7.1.3 Cuboctahedron puzzles
Figure 17 represents solutions of two equivalent puzzles, that we call the

cuboctahedron (3) puzzle. These solutions correspond to the natural tetra-
hedron isomorphisms. Note that, as in the octahedron case, S is precisely
the plate group.
7.2 The octahedron (cube) group
There is only one natural isomorphism for the octahedron (cube) group (see
figure 18). In this case
S = {−1, 1} × S4 .

7.2.1 Cube and octahedron puzzles

If one looks for puzzles with solutions that have as their group Ω+ ≡ S4 ,
we find the cube (1) and the octahedron (1) puzzles. Those solutions are
maximal. This means that there are no puzzles where S = {−1, 1} × S4 is
a solution group.
7.2.2 Cuboctahedron puzzles

The cuboctahedron (1) puzzle has only a maximal natural solution which is
shown in the l.h.s. of figure 19. As its group is precisely S = {−1, 1} × S4 ,
this solution is excellent in order to represent the octahedron (cube) group.
This puzzle and this solution is completely rediscovered using S.
In the r.h.s. of figure 19 is represented the solution of the cuboctahedron

(2) puzzle which has also S as group. These two are the only possibilities

Jorge Rezende 127
for cuboctahedron puzzles with S as maximal group.

Note that the rhombic dodecahedron puzzle of Reference [6] has only
one natural solution which is dual of the l.h.s. solution in figure 19. This
property was crucial in choosing the puzzle.
7.2.3 Rhombicuboctahedron puzzles

Consider a rhombicuboctahedron square face which has no common edge
with a triangular face. Associate to this face the permutation (1234). To
a neighbor triangular face one must assign the permutation (132), as it is
shown in figure 20, if one wants to have a puzzle with a maximal group
containing S4 . Figure 20 shows sixteen possibilities and none of them has a
central symmetry. All of them are maximal solutions of puzzles with S4 as
a group.
There are six puzzles. All the puzzles have the six plates of figure 4.
Four of them have the eight plates represented in figure 1 (see the first three
rows in figure 20) and the other two have eight triangular plates of the
type aaa (see the last row in figure 20). The first puzzle has the remaining
square plates of the type abac (6 solutions). The second puzzle has the
remaining square plates of the type aabb (2 solutions). The third puzzle has
the remaining square plates of the type aaaa (2 solutions). The forth puzzle

has the remaining square plates of the type abab (2 solutions). The fifth
puzzle has the remaining square plates of the type abac (2 solutions). The
sixth puzzle has the remaining square plates of the type aabb (2 solutions).
The first puzzle is the one presented in Reference [6]. It was chosen
because two of its six solutions with S4 as a maximal group are dual of two
maximal solutions of the deltoidal icositetrahedron puzzle presented in the
same Reference [6].
7.2.4 Snub cube puzzles

As in the rhombicuboctahedron situation there are sixteen cases, that are
shown in figure 21, if one wants to have puzzles with S4 as a maximal group
(the largest one possible, as the snub cube has no central symmetry).

Jorge Rezende 129
In the figure the edge marked with x must have a 2 or a 3 in each of the
sixteen cases. Hence, there are, in fact, thirty two possibilities.
There are five puzzles. All the puzzles have the six plates of figure
4. Three have the eight plates represented in figure 1 and two have eight
triangular plates of the type aaa.
The first puzzle has the remaining triangular plates of the type abc (8
solutions). The second puzzle has the remaining triangular plates of the type
aab (14 solutions). The third puzzle has the remaining triangular plates of
the type aaa (2 solutions). These are the first three puzzles (the first three
columns in figure 21).
The last two puzzles (the last column in figure 21) are as follows. The
fourth puzzle has the remaining triangular plates of the type abc (4 solu-
tions). The fifth puzzle has the remaining triangular plates of the type aab
(4 solutions).
7.3 The icosahedron (dodecahedron) group

In the icosahedron the center of a face represents a semiaxis of order 3.
Associate to a given face the permutation (123) as it is shown in figure 22.
Then there are 8 possibilities for the vertices of this face, but only two of
them, the ”A” ones in the figure, are coherent in the sense that they generate
a group isomorphism.

There are two natural isomorphisms for the icosahedron (dodecahedron)

group (see figure 23) which are equivalent. This equivalence is made, for
example, by any transposition and an element of Ω+ . In this case
S = {−1, 1} × A5 .
7.3.1 Icosahedron and dodecahedron puzzles

Using this isomorphism one can recover the icosahedron (1) and the dodeca-
hedron (2) puzzles, which have precisely S as maximal group (see Reference
[4]).
7.3.2 Icosidodecahedron puzzles

For the icosidodecahedron there is only one puzzle with S as maximal group
(in fact, there are two equivalent puzzles). Figure 24 shows the possibilities
if one wants to have A5 as a group (two puzzles). Only one of them, the
”A” one, has a central symmetry.

Jorge Rezende 131
[email protected]
References
[1] Jorge Rezende: Puzzles numéricos poliédricos. Diário da República, III
Série, no 300, p. 22647 (1988).
[2] Jorge Rezende: Jogos com poliedros e permutações. Bol. Soc. Port. Mat.
43, 105-124 (2000).
[3] Jorge Rezende: Puzzles com poliedros e números. SPM: Lisboa 2001.
[4] Jorge Rezende: Puzzles with polyhedra and permutation groups.

http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/people/jrezende/jr puzzles-poly-perm.pdf
[5] Jorge Rezende: On the Puzzles with polyhedra and numbers (2001).
http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/people/jrezende/jr poliedros-puzzles en.pdf
[6] Jorge Rezende: Three puzzles with polyhedra and numbers.

http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/people/jrezende/jr three-puzzles en.pdf
[7] http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/people/jrezende/jr icosaedr4.pdf

1
The History of Combinatorial Game Theory
Richard J. Nowakowski
Dalhousie University
Abstract
A brief history of the people and the ideas that have contributed to Combinatorial Game Theory.
1 The Newcomer
Games have been recorded throughout history but the systematic application of mathematics to games is a relatively
recent phenomenon. Gambling games gave rise to studies of probability in the 16th and 17th century. What has
become known as Combinatorial Game Theory or Combinatorial Game Theory à la Conway—this to distinguish it
from other forms of game theory found in economics and biology, for example—is a babe-in-arms in comparison. It
has its roots in the paper [13] written in 1902, but the theory was not ‘codified’ until 1976-1982 with the publications
of On Numbers and Games [16] by John H. Conway and Winning Ways [11] by Elwyn R. Berlekamp, John H. Conway
and Richard K. Guy.
In the subject of Impartial games (essentially the theory as known before 1976), the first MSc thesis appears to
be in 1967 by Jack C. Kenyon [32] and the first PhD by Yaacov Yesha [63] in 1978. Using the full theory is Laura
J. Yedwab’s MSc thesis in 1985 [62] and David Wolfe’s 1991 PhD [60]. (Note: Richard B. Austin’s MSc thesis [3]
contains a little of the Partizan theory, but Yedwab’s thesis is purely Partizan theory.)
In the sequel, there are several Mathematical Interludes that give a peek into the mathematics involved in the theory.
Note that the names of games are given in small capitals such as CHESS. Also the notion of game is both general, like
CHESS which refers to a a set of rules, and specific as in a specific CHESS position. Whenever I talk mathematically,
as in the Interludes, it is this specific notion that should be invoked.
2 What is Combinatorial Game Theory?
This Combinatorial Game Theory has several important features that sets it apart. Primarily, these are games of pure
strategy with no random elements. Specifically:
1. There are Two Players who Alternate Moves;

2. There are No Chance Devices—hence no dice or shuffling of cards;
3. There is Perfect Information—all possible moves are known to both players and, if needed, the whole history of
the game as well;
4. Play Ends, Regardless—even if the players do not alternate moves, the game must reach a conclusion;
5. The Last Move determines the winner—Normal play: last player to move wins; Misère play last player to move
loses!

134 T HE H ISTORY OF C OMBINATORIAL G AME T HEORY
The players are usually called Left and Right and the genders are easy to remember —Left for Louise Guy and Right
for Richard Guy who is a important ‘player’ in the development of the subject. More on him later.
Figure 1: Louise and Richard Guy in Banff
Examples of games1 NOT covered by these rules are: DOTS -&- BOXES and GO, since these are scoring games, the
last person to move is not guaranteed to have either the highest or the lowest score; CHESS, since the game can end in
a draw; BACKGAMMON, since there is a chance element (dice); BRIDGE, the only aspect that this game satisfies is that
it ends.
Games which are covered by the conditions are: NIM2 ; AMAZONS, CLOBBER, DOMINEERING and HEX. In fact,
NIM , AMAZONS, DOMINEERING and also, despite the coments of the previous paragraph, DOTS -&- BOXES and GO
have a property that makes the theory extraordinarily useful for the analysis of these games. The board breaks up into
separate components, a player has to choose a component in which to play. Moreover, his opponent does not have to
reply in the same component. This is why condition (4) is important. The aspect is so important that it has its own
name.
The disjunctive sum of games G and H, written G + H, is the game where a player must choose to play in exactly one
of G and H.
The game of NIM with heaps of sizes 3, 4 and 5 is the disjunctive sum of three one-heap games of NIM. One could
also imagine playing the disjunctive sum of a game of CHESS with a game of CHECKERS and a game of GO. On a
move, a player moves in only one of the games but the opponent does not have to reply in the same game. The winner
will be the player making the last move over all. As a rule-of-thumb, if a position breaks up into components so that
the resulting game is a disjunctive sum then this theory will be useful. If the game does not become a disjunctive sum,
HEX for example, then the theory is less useful.
We still need a few more definitions. In an Impartial game both players have exactly the same moves—NIM for
example. In a Partizan game the players have different moves—in CHESS a player can only move his own pieces and
not those of his opponent; she would get rather upset if he did.
A game belongs to one of four outcome classes. This was first noted, by Ernst Zermelo [64] in 1912, but phrased
differently. A game can be won by:
• L eft regardless of moving first or second;

• R ight regardless of moving first or second;
• by the N ext player regardless of whether this is Left or Right;
• or by the P revious player regardless of whether this is Left or Right.
An outcome class is usually referred to by its initial. In an Impartial game such as NIM, since both players have the
same moves thus the outcome of a position must be either N or P .
1 For rules of these, and other, games see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ with Game of the Amazons; Clobber; Domineering;
Dots and boxes; or Hex (board game) at the end of the URL.
2 NIM Rules: On a table there are several heaps of counters. A player chooses any heap and removes any number of counters from that heap.
The person taking the last counter wins. For example, suppose there are three heaps with 3, 5 and 7 counters respectively, a player could choose the
heap of 7 and remove any number from 1 through 7 counters.

R ICHARD J. N OWAKOWSKI 135
A main aim of the theory is to give a value to each component: essentially how much of an advantage the position
is to one of the players—positive value for Left and negative for Right. First, though, we have to deal with equality:
two games should be the same if both players are indifferent to playing in one or the other. Or
Equality or the ‘Axiom of Indistinguishability’: G = H if, for all games X, the outcome for G + X is the same as the
outcome for H + X.
Finally, we are ready to talk history! The history breaks up into three main threads and all threads are still very
active:
• Impartial games under the Normal play ending condition which starts with Bouton and NIM [13] through Guy
& Smith [27];
• Partizan games again under the Normal play rule starting with Milnor’s [41] and Hanner’s [28] work (from GO)
through Berlekamp, Conway & Guy [16, 11];
• Impartial games under the Misère rules starting with Dawson in 1935. (See the Dover collection [19]).
What about the obvious fourth thread?
• Partizan Misère games: there are exactly two papers on the subject, [40, 48] both in 2007. This topic is hard!
Mathematical Interlude 1. How to play and win at NIM.
If there is one heap, take it all!
If there are two unequal heaps, remove from the larger to leave two the same size.
For three or more heaps, write each heap size as a sum of powers of 2, i.e., as sums of 1, 2, 4, 8, etc; pair off
equal powers of 2; if all powers are paired off, invite your opponent to go first. He must disturb the pairings and your
winning response is to remove enough counters to re-establish a pairing. Mathematically, write the numbers in binary
and add without carrying.
For example: with heaps of size 1, 5 and 7 then as sums of powers of 2, 1 = 1, 5 = 4 + 1 and 7 = 4 + 2 + 1, the 4s
pair off but not the 2s or the 1s. The winning move (there could be more than one but not in this situation) is to play to
remove 3 (=2+1) from the 7 heap to leave the position 1, 5, 4 where 1 = 1, 5 = 4 + 1 and 4 = 4. If the opponent were
now to move to 1, 3, 4 then 1 = 1, 3 = 2 + 1 and 4 = 4 and only the 1s are paired. No move will ever create another 4
so the 4 has to go but at the same time you should leave a 2 to pair off with the other 2, i.e. move to the position 1 = 1,
3 = 2 + 1 and 2 = 2.
3 The Winners at Normal Play
3.1 Impartial Normal Play
The game of NIM is Impartial since both players have the same moves. Charles L. Bouton [13] analyzed NIM. (See
[39] for Bouton’s mathematical obituary.) There have been discussions over the origin of the the name nim with some
references to a Chinese origin. However, Bouton did his PhD in Leipzig so it is likely that the name owes much to the
German verb nimm meaning ‘ take’. It took three decades before it was realized, and proved, that each Impartial game
is equivalent to a NIM position. Knowing how to win at NIM then allows a player to know how to win all Impartial
games. Of course, calculating the equivalent NIM position is non-trivial. The Bouton paper sparked an interest in the
area and several important papers resulted. From our vantage point, some of the games that were suggested were very
interesting, even important, but went off the track of developing the general theory.

Figure 2: Genealogy of Early Impartial Players
First was WYTHOFF ’ S GAME, introduced and solved by Willem A. Wythoff [61] in 1907. (See [33] for a very brief
biography.) The rules are: There are two heaps of counters on a table. On a turn, a player either chooses a heap and
takes as many counters as they wish; or they may take an equal number from both. The player taking the last counter
wins. The game was also given, independently, by Rufus Issacs, see [6] p. 53: Play with a Chess Queen on a quarter
infinite board and a move must move the Queen closer to the corner of the board. The heaps are the coordinates of
the Queen’s position. Hence the game is sometimes called WYTHOFF QUEENS. The game has interesting connections
Figure 3: WYTHOFF ’ S GAME as WYTHOFF ’ S QUEENS
to the golden ratio and Fibonacci numbers, and has led to some very interesting and beautiful mathematics, see [18].
However, it turned out to be a wrong direction for the theory. The game does not break up into disjoint components.
Several other authors followed including Eliakim H. Moore (M OORE ’ S NIM [42]), where a player make take from up
to k heaps, k being fixed in advance, which is also off in the wrong direction since it merges rather than separates the
heaps.
In the right direction, Emanuel Lasker [35] p.183 in 1931, introduced LASKER ’ S NIM—the same rules as NIM
with the extra option of removing no counters but splitting a heap into two (non-empty) heaps. This clearly highlights
the disjunctive sum aspect. According to Jörg Bewersdorff [12] (pp.174-176 in the English version), Lasker just
missed developing the whole theory of Impartial games. He did understand the outcome classes P and N and how
they interacted. And, according to Richard K. Guy [1], Michael Goldberg in the 1938 edition of W. W. Rouse Ball’s
Mathematical Recreations and Essays [5] solved much of KAYLES and “was unlucky not to have discovered the
complete analysis and the S-G [Sprague-Grundy] theory”. The theory was ‘in the air’ and it was left to Sprague and
Grundy to find it.
Roland P. Sprague [55, 56] in 1935 and independently Patrick M. Grundy [21] in 1939 published complete solu-
tions on how to solve Impartial games. (See [53] for a mathematical obituary of Grundy.) This became known as the
Sprague-Grundy Theory and the value associated with an Impartial game was referred to as the Grundy-value. (Guy
and Smith didn’t learn about Sprague’s work until after Grundy’s death in 1959.) Since this value is equal to the size
of the NIM-heap to which it is equivalent, and since it has been placed inside more encompassing theory, many authors
now refer to the nim-value of a game and the set of values as the nimbers.

In 1949, R. K. Guy, in solving DAWSON ’ S CHESS3 , also re-discovered the Sprague-Grundy theory and in addition,
an infinity of games to which the theory could be applied. (See Mathematical Interlude 2.) R. K. Guy was steered
toward Cedric A. B. Smith who had worked with Grundy. (Smith was also a member of Blanche Descarte4 . This
led to the 1956 article [27] and to a career that is still active today. In the area of combinatorial game theory, R. K.
Guy has: published over 20 articles; published two books (more on those in the Partizan Section); helped organize
five major conferences; edited one Conference proceedings; and maintains an ‘Unsolved Problems in Combinatorial
Game Theory’ column. This doesn’t count the over two hundred and fifty other publications of his. One interesting
aspect, despite all his achievements, Guy got the first solution wrong! Or rather, he solved the wrong problem. Dawson
asked for the Misère version and Guy solved the Normal play version believing ([25, 1]), like so many others, that the
winning strategy for Misère play is a slight tweak of the strategy for Normal play. Moreover, the original DAWSON ’ S
CHESS is still unsolved today!
WYTHOFF ’ S GAME , GRUNDY ’ S GAME and MOORE ’ S GAME are associated with beautiful and sometimes surpris-
ing mathematics. One other game that should also be mentioned in the same vein is WELTER ’ S GAME [58, 59] from
19525 . Welter knew of the work of Sprague and generalized one his NIM games. Despite the apparent ‘welter’ of
confusion about the equivalent nim-values, there is a very pretty way to decide on a good move [16] pp.153–165 and
[11] pp.506–515, see also [10, 17].
In terms of the development of the theory the focus now shifts, but before moving on, one other person, Aviezri
Fraenkel ([20, 26]) should also be noted as the one who has the largest number of publications in the area, with well
over sixty papers on mainly, but not restricted to, Impartial games and complexity results. (This count does not include
his numerous papers on other areas of mathematics and computer science.)
Figure 4: Aviezri Fraenkel
Mathematical Interlude 2. The games of R. K. Guy are the innocuous sounding SUBTRACTION and OCTAL games.
Given a finite set of numbers, say S = {2, 3, 5}, called the subtraction set, and a heap of n counters, a player
may take away 2, 3 or 5 counters. The outcome-sequence for the set S is the sequence of the outcome for a heap: of
size 0, 1, 2; . . .. The outcome sequence for S = {1}, i.e. where a player is only allowed to take away 1 counter, is:
P , N , P , N , P , N , . . .. To see this, a heap of size 0 is a P revious player win, since neither player has a move; 1 is a
N ext since the Next player can reduce the heap to 0 whereupon his opponent has no move and so loses. From a heap
of 2, then you, as the next player, must move to a heap of 1 which is an N -position, i.e. you give your opponent a
good move, so the outcome of a 2-heap is P . A little more thought gives that a heap of even size is a P -position and an
odd-sized heap is a N -position giving the sequence sometimes referred to as SHE - LOVES - ME - SHE - LOVES - ME - NOT.
The reader is encouraged to find the outcome sequences of: S = {1, 2}; S = {1, 2, 3}; etc.
In general, it is known that for any set S, eventually, the nim-sequence will be periodic, but no-one has discovered
a relationship between S and the form of the period. Actually, researchers look for the nim-sequence where instead
3 DAWSON ’ S CHESS [19] Given two equal lines of opposing Pawns, White on 3rd rank, Black on 5th, in adjacent files. White to play and
capturing is mandatory. The player who makes the last move loses. Who wins?
4 See http://www.squaring.net/history theory/brooks smith stone tutte.html.
5 WELTER ’ S GAME : is played with coins on a strip of squares numbered 1 through whatever. The coins can be moved to any smaller numbered,
unoccupied square but no square can have more than one coin. The coins accumulate at one end of the strip and so the game finishes.

of the outcomes, the size of the equivalent NIM-heap is recorded. Note that in this case, the P -positions correspond
exactly to heaps of size 0.
OCTAL games are like LASKER ’ S GAME , where a move, depending on the exact rules, may allow a player to take
from a heap and possibly split the remaining heap into two heaps. In GRUNDY ’ S game, heaps are allowed only to be
split into two non-equal, non-empty heaps. Despite having been analyzed to heap-sizes of many billions, no periodicity
or other regularity has been discovered.
For an in-depth discussion of these, and other heap games, see [11] Chapter 4.
3.2 Early Partizan Players
Figure 5: Genealogy of Early Partizan Players
In 1953, arising out of his research in classical game theory (the game theory used in economics and biology and
other sciences), John Milnor [41] wrote the first theoretical paper on Partizan games. He recognized that there were
hot positions, positions in which both players are eager to move because of the advantage gained. A mathematical
approach to approximating such positions is to see what happens when there are many copies of the position. This
gives an idea of the ‘mean-value’ of the position—on average, what advantage might the position be worth.
Olof Hanner was interested in GO and in 1957 whilst wandering around Stockholm he found a GO book with an
annotated game. The author claimed that Black won by one point but Hanner found that Black should win by two
points. (See [46] for more details about Hanner.) This led Hanner [28] to define his own version of the ‘mean-value’
of a game. To quote Yedwab, [62], “One way to view Hanner’s strategy, is that it addresses a basic weakness found in
Milnor’s strategy, i.e., tempo. In Milnor’s strategy, the follower is a wimp that passively responds to the leader’s move,
even when it is obvious that the leader’s move is not sente.” That is the ‘leader’ takes advantage of the disjunctive
sum by freely choosing which component to play in, but the follower is constrained to playing in the same component
as the leader. Note that a move is sente if the opponent has to reply in order to prevent a large loss. Also, Milnor’s
definition of a mean-value is not robust. The approximation to the mean-value could get worse, not better, as more
copies are added to the sum, but Hanner had hit upon the right idea.
Richard K. Guy now re-enters the scene as a unifying force. John H. Conway had been interested in games.
(Conway has many achievements including the GAME OF LIFE.) Conway knew Mike Guy, Richard’s son. They met in
19606 in Cambridge when John Conway was a first year graduate student and Mike Guy a new undergraduate. Mike
Guy passed along the Impartial theory developed by his father.
Elwyn R. Berlekamp met Richard at a conference in 1966. Berlekamp had just ‘solved’ the Impartial game of
DOTS -&- BOXES7 with help from the Guy-Smith paper [27]. According to legend and eyewitnesses, Elwyn Berlekamp
has not lost a game of DOTS -&- BOXES in over 40 years. (See [8] for more on the game.) He suggested that they write a
book and Guy suggested adding Conway. They started work soon after and the two volume set Winning Ways appeared
in 1982. The present version is the four volume set [11]. During the 16-year production, John H. Conway realized that
6 Richard and Louise’s daughter Anne, the first person to solve Rubik’s Cube, also started in maths at Cambridge the same year.
7 John C. Holladay in [30] partially solved DOTS -&- BOXES in the version where a player MUST take a box if one is present. Also, Holladay
[29] rediscovered the Sprague-Grundy theory in 1957.

there is a wonderful mathematical theory, based on the ‘disjunctive sum’ concept, underpinning these games and first
published On Numbers and Games in 1976 (re-published in 2001 [16]). Conway developed a new number system out
of evaluations of games. This system, called surreal numbers (by Donald Knuth! [34]) extends the real numbers in
a manner similar to that of Dedekind cuts which extends the rational numbers to the reals. Later, Elwyn Berlekamp
observed that GO games frequently broke up into a disjunctive sum and a new area of games research was born, see
[9].
Figure 6: Guy, Conway and Berlekamp
These books still are the standard references and bibles of the subject. Admittedly, On Numbers and Games is a
graduate level mathematics text but Winning Ways is a recreational mathematics book and is very accessible.
Mathematical Interlude 3. Mathematical Structure of Games—Partially-Ordered Abelian Group.
1. Zero: If G is a 2nd player win then the outcome of G + H is the same as that of H for all games H. The player
who can win H plays this strategy and never plays in G except to respond to his opponent’s moves in G. Thus,
any 2nd player win game acts like 0 in that it changes nothing when added to another game.
2. Negative: Given a game G, −G is G with the roles reversed. For example, in CHESS this is the same as turning
the board around.
3. Equality: G = H if G + (−H) is a 2nd player win; i.e. neither player has an advantage when playing first. Note
this is a ‘definition’ of equality and mathematically we can say G + (−H) = 0 is the same as G = H. [Note that
this really defines an equivalence relation and the ‘equality’ is for the equivalence classes.]
4. Associativity: G + (H + K) = (G + H) + K is straightforward from the definition of the disjunctive sum;
5. Commutativity: G + H = H + G, again straightforward;
6. Inverses: For any game G, G + −(G) is a 2nd player win, (i.e. G + (−G) = 0) by ‘Tweedledum-Tweedledee’—
whatever you play in one, I play exactly the same in the other.
7. Inequality: G ≥ H if Left wins G + (−H); i.e. there is a bigger advantage to Left in G than in H.
The structure really is a partial order. For example, when playing NIM, a heap of size 1 and a heap of size 2 are
incomparable. Let’s call these games ∗1 and ∗2 for easy reference. Note that −(∗2) is the same game as ∗2 since the
Left moves are the same as the moves available to Right so interchanging them has no effect on the play of the game.
We already know that ∗1 + ∗2 is a first player win—the winning move is to ∗1 + ∗1. By the definition of ‘equality’ then
∗1 6= ∗2. Moreover, by the definition of inequality ∗1 6> ∗2 and ∗1 6< ∗2.

3.3 Very Modern Normal History
With the publishing of On Numbers and Games and Winning Ways the full framework of the theory of Combinatorial
Games was laid down. However, much work remains to be done within that framework. Indeed, the activity can be
classified (roughly) into five main areas.
• Algorithmic Game Theory: Theory is fine, but most people want to know how to win in an actual game. When
analyzing games, hand calculation can only go so far8 . In the early 1990s, David Wolfe developed the software
Gamesman’s Toolkit which has been superseded in 2000 by Aaron Siegel’s CGSuite [49].
• Complexity: long an interest of Computer scientists as well as mathematicians. Look to researchers such as
Aviezri Fraenkel and Erik Demaine.
• Hot Games: Games in which there is a large advantage in moving first. These games are perhaps of the
only ones of interest to real world games players. This area has the most overlap of computer scientists and
mathematicians. The mathematicians want to know the exact values and the very best strategies by working
backwards from the end. The computer scientist wants good heuristics that will allow good play from the
beginning.
• Impartial games: Even though these games, such as NIM, started the area, much remains to be discovered.
• All-small games: Games like CLOBBER9 in which either both players have a move or neither does. It is not
possible to build a large advantage as in Hot games.
But, as is the wont of mathematicians, almost immediately, if not sooner, research started into pushing the envelope,
relaxing the conditions that define combinatorial game theory. Briefly, the highlights are:
• Scoring Games such as GO and DOTS -&- BOXES. The Chinese scoring convention almost makes GO into
a combinatorial game and the last player to move in DOTS -&- BOXES is usually the winner so the theory is
applicable to these games. Indeed, research into GO is pushing the limits of the theory. A new avenue of
research has been started by Elwyn R. Berlekamp [7]. He introduced the idea of an enriched environment—a
stack of coupons in decreasing order. A player may make a move or take the top coupon of the stack, the value
of which is added to the player’s score. This is a useful analysis tool in all hot games and has even made its
appearance in International GO events.
• Loopy Games: Games in which the play is not guaranteed to end. In 1966, C. A. B. Smith [54] first extended
the Impartial theory (of Sprague and Grundy) to games with cycles (see also [4]) and, in 1978, John H. Conway
[15] showed that canonical forms could be defined for some loopy games. A mistake in the analysis of F OX -&-
G EESE in Winning Ways led to more, very recent, advances obtained by Aaron Siegel [50, 51, 52].
• Allowing a random element. In Richman games [37, 36], players bid for the right to play next in an otherwise
combinatorial game.
• Allowing three or more players. The problem is that there could be off-the-board strategies; the players could
form coalitions for all or some of the game. Also, player A on his last turn could make either of players B and
C the winner but not himself. Li [38] (1977) and Straffin [57] (1985) considered the formation and behavior of
coalitions. Propp [47] (2000) and Cincotti [14] (2000) considered the situations when one player has a winning
strategy against a coalition of the other two.
8 Having said that, around 1950, R. K. Guy was calculating the nim-sequences for SUBTRACTION and OCTAL games up to heaps of size 600,
whilst C. B. Haselgrove wrote a program that ran EDSAC out of memory at size 400. P. M. Grundy managed to get the nim-sequence, from a
computer, for his game (i.e. GRUNDY ’ S GAME) up to heap size 1100 many of which were wrong because of overflow errors! E. R. Berlekamp
discovered a structure within the nim-sequence of this game, called the sparse space phenomenon, that has allowed dedicated machines to extend
the nim-sequence to roughly 17 billion.
9 CLOBBER is played on a rectangular board, 8 × 6 for example, starting with alternating black (Left) and white (Right) pieces. A piece is moved
one square horizontally or vertically provide the new square is occupied by an opponent’s piece which is then removed from the board.

4 Misère Play; or the Best Losers
Thomas R. Dawson ( [31]) was a composer of chess problems (which is how he and R. K. Guy met). The solution to
his 1935 Misère problem of DAWSON ’ S CHESS, of course, depends on the width of the board. This is the problem that
Guy solved for Normal play. Many researchers believe that the strategy for a Misère game is to take the Normal play
strategy and tweak it at the end of the game. While this is true for NIM, it is not true in general.
Results in Misère play have been few and far between. From 1935 up to 2001, there are only thirteen papers on
Misère games, although they are also considered in both On Numbers and Games and Winning Ways. In On Numbers
and Games, Conway shows that the theory for Normal play will not translate to Misère play. In Normal play, many
games are equal to each other which means that a strategy for one works for all the others. In Misère play almost all
games are equal to themselves and few, if any, others: the strategy for one game does not help with the strategy for
any other game.
First, Patrick M. Grundy and Cedric A. B. Smith [22] considered Impartial games under Misère play rules. Essen-
tially, all but two of these eleven papers, only add to human knowledge by dealing with specific games. However, in
the last few years, Thane Plambeck, and now Aaron Siegel, have started a new and exciting chapter in this area. The
history of Misère games is only now being written.
Figure 7: Thane Plambeck on the left and Aaron Siegel on the right
Mathematical Interlude 4. Recall that, having decided which universe (Normal or Misère) of games we are playing
in, the definition of equality of games is:
G = H if for all games X in this universe, the outcome for G + X is the same as the outcome of H + X.
Plambeck’s approach is to limit the size of the universe. Given a game position G, Plambeck’s universe is restricted
to only those games that can be reached from G. This universe is called the closure of G. Equality is now defined as:
Given a game G then for H and K in the closure of G, H = K if for all games X in the closure, the outcome of H + X
is the same as the outcome of K + X. Games can now be equal in one universe but unequal in another.
5 Sources
Not everyone can have the good fortune of having talked to Richard Guy, and also Elwyn Berlekamp, John Conway,
Aviezri Fraenkel, Thane Plambeck, Aaron Siegel and David Wolfe. For the less fortunate, some biographical details
can be found on Wikipedia and the St. Andrews history website, These early ‘players’ were, and still are, proficient
mathematicians who accomplished much across many fields. It is well worth reading the more personal recollections,
stories and biographies that can be found in [1, 20, 25, 33, 39, 46, 53].

More mathematical papers are listed in the bibliography. Another great resource is Aviezri Fraenkel’s bibliogra-
phy of papers in [43, 44, 45] which also appear as a dynamic survey in the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics at
http://www.combinatorics.org/.
For some mathematical survey papers see [24, 43, 44, 45]—the last will appear later this year. For an introduction
to Impartial games see Fair Game [23], to the full theory see Winning Ways or Lessons in Play [2].
Acknowledgements
Figure 8: Richard J. Nowakowski
Many thanks have to go to Richard K. Guy for all his work and willingness to share his time and memories. Also
Richard and Neil McKay read this manuscript and their suggestions greatly improved it. All deliberate and other errors
are the fault of the author!
[email protected]
References
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Journal, 24:122–148, 1993.
[2] Michael Albert, Richard J. Nowakowski, and David Wolfe. Lessons in Play. A. K. Peters, 2007.
[3] Richard B. Austin. Impartial and partizan games. Master’s thesis, The University of Calgary, 1976.
[4] S. Fraenkel Aviezri and Yehoshua Perl. Constructions in combinatorial games with cycles. Coll. Math. Soc.
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[17] John. H. Conway and H. S. M. Coxeter. Triangulated polygons and frieze patterns. Math. Gaz., 57:87–94;
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[18] H. S. M. Coxeter. The golden section, phyllotaxis and Wythoff’s game. Scripta Math., 19:135–143, 1953.
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The use of the game of chess to
represent famous battles
Pedro Palhares
University of Minho
Abstract
The game of chess has attracted great passions throughout its his-
tory. Some of its enthusiasts have pushed chess in order to represent
different kind of situations. Lewis Carroll used a chess game to be
the central element of one of Alice’s stories. The struggle between
good and evil (the latter represented by the devil himself) has been
the theme of a series of problems. There were also some attempts to
use chess to represent battles. This has occurred in the end of the 19th
century and beginning of the 20th century in a period where the first
wargames were in fact appearing (although apparently were yet too
expensive to become really popular). In this paper I will look into two
examples of these trials, examining the way the main problems linked
with this representation were solved.
Introduction
“The fundamental law of war”, says Napoleon, “is this, —
the greater force always overcome the lesser.” (Young, 1912, pp.
3–4)
I have a strong affect and interest to chess. But my interest in chess

being twofold, is not exactly about its warrior nature: In fact I am a chess
player and I love playing (except if I lose too many games in a row); I am also
interested in the cultural images connected with chess, being the military
just one aspect really.
Chess is sometimes presented as a game that represents a battle between
two sides with equal forces. And it certainly has attracted the attention
of many war strategists. But it also has been theorized as a war-like phe-
nomenon at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, both the chess
and the military community in Portugal dubiously received that approach.
Pedro Palhares 147
Just when the twentieth century was beginning, one book showed up,
where its author tries to conceptualize chess as war-like activity. One of the
interesting features of this book is a set of 17 principles or laws concerning
the art of chess play. These laws were written in a military kind of discourse,
and could be, at least theoretically, interchangeable between chess and war,
if just we changed a few words, like piece for instance:
1st law of the art of chess play Whenever two undefended

kindred pieces having no line of communication are simultane-
ously attacked by an adverse force, then one of the given kindred
pieces is lost. (Young, 1912, p.18) 2nd law of the art of chess
play
At every turn to play and no line of operations existing, al-
ways act simultaneously with the column of attack in topograph-
ical zone, with the column of support in the kindred hypothetical
zone, and with the column of manoeuvre in the adverse hypo-
thetical zone, and always reject every move which violates those
principles governing the processes incident to these prime strate-
gic factors. (Ibidem, p.70) 3rd law of the art of chess play
I. The column of attack ceases to exist whenever the net value
of the kindred determinate force is less than the mobility of the
objective plane.
II. The column of support ceases to exist whenever the last
kindred promotable factor is eliminated.
III. The column of manoeuvre ceases to exist whenever the
last kindred point of impenetrability is eliminated (Ibidem, p.71).
The first laws are somehow understandable from the point of view of
modern chess. But some of the laws from there tend to become increasingly
far away from chess and more close to the military discourse. One good
example is this:
6th law of the art of chess play

Having located two tactical keys, two points of command, or
one tactical key and one point of command, then connect these
points by logistic radii, and those points at which the given lo-
gistic radii intersect will be points of communication, and that
point of communication common to both will be the topograph-
ical centre (Ibidem, p.95)

148 The use of the game of chess...
Curiously, the last of these laws is again close to chess and its concepts,
namely the concept of initiative which is highly valued today:
17th law of the art of chess play

In short, the initiative is a condition — in fact, it is the
only condition — in which the perfect application of strategic
knowledge to warfare and to chessplay by means of the processes
of their respective arts, is possible. In other words, it is the bridge
which unites the principles and formulas of strategic science with
the processes of the strategic art. In every situation the initiative
is governed by the following law:
At every turn to play dictate the opponent’s reply, either:
Strategically, i.e., by occupying a topographical key, and threat-
ening on the next move to occupy another topographical key; or,
Tactically, i.e., by occupying, or by threatening on the next
move to occupy, an inadequately defended tactical key (Ibidem,
p. 248)
Young’s book also contained a battle represented in game. That was the
battle of Waterloo, between Napoleon forces and Wellington and Blucher
forces. In this specific case, it is not a known game, rather a game con-
structed from the description of the battle.
It has to be said that perhaps due to the specific method of construction,
the game is not a plausible one (against good strategy in chess, also with
strange moves in the end describing Napoleon forces retreating). It is also a
very long game, with too many moves representing the forces being directed
to their place in the battlefield.
Inspired by this attempt, one Portuguese player attempted to represent
the Battle of Chryssus with a chess game. Even then, by what is presented
in Ansur (1907), many Portuguese officers were not at all convinced that
chess could really represent battles.
This game was adapted by the frigate captain Baldaque da Silva from
the game played by Morphy in 1858.
The description of the battle where Mr. Baldaque based his own is
from Alexandre Herculano, a Portuguese writer, in his work ‘Eurico the
presbyter’.
The first and second lines of the board represent the Muslim field; the
5th and 6th lines the plane margin; the 8th line the left side of the Chryssus
(which is called Guadalete today and is in Spain). The Arab forces are

Pedro Palhares 149
white, commanded by Tarik. The Visigoth forces are black, commanded by

King Roderick.
We are in the year 711, Arabs are beginning their conquest of the Iberian
Peninsula.
[email protected]
References
[1] Ansur, A. (1907), O Jogo Real — Apontamentos diversos para
a tentativa de um tratadinho elementar de xadrez, Lisboa: Ty-
pographia do Commércio, de Leiria, Abı́lio Saraiva.
[2] Young, F. K. (1912), Chess Strategics Illustrated, (first published

in 1900). Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company.
[3] Herculano, A. (1988), Eurico, o Presbı́tero. São Paulo : Ática.

Available at the webpage with URL
http://www.culturatura.com.br/obras/Eurico - o
Presbı́tero.pdf

The Battle of Chryssus (in Ansur (1907), by the

frigate captain Baldaque da Silva)
1. e4 The Arabian esculcas move forward

1... e5 The mountaineers of Hermı́nio occupy the plains
2. Nf3 The squadrons of Juliano move to face the mountaineers
2... d6 The veterans of Narbone sustain the mountaineers
5. Qxf3 The squadrons of Tarik retake the position

5...dxe5 The veterans of Narbone defeat the Berbers
6. Bc4 The cavalry of Mugueiz (El-Rumi) attack the left flank
6... Nf6 The Black Knight comes in defence of Ruderick

Pedro Palhares 151
7. Qb3 The Saracen squadrons reinforce the African cavalry

7... Qe7 Ruderick sends the Cantabrian cavalry to defend
8. Nc3 The Berber tribes of Mazmuda advance
8...c6 The Herminian and the Vasconian continue the attack
9. Bg5 The Saracen squadrons run towards the black knight

9...b5 The Herminian and the Vasconian continue the attack
10. Nxb5 The Berbers take their position
10...cxb5 The mountaineers retake the position

11. Bxb5+ The African cavalry disperse them and attack Ruderick
11... Nb8d7 The troops from Lusitania and Galicia cover Ruderick
12.o-o-o The emir Tarik regroup with the traitor Goth forces of Sisebafo,
Ebbas and Oppas.
12...Rd8 Ruderick reinforces the back with the Carthaginian cavalry
13. Rxd7 The forces of Oppas take the position of the Lusitanian troops
13... Rxd7 The Carthaginian cavalry retake it
14. Rd1 The Arabs attack again with Juliano forces
14... Qe6 The Cantabrian cavalry make a last attempt

Pedro Palhares 153
15. Bxd7+ The Arabs attack Ruderick closely

15... Nxd7 The black knight, alone, defends him
16. Qb8+ The Saracen squadrons charge over Ruderick (King of the
Goth)
16... Nxb8 The black knight desperately defends him

17. Rd8++ Ruderick dies at the hands of the traitors of the count of
Septum.

Mathematical Games
Dores Ferreira Pedro Palhares Jorge Nuno Silva
University of Minho University of Minho University of Lisbon
Portugal has a National Championship of Mathematical Games since

2004.
This championship involves students from 1st to 12th grades and six
mathematical games, three games for each level of the Portuguese school
system. Figure 1 illustrates the six games used in the 4th edition of the
National Championship of Mathematical Games. In the last edition the
final occurred on April, 29 in Braga, at the University of Minho, with 1100
participants.
Figure 1: Games used in the 4th edition of the National Championship of

Mathematical Games
But, what are mathematical games?

For Neto & Silva (2004), mathematical games are strategic or abstract
games without chance and without hidden information. Chess, Draughts,
and Mancala games are examples of mathematical games.
Recently, a study with students from 3rd to 6th grades (8 to 11 years
old) investigated the relationship between Chess and problem solving involv-
ing geometric and numeric patterns (Ferreira & Palhares, 2007). The goal
of this study was to find whether there is a relationship between two dis-
tinctive abilities: the ability to play Chess and the ability to find patterns.
156 Mathematical Games
The methodology of the Chess study was quantitative, with a correlational

design. In fact, correlational studies are appropriate in educational research
when there is a need to discover or clarify relationships and little or no
previous research has been undertaken (Cohen & Manion, 1989). The sam-
ple was constituted by 437 students from 3rd to 6th year of schooling and
interesting conclusions were found. These are the main conclusions:
The strength of chess play is positively related to problem solving

involving patterns, with a coefficient of correlation of 0.46. A detailed
analysis reveals that school year affects this relationship. However,
excluding its effects, the relationship is still above 0.38;
The strength of chess play is positively related to numeric patterns

(r = 0.46);
Playing or not playing chess has no relation with problem solving

involving patterns (r = 0.13).
In 2007, the final of the National Championship of Mathematical Games

occurred in Évora and it was the background of a new study. In this study
we were curious to find whether there is a relationship between the ability to
find patterns and the ability to play mathematical games other then Chess,
as for example Traffic Lights and Amazons.
As instruments to collect data we used a survey and a test (constructed
and validated during the chess study mentioned before). The test had 24
questions, from wich we present, in Figure 2, two examples of a geometric
(on the left side) and a numeric question (on the right).
Figure 2: Two examples of the test questions
The elaboration of the test correction criteria was based on the principles
reported by Charles, Lester and O’Daffer (1992). The 24 questions have
different correction criteria, appropriate for each one. In Figure 3 we present
an example of the correction criteria for a geometric question.

Jürgen Stigter 157
Figure 3: Correction criteria for geometric question 1-b
The statistical treatment was done using SPSS for Windows, version
13.0 and in the analysis, different statistical procedures have been used. For
example, Cronbach’s Alpha was used to measure internal consistency.
As we can see in Figure 4, Cronbach’s Alfa from 3rd to 6th grades was
0.763. Fraenkel and Wallen (1990) claim that Cronbach’s Alpha must be
greater than 0.70. Thus we consider this coefficient as a sufficiently good
result. But from 7th to 9th grades de Cronbach’s Alfa was 0.678 witch is
close to the mark mentioned above.
Figure 4: Cronbach’s Alfa for 3rd to 6th and 7th to 9th grades
To interpret the correlation coefficient we followed the intervals general

interpretation of Cohen and Manion (1989) and Fraenkel and Wallen (1990):
Correlation between 0.2 and 0.35 reveals a small relationship between

variables, too small to make predictions;
Correlation between 0.35 and 0.65 are often found in educational re-
search. They may have theoretical and practical importance depend-
ing on the context. They allow for group predictions.
Correlations above 0.65 indicate a very strong relationship hard to find

in Education or in sciences dealing with human beings.
The statistical analysis reveals some interesting results. First, for the
game Traffic Lights, played by students from 3rd to 4th grades, the coeffi-
cient of correlation was −0.757 with a level of significance of 0.05. Actually,
this coefficient is considerably higher than the results obtained by chess
players in the previous study.

Figure 5: Correlation between test scores and Traffic Lights players ranking
Finally, for the game Amazons, played by students from 7th to 9th
grades, the coefficient of correlation was −0.587. But in this case the level
of significance is only close to the minimum score which is 0.05.
Figure 6: Correlation between test scores and Amazons players ranking

Jürgen Stigter 159
We must clarify that the reason for a negative coefficient is due to the
fact that players ranking and test scores have an opposite direction (best
players had a lower number but better test results had a bigger number).
The results presented show us that in 3rd and 4th grades, there’s a strong
relationship between the ability to solve problems involving patterns and the
ability to play the game Traffic Lights. However, from the results presented
emerges also the need to implement further research to clarify some aspects
and to get stronger results.
Researching strategic games

This year we have organized tournaments with a grand total of 271 students
from 3rd and 4th grades (these students are 8 and 9 years old) in four
primary schools. The games used in these championships were: Dots &
Boxes, Traffic Lights and Wari. At the end, the students took the test, but
we haven’t yet analyzed the data.
In the next years we intend to organize tournaments with students from
5th to 6th grades, in one or two schools, with about 60 students per school.
The games that we intend to use are Traffic Lights, Wari and Hex, or
other strategic games. At the end we have to apply the test to collect the
data. To analyze the data we intend to use statistical tools, as for example
Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Pearson, Spearman, Kendall’s Tau’s test, or others
tests that we’ll find convenient for our research. The goal of this research
is to find whether playing mathematical games is related to identifying pat-
terns, as well as ascertain if some games are more mathematical then others
in the sense that some games may be more related to identifying patterns
than others.
There are also some possible steps that we can take in our research, as
for example:
Check the test variability for 10th to 12th grades to find if we can use
this grades in the study;
Research physical games as, for example, Tennis (because Tennis has
an individual ranking) and use the Tennis ranking as tool for statistic
study;
Research strategic games with hidden information, as cards or domi-

noes.

These possible steps are new suggestions that we have to plan and re-
flect about the reasonably of their application to our research. But we are
also open to new ideas that can help us find answers to questions around
mathematical games and their use with educational purposes.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
References
[1] Charles, R., Lester, F. & O’Daffer, P. (1992), How to evaluate
progress in problem solving, E.U.A.: NCTM.
[2] Cohen, L. & Manion, L. (1989), Research Methods in Edu-

cation (3rd Ed.), London: Routledge.
[3] Ferreira & Palhares (2007). “O jogo de xadrez e a iden-

tificação de padrões”, Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de
Matemática (53).
[4] Fraenkel & Wallen (1990), How to Design and Evaluate Re-
search in Education, New York: Mc Graw-Hill.
[5] Neto, J. P. & Silva, J. N. (2004), Jogos Matemáticos, Jogos

Abstractos, Lisboa: Gradiva.

Goths, Vikings and Hanseatic Town.
Gaming pieces from the Museum of
Archeology and History Elbag
collection
Piotr Adamczyk
The Museum of Archeology and History in Elblag,
Department of Education and Promotion
The Museum of Archeology and History in Elblag, Poland, is one of the

most interesting museums in Poland. In its walls we can find one of the rich-
est archaeological collections in Poland and many other interesting objects
from the past centuries.
Elblag’s Museum is concentrated on the history of Zulawy Region, Elblag
and its nearest places. Archaeologists from Elblag conduct and supervise
many field work on various archaeological sites. First is a Gothic cemetery
in Weklice, situated about 15 km from Elblag. Excavations are held in co-
operation with The Polish Academy of Sciences. Goths (we suppose that in
this place lived the tribe called Gepedoios) lived in our region about 80–300
a.D., before they moved southeast. Cemetery in Weklice is one of the richest
gothic burial sites in Poland. So far there had been more than 500 graves
excavated and we think that there are still more to be found. Interesting
thing is that untill now, we haven’t found any Gothic settlement in this
region connected with this cemetery.
This colloquium has a specified topic — board games. All around the world,
and of course in Poland, in places influenced by the Romans there are find-
ings of game boards, gamin pieces etc. Goths in Weklice also had many
trade contacts with Romans, especially through famous amber route, which
started in Italy and ended at the Baltic coast. There are many findings of
roman origin in Weklice (imports from Gaul, Italy such as complete wine set
or from princess grave). Most of the objects had been founded in women’s
graves, there are only few iron or glass findings in men’s graves. What is
very strange — there is only one gaming piece!
162 Goths, Vikings and Hanseatic Town...
Figure 1 Glass gaming piece from Wekline1
Probably there was also an amber dice, due to the excavations report
from the 80’s, but it has been missing. Special research has to be made to
find whether it was written as a mistake, has been stolen or has this dice
been moved unfortunately to some other boxes. Do the Goths/Gepedoios
know board games? Or was it a man privilege to play in that specific culture,
and that’s why there are no such things in graves in Weklice? This burial
site is, in that way, different from other Gohtic burial sites in Poland, where
tens of gaming pieces were found.
Classification: Type of a game:

Board Game Type Number of gaming pieces
Backgammon 4
Tafl 37
Total: 41
Viking settlement in Truso

In the end if IXth century a.D. English King Alfred the Great had sent two
voyagers with an order to create an account for him about their travel. One
of them, named Wulfstan, traveled from Danish Hedeby (now Germany) to
Truso, located in the region of the Vistula Rivermouth. His travel accounts,
written circa 890 a.D., as well as those of another trader, Ohthere, were
included in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Histories. That is the
1
Gothic burial site inWeklice, grave no 452, inventory number 2275.

Piotr Adamczyk 163
only written source for Truso. For many centuries Truso had been searched
in many different locations and finally in 1982 has been discovered by dr.
Marek F. Jagodzinski. Truso was probably founded by Danish Vikings in
very specific area: on the Slavonic an Prussian border as a trade center,
trade emporium.
More than 25 years of excavations brought us many interesting artifacts.
Unfortunately, there are no wooden artifacts due to the specific environ-
mental location of Truso (most of the culture layer lies below sea level and
just below the surface, terrain is very wet). One of the most important, if
not the most important one, branch of the Viking trade in Truso was the
amber and the items made of it.
At first we have to mention, that there are no findings of gaming boards in
Truso, but there are many gaming pieces, mostly for tafl-type games and
mostly made of amber. There are 4 tafl gaming pieces made of animal bones
and 2 beautiful gaming pieces made from animal teeth. Also, we have found
3 stone tafl gaming pieces and 4 backgammon checkers: 3 made of animal
bone and the fourth is made of amber. Those statistic data below has to
read as incomplete – excavations from the 80’s had to be checked again
and probably there can be more unfinished gaming pieces or gaming pieces
classified as an amber material.
The most interesting ones are those specified as King’s gaming pieces.
First is made of amber and probably could be used as a king pawn in a
tafl-type games.
Figure 2 Amber King gaming piece from Truso2
Second one, made of bronze, has avery interesting provenance. This

object has been recognized as a part of a Charlemagne governor’s scepter.
2
Amber gaming piece recognized as a king pawn in tafl-type games. Found in Truso,
excavation area 1/2005, inventory number 82/05. Size: diameter 5,4 cm., height: 2,7 cm.

Among the other Carolingian, Scandinavian and Arabic objects this also the
proof of Truso’s Vikings rich contacts (maybe not only trade contacts . . . )
with all known world in that era.
Figure 3 Bronze tafl gaming piece – part of a Charlemagne governor’s spepter3
Most of the gaming pieces found so far in Truso are made of amber (65,85
%). Also, 100 % of semi-finished gaming pieces is made of amber.
Classification: Material(complete gaming pieces):

Material Number of gaming pieces Percent
Bone or horns 5 12,20
Amber 27 65,85
Stone 5 12,20
Bronze 1 2,44
Glass 1 2,44
Animal Teeth 2 4,88
Total: 41 100,00
Classification: Shape (finished, fragments and semi-finished

gaming pieces):
3
Charlemagne governor’s scepter. Location: Truso, excavation area XXVIII/25 B,
inventory number 2123/03. Size: diameter 2,3 cm., height 4 cm.

Piotr Adamczyk 165
Shape Number of Fragment Semi- Total Percent

gaming pieces finished
Cube 9 0 9 18 22,22
Sempispherical 5 1 3 9 11,11
Cone 4 0 5 9 11,11
Pyramid 2 0 0 2 2,47
Cylinder 1 0 1 2 2,47
Disk 4 0 0 4 4,94
Tooth 2 0 0 2 2,47
Shoe 0 0 3 3 3,70
Cuboid 0 0 3 3 3,70
Meniscus 12 5 4 21 25,93
Prism 0 0 1 1 1,23
Irregular 2 2 3 7 8,64
Total 41 8 32 81 100,00
Hanseatic Town Elblag

Elblag, founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1237, very soon become one of
the most important ports at southern Baltic coast and being a member of
the Hanseatic League played a leading part in it till the end of the XIV c.
Since the end of the Thirteen Year War in 1466 till first partition of Poland
in 1772 was within boundaries of Polish Kingdom and came back to Poland
after the 2nd World War. The Old Town had been completely destroyed in
1945 – from over 600 buildings only 6 remained. Archaeological excavations
in the area of the old town in Elblag started in 1980. Those systematic,
multi-branch archaeological-architectonic surveys are still completely inno-
vative and are, in sphere of merit, obligatory till now.
Archaeological excavations were conducted at the area of about 13.500 m2
(2004) what places Elblag among best surveyed European towns. Elblag’s
museum obtains the richest (in Poland) set of archeological artifacts. Till
now, there is about 1.500.000 of mass artifacts and at least 250.000 al-
lowed archaeological artifacts. There are many unique objects, such as green
glasses in horn rim from XV century (the oldest complete glasses in Europe),
the only one in Europe musical instrument called gittern, rich collection of
other musical instruments and wax tablets.
Among those objects, archaeologist have founded also some gaming pieces.
And there is on e connotation with Viking settlement in Truso: after almost
30 years of excavations, among so many objects — there is no game board

finding.
24 gaming pieces founded so far in Elblag can be divided into three main
groups: for backgammon or alquerque, for chess and dominoes. Three un-
known square gaming pieces can be possibly classified as a backgammon
type.
Classification: Game type

Game Type Number of gaming pieces
Backgammon or checkers 12
Chess 2
Dominoes 7
Unknown 3
Total: 24
The most important one is the chess gaming piece made of ivory or walrus
tusk, dated for the half of the XV century. Second chess pawn is made of
wood and is dated for the XVIII century.
Figure 4 Chess gaming piece from Elblag4
Dice
Dice Number of dice
Amber 5
Bone 4
Total: 9
During many years of excavations museum’s archeologists have founded

only 9 dice. 5 are made of amber and 4 are made of bones or horns. Those
4
Ivory or walrus tuskchess gaming piece. Old Town Elblag: excavation area XXV,
Inventory No.1353. Date: half of the XV century. Height 4,7 cm., base diameter 2,7 cm.

Piotr Adamczyk 167
three shown on the picture below have typical western configuration of sides:
11 / 7 / 3. The last one is a faked. Two sides are a little bit longer: after
the throw, this dice often shows 1 or 2.
Figure 5 Bone dice from the Old Town Elblag. The last one is faked
Summary
Years of excavations on the unique archaeological sites such as Weklice,
Truso and Elblag brought many interesting findings, and among them gam-
ing pieces and dice. Only one gaming piece from the Gothic burial site might
suggest us, that the gothic tribe called Gepedoios which probably lived there
didn’t liked board games.
On the other hand, few hundreds years later, Vikings in this region have
enjoyed playing board games. Truso emporium can be seen as a main am-
ber trade center on the south Baltic coast. Mostly amber gaming fafl pieces
and almost the same number of semi-finished gaming pieces might suggest
that this was a place where amber gaming pieces were made. Amber gaming
pieces of the same material as in Truso were found in Birka and in Hedeby.
But, we have to say that clearly, statistic data for the gaming pieces in Truso
is still incomplete — many archaeological reports from the 80’s had to be
checked whether they are correct and complete.
Hanseatic town Elblag. Findings of dominoes, backgammon gaming coun-
ters and chess pawns are typical to the medieval town. But in almost 1,5
million of artifacts founded in Elblag there is only a small number of gaming
pieces and no gaming boards. What is strange, till now the archaeologists
in Elblag haven’t found any knucklebones. It is simply the evidence that
they weren’t looking it – bones were generally gathered together an counted
as, for example, 150 pig bones. The excavations need to be started in the

museum’s magazines – and this research may probably bring many other
interesting findings. All mentioned artifacts can be seen in The Museum of
Archaeology and History in Elblag, Poland.
Piotr Adamczyk — M.A. degree in History (specializations: Museum and

Diplomacy), Faculty of Philology and History at the University of Gdansk.
Historian, member of the Polish Historical Society, currently works in the
Department of Education and Promotion in the Museum of Archaeology and
History in Elblag. Sometimes can be seen as an Viking amber worker on his-
torical festivals in Poland.

170 Pente grammai...
their own five lines and that the line between these was the sacred line. Its
significance he explains by adding that “the beaten player goes to it last”
(Od. 1397, 28; Il. 633, 59). This seems to imply that the player who first
manages to place his pieces on the sacred line wins the game.
Our earliest reference to the game is a verse by Alkaios (c. 600 BC),
implying that moving a piece from the sacred line can lead to final victory
— in a sense similar to “playing the trump card” nowadays (Bergk 1884: 177
no.82; Voigt 1971: 320 no. 351). But generally it was regarded a bad idea
to move a piece once it had arrived there. This is why the 3rd century poet
Theokritos writes (Idylls, VI 18): “and from the line she moves the piece,
because to love’s desire often appears beautiful what is not beautiful”.
Of course, without any further information these passages are difficult
to understand. The reason is that the authors cited above presented their
information in a very condensed and abbreviated style sufficient to explain
or to allude to the proverb, whereas it was not their intention to give precise
rules of an ancient Greek board game. Moreover it is very likely that at least
some of them did not even know the game, which is certainly true at least for
Eustathios who reports what he had read in the ancient literature. Austin’s
conclusion, however, that “the obscurity of all this evidence is impenetrable”
(Austin 1940: 267-271) was due to the fact that he completely ignored
archaeological finds that can convincingly be connected with these references
and add much to their understanding. Some of the early finds had already
been taken into consideration by Lamer in his important article “lusoria
tabula” from 1927, who also checked the literary evidence completely (Lamer
1927: cols. 1970–1973, 1992–1998). But even such an eminent board game
historian as Murray went over the game rather superficially, wrongly stating
that we knew “nothing more than that it was played on a board of five lines”
and that Pollux described the five-lined board as a board of 5 by 5 cells,
which is not the case at all (Murray 1952: 28). Pollux tells us not only that
the game board consisted of five lines (and only five lines) but also that
the game was for two players who had five counters to play with. Moreover
we learn that one of the lines on the board was particularly significant in
the play of the game. Finally, both Pollux and Eustathios include Five
Lines among the Greek board games played with dice. All this is a lot
more of information than what Murray wanted to consider. Murray, who
nearly exclusively relied on Austin, did not pay any attention to such finds
as the tables from Epidauros interpreted as gaming boards by Blinkenberg
half a century before. He suggested instead that the five-lined board might
have had the form of a pentagram. Apart from the simple fact that such
a form cannot explain how there should be one line of special importance,

Ulrich Schädler 171
as a support to his surprising proposal Murray referred to the designs on

the roofing slabs of the Sethi temple at Gourna in Egypt, taking it for
granted that the five rayed stars on the roof are gaming boards and earlier
in date than the Greek game. However, most of the designs there can be
identified as mason’s marks and magic symbols (Parker 1909: 643–44 fig.
273). This holds particularly true for the five rayed star — a Coptic magic
symbol until today (Viaud 1978: 47) — and various Coptic crosses. The
existence of designs dating to the Christian era makes any attempt to date
the drawings on the roof more precisely impossible.
In 1968 Pritchett catalogued the material known until then from main-
land Greece, Delos and Cyprus (Pritchett 1968:189—198), but included in
his list a number of objects which more convincingly can be identified as
abaci. Despite of all this material at disposal, May (Jouer dans l’Antiquité
1991: 172–73) still based his account on Becq de Fouquières’ mostly out-
dated speculations from 1869 (Becq de Fouquières 1869: 397–405).
Let us now consider the most important finds of gaming tables that can
be connected with the game of Five Lines. The earliest example seems to be
a painted terracotta miniature gaming table (fig. 1) found together with a
cubic die at Anagyros (Vari) in Attica in a grave dating to the middle of the
7th century BC (Kallipolitis 1963: 123–124, 172, pl. 53–55 ?–?). The board
measures 18.3 by 24.8 cm and has on its surface five incised parallel lines
ending in a circular cavity on both sides, thus forming two rows of five holes
along the longer edges of the board. The faces of the die, which has small
holes as points, are painted with geometric ornaments, a horse, a woman
and perhaps the goddess Athena, comparable to a roughly contemporary
die from the Athenian acropolis (Karusu 1973; Schädler 1999).
Probably the same game was depicted on another small gaming table,
found together with a die in the necropolis of the Kerameikos at Athens
and dating to the early 6th century, but unfortunately the surface of the
table is not preserved (Kübler 1970: 394–95, 512 cat. no 129, p. 102). Both
tables were adorned with terracotta statuettes of mourning women to show
that these tables have been properly made to be used as grave goods. An
explanation for this tradition is given a little later, in the first half of the 5th
century, by the Greek poet Pindar (frg. 129) who described the idea of a
happy existence in the netherworld, where “some enjoy horses and wrestling,
others board games, and yet others the music of the lyre”.

Figure 1: Clay model of a gaming table from Anagyros, Athens, National

Museum
When Pindar wrote down these lines the Athenians had abandoned the
custom of offering terracotta gaming tables to their dead. Now they used
to offer black-figured vases decorated with a depiction of the two heroes
Ajax and Achilles playing a board game with dice. The most elaborate
and probably the earliest of these scenes was painted around 540 BC by
the Athenian vase painter Exekias on an amphora now preserved in the
Vatican Museums (Brommer 1974: no. 9; Woodford 1982: 173–74, 183 F1,
pl. IIIa; Buchholz 1987: 144–45 no. 21; Mommsen 1988: 445–454). Here
not only the names are written beside the heroes, but also the results of
their throws: Achilles on the left calls out that he has got a 4, while Ajax
on the right only has thrown a 3. Inscribed numbers appear also on some
other representations, among which in two cases a 2, implying that the vase
painters thought of a cubic die and not of an astragal with the numeration
1-3-4-6 (Woodford 1982: 185). The use of a die together with the gesture of
their hands and the presence of gaming pieces, sometimes differentiated in
black and white, on top of the block between the two that can be observed
on most of the extant examples clearly shows that they are playing a board
game with dice.
Unfortunately in this case as well as in practically all the other paintings
of the kind — Buchholz has listed 168 representations — the game board is
seen from the side, so that only the counters can be observed in some cases.
But there is one vase painting on a kyathos in the Musées Royaux d’Art et
d’Histoire in Brussels dating to the beginning of the 5th century (Brommer
1974: no. 48; Buchholz 1987: 168 no. 139; Vanhove 1992: 186 no. 44) which
astonishingly offers a view of the board seen from above (fig. 2): the game
board consists of five parallel lines, and both ends of these lines are occupied
by one counter. There can be hardly any doubt: this is the Greek game of

Five Lines. The hypothesis that the heroes were thought to play exactly
this game has already been forwarded by several authors (such as Becq de
Fouquières 1869, Beazley 1963: 2–3, May 1991: 173, and others; see also
Schädler 1999: 41, Pfisterer-Haas 2004: 383), but only the vase painting in
Brussels proves it.
Figure 2: Ajax and Achilles playing Five Lines. Black-figure vase painting
on a kyathos, early 5th century BC (Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire,
Brussels, inv.no. R2512)
As a preliminary essence of what both the written and the archaeological
sources reveal we can therefore conclude that already around 600 BC in
ancient Greece there existed a game played on a board showing five parallel
lines. The game was for two players, who had as many counters as lines at
their disposal, i.e. five each, which were placed on or at each end of these
lines. The game was played with the help of a die. Only from the written
sources we learn that the central line was called the “sacred line” which
must have had a particular importance in the game, since the players tried
to avoid moving a piece from that line which had already arrived there.
Possible enlarged variants

Achilles and a companion (probably Ajax) playing a board game are also
depicted on an Etruscan mirror (Körte 1897: 144–146 pl. 109; Mansuelli
1945: 58), where the board they are keeping on their knees shows seven
parallel lines (fig. 3a and 3b).

On both sides each line ends in a circle representing a counter or a

depression to keep one. Two rectangular objects are depicted between the
lines that can be taken as dice.
Figure 3a: Achilles and Ajax (?) playing a board game, Etruscan mirror
(after Körte 1897, pl. 109)
Figure 3b: Achilles and Ajax (?) playing a board game, detail. Etruscan
mirror (after Körte 1897, pl. 109)

A Praenestine mirror in the British Museum (Körte 1897: 191–193 pl.

146; Walters 1899: 377 no. 3213) dating to the 3rd century BC (compare
the mirrors Mansuelli 1943: 517–518 pl. 40 no. 13 [2nd half of the 3rd
cent. BC], Liepmann 1988: 43–45 no. 17 [early 3rd cent. BC], and de
Puma 1987: 38–39 no. 21 [early 3rd cent. BC]), should also be added to
the representations of the game (fig. 4).
Figure 4: Couple playing a board game. Praenestine mirror, 3rd century

BC. British Museum, London (after Körte 1897, pl. 146)
The gaming table used by the couple shows twelve or perhaps thirteen
parallel lines ending in small circles, which corresponds to the game boards
discussed above, but differs completely from boards for xii Scripta to which
the mirror has wrongly been attributed (Walters 1899: 377; Bell 1979: 30
fig. 25; May 1991: 179 fig. 174, who wrongly dates it to Roman times).
Roman xii Scripta boards consist of three rows of twelve points (variously
fashioned like squares, circles, points, lines, letters or other symbols) divided
— like with Backgammon boards — by a bar in the middle (Schädler 1995).

Another important find is a miniature terracotta gaming table from

Athens in Copenhagen (fig. 5), dating to the early 6th century BC, the life-
time of Alkaios, which probably also served as a grave good (Ussing 1884:
149–151, 172; Breitenstein 1941: 19 no. 171 pl. 19; Pritchett 1968: 197
pl. 7,1; Lund/Rasmussen 1995: 67). On its surface measuring 37 by 12 cm
are drawn nine parallel lines occupied by oval knobs at each end, obviously
representing gaming stones.
Figure 5: Miniature terracotta gaming table, early 6th century BC.

National Museum Copenhagen (after Ussing 1884, pl. 1. The Royal Danish
Academy of Sciences and Letters)
At both ends of the board a cubic die with the upper face showing 6 is
preserved. As with the mirrors mentioned above there are more than five
lines on the board, so that these representations have been taken as free
copies of the game intending that the artisans did not pay much attention
to the exact number of lines.

This may be the case with the Praenestine mirror, where perhaps a
board with 11 lines was intended (see below), but nine lines as on the table
in Copenhagen differs too much from five and requires completely different
proportions of the whole object as to assume a simple error. Therefore we
have to reckon with the existence of enlarged versions of Five Lines. This
assumption may be corroborated by the existence of a series of boards with
11 lines. One of the stone gaming tables dedicated possibly during the 4th
century BC in the sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros shows six shallow
lines added clearly at a later date to the existing two groups of five lines
in order to create a gaming area with eleven lines next to one with five
(Blinkenberg 1898: 3–4 no. 2 fig.3–4; Pritchett 1968: 190–191 no. 2 pl. 1,2–
3). Boards with eleven lines have been found at several sites, sometimes with
the third, sixth and ninth lines cross-cut, pointing to a special significance
of these lines.
Thus the boards with eleven lines appear to be boards where two groups
of five lines with their sacred lines in the middle have been joined by adding
a central “sacred” line between the two groups. In this way Claude Saumaise
understood Eustathios’ text already in the 17th century (Salmasius 1671:
748–49). In fact, this 5+1+5-layout corresponds to Pollux’ (IX 98) and
Eustathios’ (Il. 633, 58) peculiar expression Lamer (Lamer 1927: col. 1971)
came across, that “a line in the middle was called the sacred line” instead of
“the line in the middle...”. From the extant gaming boards this expression
seems to refer to both possibilities, i.e. that there was precisely one sacred
line only in the standard version with five lines, whereas there were more
than one on the 11-lined board. It should also be mentioned that at Roman
sites in Asia Minor such as Ephesus, Smyrna, and Aphrodisias (Schädler
1998; Rouché 2007) a great number of game boards showing two rows of five
or two rows of eleven squares can be seen while other numbers of squares are
extremely rare. It seems therefore that in Roman times Five Lines and its
larger variant were played on squares instead of lines (Schädler 1998: 18–19;
Schädler forthcoming).
So it seems that there existed several larger versions of Five Lines as

well as a double version of the game with eleven lines. This doubling of
an existing game reminds us of the Egyptian game of ‘twice 20’, a double
version of the famous game of 20 squares, created simply by joining two
boards (Pusch 1977). Recently Irving Finkel suggested that perhaps even
the Indian game of Pachisi “might owe its ultimate origin to the doubling
of a simpler game” (Finkel 2006: 61).

Game boards or abaci?
It must be mentioned that not all the boards with parallel lines should be
recognized as gaming boards. This interpretation holds certainly true for
boards associated with dice and/or counters. But there are other boards,
mainly stone boards, which more likely are to be explained as abaci, i.e. cal-
culation boards. While Pritchett took all the lined boards as gaming boards
(Pritchett 1968: 200–201), recently Schärlig considered all these boards to
be abaci (Schärlig 2002: 80, 179–80). On the other hand those boards with
the ends of the lines hollowed out to form a circle, like for example a board
from Eretria (Schärlig 2001: fig. 5) and the boards cut into the pediment of
the Letoon on the island of Delos (Gallet de Santerre 1959: 38 with n. 2, pl.
IV; Pritchett 1968: 195–96 no. 13 pl. 5, 2–4), are best explained as game
boards. Among the patterns incised into the pediment running around the
little temple the excavators have identified several Five Lines boards (De-
onna 1938: 337; Gallet de Santerre 1959: 38 with n. 2, pl. IV; Pritchett
1968: 195-96 no. 13 pl. 5, 2-4).
Figure 6: Game boards on the northern pediment of the temple of Leto,

Delos (after Gallet de Santerre 1959, pl. IV)
On the northern pediment (fig. 6) there are one board consisting of five
parallel lines ending in circular holes crossed by a perpendicular line, one
similar board but without the perpendicular line, and one board consisting
of two parallel rows of five holes. A forth pattern shows three parallel lines
ending in small holes and two extra holes without a line, and is probably
simply an unfinished board.

Figure 7: Game boards on the eastern pediment of the temple of Leto,

Delos (after Gallet de Santerre 1959, pl. IV)
The eastern pediment at the rear of the temple (fig. 7) has a probably
unfinished gaming board in the shape of a grid of 3 by 6 squares measuring
about 27 by 27 cm (Deonna 1938: 337), a complete Five Lines board with
perpendicular line (fig. 8) as well as a pattern of five parallel lines of different
length.
Figure 8: Five Lines board on the eastern pediment of the temple of Leto,
Delos (photography by the author)

While one cannot determine whether the rows of five holes are unfinished
boards or just a different type of Five Lines board (compare the boards of
2 by 5 squares of Roman times so frequent at Ephesos and Aphrodisias:
Schädler 1998), it is difficult to interpret these patterns as abaci. Two main
arguments may support this assumption: First of all, as Schärlig convinc-
ingly argued (Schärlig 2001: 82, 180), the counters on the abaci were placed
not on the lines but in the columns between the lines, so that depressions
at the ends of the lines would not make sense. Secondly, even if the coun-
ters would have been moved along the lines, one depression at both ends of
the lines would not make sense either, since in calculation procedures five
counters are needed on each line.
On the other hand the boards showing numerals besides the lines like
a board from Salamis (Pritchett 1968: 193–95 no.11 pl. 4,1; Schärlig 2001:
66–67, fig. 1), one from the Amphiareion at Oropos (Pritchett 1968: 191
no.4 pl. 2,1; Schärlig 2001: 77–78), two further stones from Oropos (Schärlig
2001: 67–69) as well as one from the sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros
(Blinkenberg 1898: 2–3 no. 1; Pritchett 1968: 189–90 no. 1, pl. 1,1) are
very likely to have been used for calculation purposes. This does not exclude
that they were also used to play a game from time to time. Especially the
fact that some of these boards have the third, central and ninth lines marked
by crosses cannot be explained by them being used for calculations (Schärlig
2001: 190), but by their use as game boards with the sacred lines marked
by a cross as has been explained above.
How to play
As far as the modes of playing Five Lines are concerned, we may draw the
following conclusions. The standard game of Five Lines was played on a
board with five parallel lines. Larger versions could have more lines, but
always an odd number, simply because there had to be a central line. From
the written sources we learn that this central line had a special significance.
It seems that the aim of the game was to move all one’s counters onto this
“sacred” line. The term “sacred” reminds one of the ancient Greek concept
of asylum and hiketeia, i.e. the inviolable right of persons in search of aid
to take refuge in a sanctuary (Sinn 1993) where nobody had the right to
remove a suppliant by force, and describes pretty well the function of this
line. Apparently the number of counters used corresponded to the number of
lines, each player having as many counters as lines on the board. The points,
holes or circles at both ends of the lines on some of the boards demonstrate
that normally one counter only was placed at the ends of the lines.

This arrangement is represented on the vase in Brussels, but also on the

terracotta model of a gaming table in Copenhagen (9 lines) as well as on
the Etruscan and the Praenestine mirrors (11 and 13? lines respectively).
Probably this was the starting position. Some of the boards at the Letoon of
Delos do not even have lines but just two rows of five holes showing that these
points were important (fig. 6). Since, as Pollux points out, each player had
five counters on Five Lines, it seems obvious to conclude that one player
placed his counters at one end of the lines and the second player on the
opposite ends. It seems that the transversal line running perpendicularly
through the middle of the board that can be found on some Five Lines
boards was introduced to distinguish the two sides. In my view it is this
arrangement Pollux’ and Eustathios’ referred to with their expression “from
both sides” (ήκατ έρωθεν).
Recently Kurke (Kurke 1999: 263–64) hypothesized that there was a spe-
cial “king piece” in the game of Five Lines. The idea is based on an unusual
reading of a passage in the scholia to Theokritos (Schol.ad Theokr.6.18.19a),
where we are told that the piece moved from the sacred line was called “the
king” (basileus). The passage has never been taken seriously, because the
scholiast himself says that the game he refers to is Chess (ζατ ρίκιoν). More-
over, would Pollux or Eustathios who try to explain a famous proverb about
a piece moved from the sacred line not have mentioned the fact that this
piece was a special one? Even more important as an argument against
Kurke’s suggestion is the fact that not one of the representations described
above shows such a special piece. With the intention to corroborate his
understanding of the scholion, he advances another unusual interpretation.
One of Herakleitos’ most enigmatic sentences (Diels 1922: 88 no. B 52)
which has nourished debate ever since reads ‘time is a child at play (παίζων),
playing on a game board (πεσσεύων). Royal power is in the hands of a
child’. The fact that a board game (Petteia) and royal power (basileia) are
alluded to here in the same context makes Kurke conclude that a “piece
called the king” was involved and moreover that the board game intended
by Herakleitos was played with dice and thus must have been Five Lines
(Kurke 1999: 263–64 with reference to Kahn 1979: 227–28). Because of the
far-reaching conclusions concerning the symbolic meaning of Five Lines and
its role in ancient Greek society drawn from this daring construction, it is
necessary to have a closer look, without digging deeper than necessary into
philosophical questions raised by Herakleitos.
First of all it should be noted that according to the written sources Five
Lines was obviously not considered a form of Petteia (games with counters)
which Herakleitos alludes to, but of Kubeia (games of chance). But there is

also — as far as I know — not a single reliable and convincing trace of a

special piece in any ancient Greek board game.
As far as the understanding of Herakleitos’ statement is concerned I
would briefly like to introduce a few ideas from the perspective of the history
of games. Herakleitos speaks of a child playing (παίζων) and then explains
more precisely that he is playing on a game board (πεσσεύων). Astonishing
as this rendering is the picture of a child playing a board game. Normally
Greek children played with all kinds of toys and with knucklebones (see
Jouer dans l’Antiquité 1991: 50–81, 100–105, 166–173), but board games,
especially strategic games such as “polis” were an adults’ domain (see Jouer
dans l’Antiquité 1991: 166–173). Greek children appear not to have played
board games at all, an important aspect in my opinion, which has hardly
ever been explored in this context. The question arises therefore why it was
important for Herakleitos to stress that the child is amusing himself by mov-
ing pieces on the board of a game for adults? If his point would have been to
compare the arbitrary nature of events in time with the randomness of out-
comes in children’s plays, the image of the child at play without any further
explanation would have sufficed the purpose perfectly, since people would
practically automatically have thought of a child playing with knucklebones,
the favourite pastime of Greek children at the time. In another anecdote
about Herakleitos’ life for example Diogenes Laertius (IX 3; Robinson: 166;
Musaviev 2003: 27 M 22a; 159) reports that once Herakleitos himself was
playing at knucklebones with children in the sanctuary of Artemis. As some
Ephesians criticized him for passing his time in that way, he replied: “is it
not better to do this than to ‘politeuesthai’ with you?”. This is certainly to
be taken as one of his famous wordplays, in that the verb would normally
mean “to make politics”, but posed here in contrast to ‘astragalizein’ (“to
play with knucklebones”) one cannot help thinking of a secondary meaning
in the sense of “to play polis”, i.e. the game “city” (Kurke 1999: 268). It
seems that he wanted to criticise his fellow citizens for not taking politics
as seriously as children do with regard to their knucklebones — not the
only instance the philosopher polemicized against Ephesian politicians. In
this anecdote Herakleitos contrasts a children’s game (knucklebones) with
an adults’ strategic board game (“polis”). Therefore it must be significant
that in the statement discussed here he states more precisely that the child
is not just playing a children’s game such as knucklebones but that he moves
pieces on a game board. Obviously his point is neither about randomness
nor about a child’s game.
What Herakleitos’ child is doing is not to play a board game — as Kahn
(1979: 227) supposed — but to play as if he was playing a board game,

since he does not know the rules or the aim of the game. This is why I
preferred to translate πεσσεύων as “playing on a game board” instead of
“playing a board game” as most translators have it (Diels’ “Die Zeit ist ein
Knabe, der spielt, hin und her die Brettsteine setzt” is also very close to my
understanding). He moves pieces on a game board, which is not just a piece
of wood, but has a geometrical structure consisting of lines and perhaps
squares with certain measures and in determined numbers, thus implying
an order which predetermines such movements, even to a human being who
does not know the rules of the game. Evidently Herakleitos introduced the
game board as an element of measure and order. But the movements of
the pieces on it are not in keeping with the rules of the game, which are
unknown to the child, who consequently neither has an aim nor an overview
or a reasonable plan.
The analogy between the child moving pieces on a game board and time
proposed by Herakleitos seems to me to point to the fact that time is un-
derstood as the ordered change of the world (Plutarch, Qu. Plat. viii. 4, p.
1007, discussing Herakleitos: “time is ... motion in an order”) operating in
a measured framework which is the cosmos (compare Herakleitos, frg. 30:
the cosmos changing in due measure). But time, as the child, is not aiming
at something, thus has neither a specific intention nor a strategy; although
governing change it has no plan, an idea different to Aristotle’s teleological
doctrine.
The fact that Herakleitos did not choose for his figure a game of chance
such as dicing with knucklebones, which would have been far more appropri-
ate for a child, but a board game with its geometrically structured surface,
does in my opinion rule out the idea that he intended to refer to a board
game with some element of chance (a random generator such as a die), an
idea forwarded by Marcovich (2001: 493–95 no. 93) and Kahn (1979: 227)
and supported by Kurke (1999: 264). It seems on the contrary that he
wanted to exclude the idea of a game of chance: why should he otherwise
add “πεσσεύων”? Not even is the unsystematic disposal of the pieces on
the board due to the child’s lack of acquaintance with the rules of the game
identical to the purposely creation of chance by inventing and introducing a
random generator. It is evident from all this that Herakleitos did not have
Five Lines in mind, when he made his famous statement.
To return now to the elements of Five Lines, the use of dice is attested
by both the literary and archaeological sources. Judging from the find from
Anagyros, one die was used when playing on five lines, whereas two dice
belonged to the larger boards. Not only can two dice be identified on the
Etruscan mirror mentioned above, but two dice are also placed on the nine-

lined board from Athens in Copenhagen. On the gaming table in Copen-

hagen a square trace can be seen in the centre of the board, which has been
taken as the trace of a third die now lost. There are, however, several argu-
ments speaking against this hypothesis. First of all the object once placed
here was turned 45° with regard to the two dice. Secondly, three dice are
neither mentioned in the written sources nor do they appear in the archae-
ological record discussed here. Moreover must the hypothetical situation
that a winning move is represented with all eighteen points occupied by one
player’s counters after one lucky throw of three sixes (Blinkenberg 1898: 9)
be discarded. Apart from the fact that the important role of the “sacred
line” is not taken into consideration, the corresponding numbers of eighteen
points on nine lines and on three cubic dice are merely coincidental, while
the normal number of lines is five with ten points respectively. Finally the
underlying hypothetical rule that the players had to place a number of pieces
on the points according to the result of the throw of dice simply does not
correspond to the fact that the pieces were moved from one line to the other
as is clearly indicated by the proverb “moving the piece from the sacred
line” to which the literary sources refer. Therefore it is more plausible to
think that here in the centre of the board a statuette of a mourning woman
similar to those on the board from Anagyros was once placed.
As depicted on the vase painting in Brussels the two players sat at the
short sides of the board, so that the lines came to lie horizontally before
them. As the depictions including all the Athenian vase paintings depicting
the scene show, they used their right hands to move the pieces, so it is
likely that the players’ counters were those placed on the players’ right hand
sides. The pieces were moved from line to line according to the spots on
the dice. Presumably a counter having reached the last line on one side of
the board was shifted along the line to its other end, where it moved in the
opposite direction along the other side back to the first line, where the same
manoeuvre was repeated and so forth. It is likely that movement was in
a counter clockwise direction implying that on their own side of the board
the players moved their pieces forward. This presumed circular movement
around a board with two rows of points reminds one of Mancala games and
backgammon games. If the interpretation of the sources is correct, that
the aim of the game was to place all or as many pieces as possible on the
“sacred line(s)”, then probably the pieces had to move around the board
several times, for just one turn was surely not sufficient.
In the light of the written sources and the archaeological record Five
Lines must have been very popular from at least the late 7th until the 3rd
century BC. As the vase paintings demonstrate, the Athenians during the

decades around 500 BC imagined Ajax and Achilles, the two greatest heroes
in the Troian war, playing the game. Later in the 5th century “five lined
boards and the throws of dice” are mentioned by Sophokles in a verse which
was part of his tragedy “Nauplios” (Pollux IX 97; Pearson 1917: 85 frg. 429).
Nauplios was the father of Palamedes, who was thought to have invented
the game during the siege of Troy. Therefore it is likely that Five Lines is
also meant in Euripides’ “phigenia in Aulis” (192–199), where we find both
Palamedes and Protesilaos “sitting and amusing themselves with intricate
figures at a board game”, while Diomedes and Achilles trained themselves
in athletic disciplines. About the same time even Plato referred to the game
to explain certain ideas to his pupils (Laws 739a). Five Lines, the game of
the heroes, was regarded a noble game for centuries.
[email protected]
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here is practically identical to: L. Kurke, “Ancient Greek board
games and how to play them”, Classical Philology 94, 1999, 247–
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Five Lines — written sources


How to play Five Lines — a suggestion for rules

Principally it is impossible to reconstruct the rules of a lost board game
precisely. First of all because the few allusions in texts and the archaeological
finds do not clarify all the necessary details. Secondly for most popular
traditional games many variants of rules develop in time and space so that
THE rule has never existed and will never exist.
Nevertheless, a suggestion for a rule can give an idea of the basic prin-
ciples of the game and check the interpretation of the sources. Moreover,
teachers and museum people during didactic programs about ancient games
can propose to play the game instead of only talking about it. But it must
be kept in mind that the only thing we can say for sure is that the rule
suggested here was certainly not the one played by the ancient Greeks.
1. The game Five Lines is for two players.
2. The game board consists of 5 parallel lines. The line in the middle (the
3rd line) is called “sacred line”. It is possible to draw a transverse line
to cut the board into two halves.
3. The players sit at the short ends of the board with the five lines hori-
zontally before them.

4. Each player has five counters. At the beginning of the game they place
their counters on the ends of the lines (from now on called “points”)
at their right hand side of the board so that all the ten points are
occupied.
5. The aim of the game is to move all the five counters on the opposite
half of the sacred line, i.e. at the left hand side of the players (a
more simple possibility would be to try to place all one’s five counters
anywhere on the sacred line).
6. The players take turns in tossing the die and moving one of their pieces
according to the result of the throw.
7. The pieces are moved from line to line, i.e. from point to point, in an
anti-clockwise direction. A counter having reached the last point on
one side of the board is shifted along the line to the opposite point,
where it is moved down until it reaches the first line, when the same
manoeuvre is repeated and so forth.
8. Counters can move or to a vacant point or to the sacred line. This

means that only one counter can be placed on any point, except for
the sacred line where more counters (even from both players at the
same time) can be placed. If in the first move a 5 is thrown the only
possible move is from one side of the sacred line to the other, since all
the other points are occupied.
9. Zugzwang: if possible a move has to be executed, even if a counter

must be drawn from the sacred line. In case a move is not possible the
player looses his turn.
10. The player who first reaches the goal, i.e. has moved all his five coun-
ters onto the (left half of the) sacred line, wins the game.
Double version
1. When playing on a board with eleven lines, the third, sixth (central)
and ninth lines are sacred lines.
2. Two dice are used, the numbers of which are considered individually,
so that a player may move with two different counters or add the two
results and move one counter only.

Education via a Board Game -
Understanding forecasting
Rozainun Haji Abdul Aziz∗& D.F. Percy†
Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to put forward a “learning and teaching”
strategy through a board game, which we call “nun-forecaster” . The whole
idea is to introduce forecasting to students. Nun-forecaster is a metaphor
to camouflage learning and teaching, through an activity, about forecasting
at the first impression. Afterwards, a mathematical expression is provided
to measure under and over-forecast, in an attempt to provide an advanced
insight into forecasting.
This game symbolizes the significance of planning, then we go deeper into
forecasting in a business or even in our everyday life. The game takes us
through a journey of ups and downs and uncertainties where we are not sure
of what lies ahead so we are forced to accept circumstances here. Neverthe-
less, we must proceed till we finish the whole journey.
In the events, given by nun-forecaster board game, each of which we can
formulate through mathematics and explained behaviour, we offer insights
and solutions.The game is like a path game as it tests perseverance, patience
and learning.
Players may comprise of even school children, besides college and university
students, academicians and researchers; each group with different levels of
understanding. Companies can use this as ice breaker for their training ses-
sions. Schools can use this to stimulate the class and adopt a new approach
of learning and teaching – i.e. using the board game as a platform to develop
and build knowledge from.
We hope education can also be acquired through a board game like this and
that it should not be played just at home with family members and friends
∗
Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam
†
University of Salford, U.K.
194 Education via a Board Game
leisurely, but bring it out in a formal class in a school, in a university and

at work. Hence, teaching and learning can be made more interesting and
more stimulating.
To the high level readers, an insight into a mathematical model proposed
is given in concept with the hope that both academicians and practitioners
will progress in achieving forecast accuracy. The model explains the use of
probability distribution against point forecasts, the cost function and fun-
damentals of Bayesian methodology in approach.
Previous observations through pilot study, postal survey, case study and a
follow-up survey form a basis in formulating the mathematical model ex-
plained. In writing the paper, we attempt to give explanations for and cost
effects of imperfect forecasts, an oversight which frequently occurs to man-
agement.
Keywords: board game, forecasting, mathematical model.
Introduction
This paper extends the findings of a postal survey and case study on prac-
tices and perceptions of forecasting (Aziz-Khairulfazi, 2004), which addresses
modelling issues for forecasting scenarios. Its intention is to raise awareness
of various modelling approaches that can be used to enhance the quality of
forecasting processes, rather than to identify specific models, which tend to
be user-specific.
However, the subtle introduction to this area of study is through a board
game, “nun-forecaster” where it attempts to develop interest from the play-
ers by first treat the whole scenario via “ups and downs” of a business so
that critical thinking towards planning and expectations of a business are
slowly inculcated. Once this is achieved, we offer an advanced level of under-
standing in the extension of planning i.e. forecasting which further indulges
into a mathematical explanation. An innovative learning and teaching strat-
egy, the whole idea is to set off on the “right foot” and bring “board game”
into the picture at the onset. d’Astous and Gagnon (2007) examined factors
influencing board game and appreciation of the players or consumers. The
paper presented how players might be able to learn while enjoying a par-
ticular board game. Five-category typology of a typical board game were
proposed by Day (1981) namely exploratory, creative, entertaining, mimetic
and cathartic games; these of which are taken to form the basis of “nun-
forecaster”.

Rozainun Haji Abdul Aziz 195
The rest of this paper will bring in issues in forecasting for the benefit of
understanding at a higher level.
It has been noted that organisations make forecasts and that forecasting ac-
curately is rarely achieved. As many business decisions involve forecasting,
successful forecasting practice is crucial to reduce or close the gaps in this
process (Drury, 1990; Moon et al., 2003). This failure is dueto the behaviour
of forecasters. Three reasons are offered here, namely, the process of inter-
preting data, forecaster bias and forecaster preferences (Stekler, 2003).
Using a Bayesian approach to understand and interpret the above, subjec-
tive probabilities for the likelihood of an event are elicited and revised as
new information is received. In support of this approach, there is also a
need to emphasise to consider the individual’s role in the forecasting pro-
cess (Stekler, 2003).
Observing the practice, and learning about the perceptions, of forecasting
from the study samples are not complete if the practice and perceptions
are not represented by models. Ultimately, an organisation or a unit could
forecasts for profits, sales, investments, cash flow surplus, student numbers,
teaching loads and other resources using such models and, depending on the
nature of its activities.
Forecasts are prepared based on estimates, which, in practice, correspond
with point predictions. Typically, a single estimate is obtained as a re-
sult of group decision-making in predicting future performance. This group
decision-making is done through members offering their expert opinions with
regard to a particular issue. Forecasts are said to be imperfect when actual
performances do not turn out as predicted. This paper offers some mathe-
matical modelling and consideration of cost implications for this forecasting
scenario (Armstrong,2001; Clemen et al., 1996; Aziz-Khairulfazi and Percy,
2003).
The Issue of Modelling

How and why modelling comes into play for forecasting functions in commer-
cial and service industries were highlighted in the literature (Aziz-Khairulfazi,
2004; Stekler, 2003; Moon, 2005). One particular situation identified is
where there actions of the forecasting team towards a set of available infor-
mation can affect the initial forecast predictions, which are usually inaccu-
rate.
A case study observation was conducted that uses Fisher’s exact test to
delineate significant associations in order to identify important variables

(Aziz-Khairulfaziand Percy, 2003). We observe the weakness in estimating

forecasts using single point predictions, and our study should offer possible
and reliable solutions to overcome this weakness. What interests us are is-
sues relating to the outcome of the forecasting teamwork and what forecast
estimates are involved. Three parts contribute to our analysis, namely:
1. mathematical modelling involving establishing a suitable probability

distribution and loss function in order to apply Bayesian decision the-
ory;
2. cost implications with respect to imperfect forecasts;
3. differential equations involving rates of change among variables, to

describe and explain the underlying structural behaviour.
Bayesian Approach for Enhancing Point Predictions

From the investigations carried out, we observed that targets or single point
predictions determined by an organisation, or particular unit within an or-
ganisation, become the platform towards which actual performances are
inclined (Goodwin,2002). Even at the setting stage of targets and forecasts,
the process of decision-making can be demanding to ensure crucial factors
are not excluded. Single point predictions also add to the mood and mo-
tivation of people involved with the forecasts, be they preparers or users.
These single point predictions do not allow for variations in case the out-
comes of the actual performances turn out different from planned due to
uncontrollable factors. Once the actual results are noted, the management
will look back at their forecasts to identify what and why are the differences.
By looking at just one figure, any deviation may incur costs and thereafter
affect the people involved.
A previous study indicated that an essential aspect of decision-making in-
volves consulting experts, who usually give differing opinions of information
(Aziz-Khairulfaziand Percy, 2003; Edwards and Aziz, 2000). A considerable
volume of literature is available to provide solutions addressing this problem.
It is recommended that expert opinions be treated as data for further anal-
ysis in arriving at more reliable point predictions. In this analytical part of
the research, three aspects of modelling, namely a probability distribution,
cost function and Bayesiandecision analysis are described.

Probability distribution
At a university in United Kingdom, the current forecasting situation is that

point predictions are prepared and then passed on to users (Aziz-Khairulfazi,
2004). As these are invariably inaccurate, we regard this as a flaw and
now propose that forecasts should consist of probability distributions rather
than point predictions to allow for this in accuracy. Our emphasis is on the
outcome from the interaction of people, not only on the results achieved.
We believe that there must be a build up of managerial structures and
communication networks to increase and improve stability in the forecasting
function. On the basis of extensions to the central limit theorem, the normal
distribution is deemed appropriate here.This choice is supported by general
theory relating to the laws of error (Eisenhart,1983).
Adopting the normal distribution, we assume X | µ, σ v N (µ, σ 2 ) where
X is the actual profit, which is an unknown random variable at the time of
preparing a forecast µ = xb, is a point forecast for the value of X and σ is the
standard deviation which measures the uncertainty of our point forecast.
The benefits of establishing variations from point predictions and assigning
normal distributions to these point predictions are now given. Firstly, as
forecast accuracy is unexpected, the variation will improve motivation and
drive. As such, management is better prepared in all kinds of possible
situations and this does not affect forecasters’ capability as a measure of
improving the accuracy of forecasts.
Cost function
The element of costs is introduced and illustrated here as funding and money
are important sources of running the business. When actual performance
conflicts against forecasts, there is a loss involved and this results in a cost
to the organisation (Goodwin, 2002). This aspect of loss may take the form
of functional relationships which, in their simplest but most common form,
are bilinear. The following illustration explains this situation:
Let the forecast be xb and the actual be x; when the actual conflicts with the
forecast, there is a difference and an element of cost is involved. Therefore,
for example,

if x
b = RM 1000; x = RM 500 cost is 5 units
if break-even i.e. x
b = RM 1000 and x = RM 1000 cost is 0 units
if x
b = RM 1000 ; x = RM 1200 cost is 2 units or less
Figure 1 shows a graph depicting the above effects. We measure cost in

units to indicate that the costs involved are not just monetary, but include
time and effort wasted. Therefore, a measurement for these must be devised
collectively by the people involved. This may mean that the cost involved is
less when actual is more than forecast rather than when actual is less than
forecast. This difference may be due to intangibles and may represent the
hidden costs. As long as the difference between actual and forecast results
is material, further breakdown of the costs involved must be scrutinised
and addressed to find solutions to improve future forecasts. For example,
when x b = RM 1000 and x = RM 500, this is a situation of over-forecasting.
Among the consequences of this condition are:
1. employees will be demotivated as their high expectation of the com-

pany to perform is diminished. As a result, this might lead to a high
turnover of employees;
2. resources will be over–utilised as unrealised provisions are used;
3. the reliability of forecasts will be in question;.
4. the forecasting exercise will not be cost–effective.
Similarly, when xb = RM 1000 and x = RM 1200, this is a situation of

under–forecasting. The consequences of this condition are:
1. under–utilisation of resources;
2. potential investments will be withdrawn;
3. doubts about the reliability and cost effectiveness and cost–effectiveness

of forecasting will arise.

Figure 1 Graph Showing the Cost of under and over–forecast of profits
Bayesian methodology
The classical, or frequentist, approach to estimation corresponds here to
the generation of point predictions enhanced by prediction intervals, though
managerial decisions are usually based on the point predictions only. Re-
garding the observed profit as arising from a normal distribution, how-
ever one can establish a subjective predictive distribution by looking at
the chances or likelihoods of achieving various targets away from this point
prediction. This variation provides an indication of how the actual outcome
evolves around its forecast.This explains and allows for the differences be-
tween the actual and forecast values.
For example, we might present forecasts in terms of relative likelihoods like
this: it is twice as likely to achieve a profit of RM 10, 000 than a profit of
RM 15, 000. Better still, we could present quantiles or even the full distribu-
tion for profit. Bayesian decision theory allows distributions of predictions
to model possible departures from point forecasts like this to make sure that
the uncertainty of achieving them is considered. This uncertainty is here ex-
pressed using a normal distribution of relative likelihoods for the probability
density function of profits. As for any density, the area under the normal
curve is one. For a simplified analysis, one could consider a two-phased out-
come, or binary response, so that if there is two-thirds of a chance that the
profit is at least RM 10, 000, then the chance of not making that amount of
profit is one third. This enhances the quality of forecasts but ignores system
feedback, which we consider shortly.
The distribution for the variation of profits can be obtained in two ways:
subjectively or objectively. For example, we might establish a normal dis-

tribution with associated loss function objectively. Using an ARIMA model

requires no subjective devising, revising and adjusting. At this point, the
expected cost of a poor forecast can be calculated. If profits are more than
RM 2500, for example, the cost involved is proportional to the difference
between the point prediction and the actual profit achieved. Applying there
commendation given by Moon (2005), the mathematical functions involved
in this modelling of imperfect forecasts take the following forms for this
application, where x
b is a point prediction and x is the actual profit:
1. Normal distribution function for profits
1 1 x−µ 2
f (x) = √ e− 2 ( σ ) ; −∞ < x < ∞ (1)
σ 2π
2. Cost function forthis application is the bilinear form
(
c1 (µ − x); x < µ
where c(x) = (2)
c2 (x − µ); x > µ
which is illustrated in Figure 1.
This means that there is a cost involved when the actual profit is more or
less than the forecast profit. This cost refers to the cost associated with im-
perfect forecasting. The costs in this study may include time, effort wasted,
opportunity loss, penalty loss, and also not being able to invest in fixed
assets, projects and profitable contracts.
Then, decision analysis is based on minimising the expected cost
Z ∞
E(c(X)) = c(x)f (x)dx (3)
−∞
Z µ Z ∞
1 1 x−µ 2 1 1 x−µ 2
= c1 (µ − x) √ e− 2 ( σ ) dx + c2 (µ − x) √ e− 2 ( σ ) dx
−∞ σ 2π µ σ 2π
The loss function c(x) can be bilinear, as in our analysis,or of some other
unspecified form. The bilinear cost function shows aproportionate increase in cost
with the difference between actual and forecast performances. This is true for both
sides of the relationship, x > µ and µ > x. However, it does not assume symmetry
unless c1 = c2 above.
To evaluate equation (3), we make the substitution
2
x−µ 2
y= ⇒ dy = 2 (x − µ)dx (4)
σ σ

in both integrals, so that
0 ∞
σ2 1 σ2 1
Z Z
y y
E(c(X)) = −c1 √ e− 2 dy + c2 √ e− 2 dy
∞ 2 σ 2π 0 2 σ 2π
(c1 + c2 )σ ∞ − y
Z
= √ e 2 dy
2 2π 0
(c1 + c2 )σ h y ∞
i
= √ −2e− 2
2 2π 0
(c1 + c2 )σ
= √ (5)
2π

c1 (µ − x);
 x<µ
where c(x) = and X | µ, σ ∼ N (µ, σ 2 ) (6)

c2 (x − µ); x>µ

This clearly illustrates how, under the assumption of a normal distribution

and bilinear loss function, the expected cost of inaccurate forecasting is directly
proportional to the standard deviation of the predictive distribution.
Since forecasting considers the future, which is usually unpredictable, any incidences
of unexpected outcomes should be precautioned and any remedial actions should
be recommended. These initiatives are taken so that organisations will be ready
to face the future. Any strong form of information, available at the last minute,
may force the organisation to change forecasts abruptly. It is at this point that
top management intervenes to allow forecasts to reflect reality. As events like this
may be difficult to measure, the use of modelling will be a helpful support tool for
guiding calculations.
Explanations for and Cost Effects of Imperfect Fore-

cast
To explain the cost implications of imperfect forecasts, we now consider these in
the context of service industries. There are various indicators that can be used to
measure performance, such as patients per day for hospitals, customers per hour
of service utilities and passengers per destination for the flight industry, to name a
few. In our case, we consider the university scenario in terms of student numbers as
a performance measure. If the actual number of students is more than the forecast
number of students, there is a need for extra logistics, including space, rooms, lec-
turers, time-tabling, accommodation, computer facilities and administration. The
quality of teaching and success of graduates might be compromised because of mass
production. There will be more drop-outs and a higher failure rate which will affect
the image of the university.
While universities commit themselves to provide facilities for the extra students, it

may be for the short-term only. There will be insufficient budget available to sus-
tain over-capacity as a result of inefficiency on the part of management not being
able to forecast and cater for extra students.
However, if the actual number of students is less than the forecast number, these
results in under-capacity, as facilities are under-utilised or idle. The university
over-pays the lecturers in terms of salary per student and so the marginal cost per
student is higher.
The whole idea of this modelling is to arrive at not just effective and efficient solu-
tions to account for and minimise the total loss, but also to be aware of situations
and consequences arising from inaccurate forecasting.
Conclusion
Modelling in our case attempts to describe the mechanism of relationships between
variables that operate in practice; an extension we offer to integrate with manage-
ment accounting. In demarking the selected variables, we use the law of parsimony
or Occam’s Razor in that the model includes only required and important variables
and does not include all reasonable predictor variables automatically. It should
also be noted that parsimony is a principle in science where the simplest answer is
always preferred.
Several aspects constitute the modelling process. We first saw how single point
estimates or predictions can be improved by assigning probability distributions to
describe variations that may be possible, hence increasing the reliability and cred-
ibility of the forecasts.Then, we saw the measure of loss functions as a result of
imperfect forecasts and how it can be quantified, using Bayesian decision theory,
according to whether actual results are less than forecast or vice-versa (Drury, 1990;
Stekler,2003; Aziz-Khairulfazi and Percy, 2003).
The effects of imperfect forecasts were also explained for both service industries,
and manufacturing and trading industries. The cost factor was included and dif-
ferential equations were introduced to render the whole modelling aspect complete.
They give a clearer perspective of empirical evidence cultured with mathematics
and functional relationships objectively. It can be seen that outcomes of improved
teamwork and decision making, for example, are related inthis way.
Last but not least, in order to get a total picture of the whole research implication
onto practice, future study to reflect impact is recommended.
Management Proposition
It should be in the interest of the board game designer that lessons should be learned
from playing the game itself as it simulates the practice. The intention here is to
make learning as easy and as fun. As interaction is apparent while playing among
two-four players, they are forced to communicateand exchange related information,
besides entertaining themselves. Aspects of marketing also play role in promoting

board games; usually they are played as leisure but they should now be a part of
teaching and learning strategy.
Acknowledgement
Syukur Alhamdullillah that I have been given this opportunity to present this
alternative approach in delivering a lecture and in helping students gauge ideas
and knowledge. My gratitude to the Dean of Faculty of Accountancy, UiTM,Prof
Dr Ibrahim Kamal Abdul Rahman, for supporting my submission and presentation
at the CLTHE2007. Thank you Prof Dr Normah Omar, Director of Accounting
Research Institute, for encouraging me continuously to write and present papers.
To my colleagues, my appreciation for your moral support and friendship.
To my husband and children, my endless praise and gratefulness for their patience
and confidence towards my career development.
[email protected]
References
[Armstrong, 2001] Armstrong, J., 20001, Principles of Forecasting: A Handbook
for Researchers and Practitioners, Kluwer Academic Pub-
lishers.
[Aziz-Khairulfazi, 2004] Aziz-Khairulfazi, R., 2004, An empirical and analytical in-
vestigationof forecasting practices and perceptions: a case
study on University of Salford, United Kingdom. Unpub-
lished Thesis. University of Salford.
[Aziz-Khairulfazi Percy, 2003] Aziz-Khairulfazi, R. & Percy, D. , 2003, Postal sur-
vey on forecasting. Technical Report.School of AEMS, United
Kingdom, University of Salford.
[Clemen, Jones & Winkler, 1996] Clemen, R.T. , Jones, S. K. & Winkler R.
L., 1996, Aggregating Forecasts: an Empirical Evaluation
of some Bayesian Methods. Bayesian Analysis in Statistics
and Econometrics, D. A. Berry, Chaloner, K.M. and Geweke,
J.K. pp. 3.
[D’Atous & Gagnon, 2007] d’Atous, A. & Gagnon, K., 2007, An Enquiry into the
Factors that Impact on Consumer Appreciation of a Board
Game, Journal of Consumer Marketing 24(2), pp. 80–89.
[Day, 1981] Day, H.I., 1981, Play: A Ludic Behaviour. Advances in In-
trinsic Motivation and Aesthetics, Plenum Press, New York,
pp. 225–250

[Drury, 1990] Drury, D.H., 1990, Issues in Forecasting Management, Man-

agement International Review 30(4) pp. 317-329.
[Edwards & Aziz, 2000] Edwards, M. & Aziz, R., 2000, Forecasting: Meeting 21st
Century Challenges, Asian Accounting Academics Associa-
tion (AAAA) World Inaugural Conference, Proceeding, Sin-
gapore.
[Eisenhart, 1983] Eisenhart,C., 1983, Laws of Error II: the Gaussian Distribu-
tion, Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences. S. Kotz and N. L.
Johnson, Wiley, New York. vol. 4 pp. 547–562.
[Goodwin, 2002] Goodwin, P., 2002, Integrating Management Judgement and
Statistical Advice About Empirical Research Methods to Im-
prove Short-term Forecasts, International Journal of Man-
agement Science 30 pp. 127-135.
[Moon, John & Smith, 2003] Moon, M.A., John, T. M. & Smith, C.D., 2003, Con-
ducting A Sales Forecasting Audit, International Journal of-
Forecasting 19 pp. 5–25.
[Moon, 2005] Moon, M. A., 2005 Demand: What Drives It and How ItIm-
pacts Forecasting, presented at the Materials Handling and
LogisticsConference, Park City, UT, September 20.
[Stekler, 2003] Stekler, H. O., 2003, Improving Our Ability to Predict the
Unusual Event, International Journal of Forecasting 19(Ed-
itorial) pp. 161–163.

List of Participants
A Fraenkel Weizmann Institute of Science [email protected]
Abdulcarimo Ismael Universidade Lrio [email protected]
Adrian Seville City University London [email protected]
Alda Carvalho ISEL [email protected]
Alex de Voogt Leiden University [email protected]
Antnio Lago Basic School Frei Bartolomeu dos Mrtires [email protected]
Arie van der Stoep University of Leiden [email protected]
Arnold de Voogt [email protected]
Bernward Thole Deutsches Spiele-Archiv [email protected]
Bill Taylor Canterbury University [email protected]
Brian Castelli Azevedo KDP - Kepler [email protected]
Brian Magerko Georgia Institute of Technology [email protected]
Bruce Whitehill The Big Game Hunter [email protected]
Carlos Santos ISEC [email protected]
Carlota Dias [email protected]
Caroline Goodfellow [email protected]
Catarina Mota Didxis [email protected]
Cyrce Andrade ABRINQuedoteca [email protected]
Dagoberto Markl National Museum of Ancient Art [email protected]
David Parlett Games Inventor [email protected]
David Wolfe Gustavus Adolphus College [email protected]
Eise Hizing [email protected]
Ftima Granadeiro
Francisco Ortega Texas Tech University [email protected]
Fred Horn [email protected]
Gad kfir [email protected]
Gaspar Pujol Universitat Internacional de Catalunya [email protected]
Helen van der Stoep [email protected]
Hendrik Cornilly KHBO-Spellenarchief [email protected]
Henrique Leito University of Lisbon [email protected]
Ilda Perez University of Lisbon [email protected]
Irving Finkel British Museum [email protected]
Isabel Catarino [email protected]
Jean Retschitzki Fribourg University [email protected]
Joana Torres University of Minho [email protected]
Joo Pedro Neto University of Lisbon [email protected]
Jorge Nuno Silva University of Lisbon [email protected]
Jorge Rezende University of Lisbon [email protected]
Jos Carlos Quadrado ISEL [email protected]
Jos Manuel Rodrigues [email protected]
Jurgen Stigter TWA [email protected]
Lesntl Lozent
Liliana Monteiro University of Lisbon [email protected]
Luc Blomme KHBO-Spellenarchief [email protected]
Lus Saraiva University of Lisbon [email protected]
Maria das Dores Ferreira University of Minho [email protected]
Maria de La Salete Instituto Politcnico de Tomar [email protected]
Maria Gorete Universidade Estadual Paulista [email protected]
Mrio Valente ITIJ/MJ [email protected]
Marta Loureno Museum of Science of University of Lisbon [email protected]
Maurcio Lima Origem [email protected]
Niek Neuwahl Games Inventor [email protected]
Paula Falco KDP Kepler [email protected]
Paulo Dias Museum of Science of University of Lisbon [email protected]
Pedro Guilherme Kuyumba Museu de Etnologia de Nampula [email protected]
Pedro Lisboa FCSH-UNL [email protected]
Pedro Palhares University of Minho [email protected]
Piet Notebaert KHBO-Spellenarchief [email protected]
Piotr Adamczyk The Museum of Archeology and History in Elblag [email protected]
Rangachar Vasantha Sri Krishnadevaraya University rangachar [email protected]
Richard Nowakowski Dalhousie university [email protected]
Rozainun Abdul Aziz University Technology Mara [email protected]
Sandra Vinagre vora University [email protected]
Saskia Horn
Sophie Ahmed Luba Hamied Children’s Foundation sophie [email protected]
Sybille Whitehill [email protected]
Thierry Depaulis Paris [email protected]
Ulrich Schdler Swiss Museum of Games [email protected]
V. Balambal University of Madras [email protected]
Vanna Gazzeri
Vktor Bautista i Roca [email protected]

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1

Goths, Vikings and Hanseatic Town.

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 1000–1014

This is an expanded version of the paper presented to the Board Game

The traditional Game of Goose

Figure 1 Goose as a gambling game in a tavern — detail from Het nieuw en

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Figure 2 Goose in respectable mixed company — detail from Bowles’s ROYAL

Figure 3 Goose as family entertainment — detail from Nieuw Vermakelijk

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

The question arises as to what games can properly be regarded as variants

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Educational Race Games

It is evident from these games that some participation was expected

In England, the development of educational race games began about

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

The rules to be observed in the game begin: “The Journey through

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

the rule: “Where a player is directed to read the history of an event, in

Kartoffeln, Futter und Zuderrueben

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

game is in fact a promotional device for fertilisers produced by the German

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Forfeits and Actions

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

The need for repeated reference to a detailed rulebook, unlike in Goose

Must advance once according to the points on the dice. The

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

the game then takes on a wholly different character: that of a spectacle

[Carrera, 1617] Carrera, P., 1617, Il Gioco degli Scacchi, Militello,

[Parlett, 1999] Parlett, D., 1999, The Oxford History of Board

[Seville, 1999] Seville, A.H., 1999, “Tradition and Variation in the

[Seville, 2001] Seville, A.H., 2001, “Statistics of Enjoyable Race

[Whitehouse, 1951] Whitehouse, F.R.B., 1951, Table Games of Georgian

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp. 3–17

Figure 1 Posters of the first four editions of the PCMG.

The Benefits of The Project

 Focusing - Children learn the benefits of observing carefully and con-

 Visualizing - Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions

 Thinking Ahead - Children start thinking before acting.

 Weighing Options - Children understand clearly the advantage of good

 Thinking Abstractly - Children develop the ability of grouping situa-

Board games do not replace the traditional mathematical curriculum. We

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp.19–25

Figure 2 The game of hex, constructed by Portuguese students.

Level PCMG1 PCMG2 PCMG3 PCMG4

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp.19–25

Figure 3 A student playing amazons.

We implemented a very interesting parallel competition, called Invent Your

In the fifth edition, in Covilhã, we introduced special boards to allow the

Figure 4 traffic lights board for blind students.

Mathematical Institutions Support and Interaction with Schools

It is important to guarantee that the information about the tournament

Proceedings of Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, pp.19–25

The interaction with schools and students is fundamental. The organization

Focusing - Children learn the benefits of observing carefully and con-

Visualizing - Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions

Thinking Ahead - Children start thinking before acting.

Weighing Options - Children understand clearly the advantage of good

Thinking Abstractly - Children develop the ability of grouping situa-