For example, the Black player would lose if he places a stone at b6, by forming the square b6-a2-e1-f5. The White player would lose if he places a stone at a1, by forming a1-d1-d4-a4. Squares can be at any orientation, but they must be geometrically accurate squares -- equilateral and rectangular. I’ve used Hip in my math classes to try to get across the idea of perpendicular slopes. Double-Move Hip (my own variant): As Gardner says, Hip on an even-order board is “strictly for squares.” It is a solved game: the second player can play the reflection of the first player’s moves and thereby assure himself of eventual victory. To avoid this problem, I suggest a variant, Double-Move Hip, in which each move consists of placing two stones onto the board, except the first player’s first move. In this way neither player has a clear advantage. The same modification might save the game of Bridg-It. Hip can be played using Jeff Mallett’s Zillions of Games program, which every abstract gamer should own. I’ve also made the needed modifications to allow ZoG to play my two-move variants, which are easy. I wrote Jeff Mallett about them; he may have incorporated the Double-Move Hip variant into the Zillions product by now. |
