The first game has begun
The first (hidden) move by the fugitive is at B3
The detectives see an empty board: https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=&bs=17
My strategy will be to scatter several stones across the board to start, in order to flexibly work on multiple bases, as the detectives might discover and focus on some.
Maybe I’ll even capture a detective stone in one area as a distraction, while devoting following turns elsewhere.
3 Likes
The detectives just made their opening moves. I’ll play at P15
Current Game State
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdbocloembfocc&bs=17
Visible Board
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdloembf&bs=17
1 Like
Detectives
P10
C4
C9
Fugitive
Q6
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdboccidcneloembfoccohfplc&bs=17
Visible Board
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdcidcneloembfohf&bs=17
3 Likes
Detectives
Q14
P4
G16
Fugitive
F16
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdboccidcnefbcgbdloembfoccohfonepdfplc&bs=17
Visible Board
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdcidcnegbdloembfohfonepdf&bs=17
2 Likes
Who will win this game?
- Definitely Detectives
- Maybe Detectives
- Unsure
- Maybe Fugitive
- Definitely Fugitive
0 voters
How are the Detectives playing?
- Excellent
- Good
- Okay
- Bad
- Terrible
0 voters
How is the Fugitive playing?
- Excellent
- Good
- Okay
- Bad
- Terrible
0 voters
2 Likes
One possible concept to build toward, depending on how the detective stones develop, of course.
Capturing with G15 should be the last move in this sequence, to hopefully draw a distraction toward that part of the board and give me more time to develop the bottom-right. I would also like to delay capturing P4 for as long as possible, until the rest of the bottom right is more solidified. Maybe P3 and P5 would have to wait until after capturing G16 as a distraction.
I actually hope that they also discover B3 and P15 while I build this up. It would be good for their attention to be focused elsewhere. The big gap between C4 and M3 should hopefully be an area that they focus a couple of searching moves on as well.
1 Like
I don’t mind influencing the fugitive. In fact that seemed like part of the fun to me; like many actual fugitives, you get some support from the population while the detectives have to work alone. But I don’t have much to say yet.
It’s interesting that shinuito already guessed one of the shapes you are going for. I wonder if you could predict what they will do after you capture, and add one more stone there, maybe at E15, to throw them off even more.
It will be fun to see what happens when all three detective colors converge on a small search area instead of staying safely apart. It might be surprisingly easy to make captures in that mess.
3 Likes
Detectives are relying too much on the random point generator if you ask me. The fugitive isn’t playing randomly, and so the detectives are leaving valuable plays to chance rather than thinking like a fugitive.
P.S.: If detectives play purely random moves, and all players play above the first line, the detectives’ chance of colliding with a fugitive stone exceeds 50% around move 9.
5 Likes
They seem to be avoiding the 1st line altogether. This would have been a pretty epic troll:
Connecting at the corners could be done last and also accomplished via capturing or some other way, if necessary.
3 Likes
You may be on to something there. Even this systematically avoids detection from an “above the first line” heuristic while creating many potential eyes. It’s risky to pursue symmetrical positions, however.
1 Like
Detectives
L10
D2
C13
Fugitive
G17
Game State
Visible Board
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdcedcidcnedpegbdkhfloembfohfonepdf&bs=17
2 Likes
Detectives
N15
G6
H12
Fugitive
G15
Visible board
https://vsotvep.github.io/MulticolorGo.html?st=bcdcedcidcnedpegbdglehfdkhfloembfmcfohfonepdf&bs=17
1 Like
First atari!
In the implemention of Phantom Go on VGS, hidden stones become visible when they cause an atari (so in this case three red stones would suddenly appear).
Such a rule would of course make the game even harder for the fugitive, but it might also make the game a little bit deeper in general (by allowing more reasoning and strategizing, and putting less emphasis on guesswork).
(I’ve nothing interesting to say about the game itself so far, hence the off-topic rules discussion 
)
4 Likes
