Neutreeko
Neutreeko Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Initial Setup
The players have three pieces each. Black's three pieces start on squares B1, C4 and D1. White's three pieces start on squares B5, D5 and C2 (columns A–E left to right, rows 1–5 bottom to top).
Movement
A piece slides orthogonally or diagonally until it is stopped by an occupied square or the border of the board. Black always moves first.
Objective
To get three in a row, orthogonally or diagonally. The row must be connected.
Repetitions
A match is declared a draw if the same position occurs three times.
Tactical Depth
There are positions for which perfect play leads to a win in 51 moves (that is, 26 moves by one player and 25 by the other one). Only about 3% of all legal positions are neutral, including the starting position.
Strategy
Neutreeko is a highly tactical game with little room for long-term strategic planning. But if neither side has an attack coming up, it can often be a good idea to immobilize your opponent by forcing them into a corner.
Starting Position Dilemma
The starting position was chosen so as to avoid a short distance to a "draw-loop," but the disadvantage is that there is essentially only one way to play the first 15 moves correctly, which of course can be memorized. In the unlikely event that someone wants to arrange serious competitions in this game, it may be necessary to somehow generate a new starting position for each match.
About
When Neutreeko was first announced on usenet in 2001, its designer learned that a game with very similar rules, Dao, had already been published. However, compared to Neutreeko, Dao appears to be drawish and to lack tactical depth.