Editing Abstract strategy game

{{Short description|Mental skill based games}}
[[File:Go (13×13) -- 2021 -- 6741.jpg|thumb|The abstract strategy game of [[Go (game)|Go]]]]
An '''abstract strategy game''' is a type of [[strategy game]] that has minimal or no [[theme (narrative)|narrative theme]], an outcome determined only by player choice (with minimal or no [[randomness]]), and in which each player has [[perfect information]] about the game.<ref name="bgg1">{{cite web |title=Abstract_Games |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Abstract_Games |website=BoardGameGeek}}</ref><ref name="Reale">{{cite web|last=Reale|first=Cesco|date=2022|title=Redefining the Abstract|publisher=Abstract Games Magazine |access-date=October 15, 2024|url=https://www.abstractgames.org/abstractdefinition.html}}</ref> For example, [[Go (game)|Go]] is a pure abstract strategy game since it fulfills all three criteria; [[chess]] and related games are nearly so but feature a recognizable theme of ancient warfare; and [[Stratego]] is borderline since it is deterministic, loosely based on 19th-century [[Napoleonic tactics|Napoleonic warfare]], and features concealed information.

==Definition==
[[File:Stratego.jpg|thumb|The game ''[[Stratego]]'']]
Combinatorial games have no randomizers such as dice, no simultaneous movement, nor hidden information. Some games that do have these elements are sometimes classified as abstract strategy games. (Games such as ''[[Continuo (game)|Continuo]]'', Octiles, ''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]'', and [[Sequence (board game)|Sequence]], could be considered abstract strategy games, despite having a luck or bluffing element.) A smaller category of abstract strategy games manages to incorporate hidden information without using any random elements; the best known example is ''[[Stratego]]''.

Traditional abstract strategy games are often treated as a separate game category, hence the term 'abstract games' is often used for competitions that exclude them and can be thought of as referring to ''modern'' abstract strategy games. Two examples are the IAGO World Tour (2007–2010) and the Abstract Games World Championship held annually since 2008 as part of the [[Mind Sports Organisation|Mind Sports Olympiad]].<ref name="MSO">{{cite web|publisher=Mind Sports Olympiad|title=Abstract Games|access-date=July 27, 2017|url=http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=abstract_games|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325221027/http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=abstract_games|archive-date=March 25, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Some abstract strategy games have multiple starting positions of which it is required that one be randomly determined. For a game to be one of skill, a starting position needs to be chosen by impartial means. Some games, such as ''[[Arimaa]]'' and ''[[DVONN]]'', have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to combinatorial game principles. Most players, however, would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position, the game itself contains no luck element. Indeed, [[Bobby Fischer]] promoted [[Chess960|randomization of the starting position in chess]] in order to ''increase'' player dependence on thinking at the board.<ref name="Bob">{{cite web|url=http://www.chessvariants.com/diffsetup.dir/fischerh.html|title=The birth of Fischer Random Chess|first=Eric|last=van Reem|website=The Chess Variant Pages|access-date=July 27, 2017|date=May 31, 2001}}</ref>
          
As J. Mark Thompson wrote in his article "Defining the Abstract", play is sometimes said to resemble a series of [[puzzle]]s the players pose to each other:<ref name="Thompson">{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=J. Mark|date=July 2000|title=Defining the Abstract|publisher=The Games Journal|access-date=July 27, 2017|url=http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DefiningtheAbstract.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001018073731/http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DefiningtheAbstract.shtml|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 18, 2000}}</ref><ref name="IAGO">{{cite web|publisher=International Abstract Games Organisation|title=Abstract strategy games and other genres out of scope of IAGO|url=http://iagoweb.com/wiki/game-genres |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818060137/http://iagoweb.com/wiki/game-genres |archive-date=August 18, 2011}}</ref> <blockquote>There is an intimate relationship between such games and puzzles: every board position presents the player with the puzzle, What is the best move?, which in theory could be solved by logic alone. A good abstract game can therefore be thought of as a "family" of potentially interesting logic puzzles, and the play consists of each player posing such a puzzle to the other. Good players are the ones who find the most difficult puzzles to present to their opponents.</blockquote>

Many abstract strategy games also happen to be "[[Combinatorial game theory|combinatorial]]"; i.e., there is [[perfect information|no hidden information]], no non-deterministic elements (such as shuffled cards or dice rolls), no simultaneous or hidden movement or setup, and (usually) two players or teams take a finite number of alternating {{boardgloss|turns}}.

Many games which are abstract in nature historically might have developed from thematic games, such as representation of military tactics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SFE: Board Game |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/board_game |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}</ref> In turn, it is common to see thematic version of such games; for example, chess is considered an abstract game, but many thematic versions, such as [[Star Wars]]-themed chess, exist.

There are also many abstract video games, which include open ended solutions to problems, one example is [[Shapez 2|''Shapez'']],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Save 65% on shapez on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1318690/shapez/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en}}</ref> a game which you must deliver a set amount of shapes, but it is entirely up to you how to do so.

== History ==
[[File:Akhilleus Aias Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1417.jpg|right|thumb|[[Achilles]] and [[Ajax the Lesser|Ajax]] playing a [[board game]].]] 

A board resembling a [[Draughts]] board was found in [[Ur]] dating from 3000 BC, found by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1920s.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="gameplay2">{{cite book|last=Oxland|first=Kevin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l05TkZFbS24C|title=Gameplay and design|publisher=Pearson Education|year=2004|isbn=978-0-321-20467-7|edition=Illustrated|pages=333}}</ref> In the [[British Museum]] are specimens of [[ancient Egyptian]] checkerboards, found with their pieces in burial chambers, and the game was played by [[Hatshepsut|Queen Hatasu]].<ref name="strutt2">{{cite book|last=Strutt|first=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJwSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA255|title=The sports and pastimes of the people of England|year=1801|location=London|pages=255}}</ref><ref name="Ellensburgh2">{{cite news|date=17 February 1916|title=Lure of checkers|pages=1|work=The Ellensburgh Capital|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yo0KAAAAIBAJ&pg=1525%2C2429787|access-date=2009-04-16}}</ref> [[Plato]] mentioned a game, πεττεία or ''{{Interlanguage link|Petteia|lt=Petteia|el|Πέττεια|WD=}}'', as being of Egyptian origin,<ref name="Ellensburgh2" /> and [[Homer]] also mentions it.<ref name="Ellensburgh2" /> The game was later imported into the [[Roman Empire]] under the name ''[[ludus latrunculorum]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tilley |first=Arthur |date=November 1892 |title=Ludus Latrunculorum |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0009840X00186433/type/journal_article |journal=The Classical Review |language=en |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=335–336 |doi=10.1017/S0009840X00186433 |s2cid=246880710 |issn=0009-840X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Go (game)|Go]] was considered one of the [[four arts|four essential arts]] of the cultured [[aristocratic]] Chinese scholars in antiquity and remains popular today. The earliest written reference to the game is generally recognized as the historical annal ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]''<ref name="The Tso Chuan book">{{cite book|last=Burton|first=Watson|title=The Tso Chuan|date=April 15, 1992|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-06715-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fairbairn |first=John |year=1995 |title=Go In Ancient China |url=https://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essay/goancientchina.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329075559/https://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essay/goancientchina.html |archive-date=2023-03-29 |access-date=2007-11-02 |language=en}}</ref> (c. 4th century BC).<ref name=chronology2>{{cite web|title=Warring States Project Chronology #2|publisher=University of Massachusetts Amherst|url=http://www.umass.edu/wsp/project/introductions/chronology2.html|access-date=2007-11-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219225436/http://www.umass.edu/wsp/project/introductions/chronology2.html|archive-date=2007-12-19}}</ref>

The family of games known today as [[Mancala]] dates back to at least the third century in the Middle East, and possibly much earlier.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Natsoulas |title=The Game of Mancala with Reference to Commonalities among the Peoples of Ethiopia and in Comparison to Other African Peoples: Rules and Strategies |journal=Northeast African Studies |date=1995 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=7–24 |doi=10.1353/nas.1995.0018 |jstor=41931202 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41931202 |access-date=3 May 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

[[Chess]] is believed to have originated in northwest [[India]], in the [[Gupta Empire]] ({{circa}} 280–550),<ref>Leibs (2004), p. 92</ref><ref>Robinson & Estes (1996), p. 34</ref><ref name="Murray (1913)">Murray (1913)</ref><ref>Bird (1893), p. 63</ref> where its early form in the 6th&nbsp;century was known as ''[[chaturanga|chaturaṅga]]'' ({{Langx|sa|चतुरङ्ग}}), literally ''four divisions'' [of the military]&nbsp;– [[infantry]], [[cavalry]], [[war elephant|elephants]], and [[chariot]]ry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. ''Chaturanga'' was played on an 8×8 uncheckered board, called ''[[Ashtapada|ashtāpada]]''.<ref>{{cite web|date=2005-07-25|title=Ashtapada|url=http://history.chess.free.fr/ashtapada.htm|access-date=2013-07-16|publisher=Jean-Louis Cazaux}}</ref> [[Shogi]] was the earliest chess variant to allow captured pieces to be returned to the board by the capturing player.<ref name="chessvariants1">{{cite web |last=Bodlaender |first=Hans L. |last2=Duniho |first2=Fergus |date=1996-09-09 |title=Shogi: Japanese Chess |url=https://www.chessvariants.com/shogi.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324160420/https://www.chessvariants.com/shogi.html |archive-date=2019-03-24 |access-date=2012-03-08 |work=The Chess Variant Pages |language=en}}</ref> This drop rule is speculated to have been invented in the 15th century and possibly connected to the practice of 15th century [[Mercenary#15th to 18th centuries|mercenaries]] switching loyalties when captured instead of being killed.<ref>{{cite magazine | date=1980 | title=Shogi history & the variants | magazine=Shogi | issue=27 | pages=9–13 | editor1-last=Hodges | editor1-first=George }}</ref>

As civilization advanced and societies evolved, so too did strategy board games. New inventions such as printing technology in the 15th century allowed for mass production of game sets, making them more accessible to people from various social classes. Games like backgammon and mancala became popular during this time, showcasing different styles of strategic gameplay.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Teresa |date=2023-08-21 |title=History of Strategy Board Games |url=https://www.thegamersguides.com/history-of-strategy-board-games/ |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=The Gamers Guides |language=en-US}}</ref>

Englishmen Lewis Waterman<ref>Note: He was not the [[Lewis Waterman]] who patented the Waterman fountain pen in 1884. {{citation needed|date=March 2016}}</ref> and John W. Mollett both claim to have invented the game of [[Reversi]] in 1883, each denouncing the other as a fraud. The game gained considerable popularity in England at the end of the nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.beppi.it/public/OthelloMuseum/pages/history.php|title = Brief history of Othello|publisher = Beppi.it|access-date = 4 January 2015|website = Othello Museum|archive-date = 16 May 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090516010447/http://www.beppi.it/public/OthelloMuseum/pages/history.php|url-status = dead}}</ref> The game's first reliable mention is on 21 August 1886 edition of ''[[Saturday Review (London)|The Saturday Review]]''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} A variant named ''Othello'', patented in Japan in 1971, has gained worldwide popularity.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=11 November 1976 |title=Modern Living: Japanese Othello |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914702,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref>

After the end of World War 2, these games became more complex. [[Risk (game)]] and [[Diplomacy (game)]] were released in the 1950s. ''Risk'' saw the player try to conquer the world from other players after claiming land at the start of the game, while ''Diplomacy'' saw the player go back to Europe during the time just before The Great War, to build alliances with other players, as to secure his safety and victory.

== Comparison ==
Analysis of "pure" abstract strategy games is the subject of [[combinatorial game theory]]. Abstract strategy games with hidden information, bluffing, or simultaneous move elements are better served by Von Neumann–Morgenstern [[game theory]], while those with a component of luck may require [[probability theory]] incorporated into either of the above.

As for the qualitative aspects, ranking abstract strategy games according to their interest, complexity, or strategy levels is a daunting task and subject to extreme subjectivity. In terms of measuring how finite a mathematical field each of the three top contenders represents, it is estimated that checkers has a [[game-tree complexity]] of 10<sup>40</sup> possible games<!--<ref>Wikipedia,[[English draughts#Computer players]]</ref>-->, whereas chess has approximately 10<sup>123</sup><!--<ref>Wikipedia [[Computer Chess]]</ref>-->. As for Go, the possible legal game positions range in the magnitude of 10<sup>170</sup><!--<ref>Wikipedia, [[Go complexity]]</ref>-->.

==Champions==
The [[Mind Sports Olympiad]] first held the ''Abstract Games World Championship'' in 2008 to try to find the best abstract strategy games all-rounder.<ref name="MSO"/> The MSO event saw a change in format in 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boardability.com/article.php?id=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722015047/http://www.boardability.com/article.php?id=10|archive-date=July 22, 2012|url-status=dead|title=MSO XV Pentamind|date=August 28, 2011|publisher=Mind Sports Olympiad}}</ref> restricting the competition to players' five best events, and was renamed the ''Modern Abstract Games World Championship''.

* 2008: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce (England)
* 2009: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce (England)
* 2010: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce (England)
* 2011: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce (England)
* 2012: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk (Estonia)
* 2013: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk (Estonia)

== See also ==
* [[Connection game]]s
* [[Game complexity]]
* [[List of abstract strategy games]]
* [[List of world championships in mind sports]]
* [[Mind Sports Organisation|Mind Sports Olympiad]]
* [[World Mind Sports Games]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~games The University of Alberta Games Group]
* [http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/cgt David Eppstein's CGT page]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=X1kYiBuvEy8 Talk "Redefining the abstract", by Cesco Reale at Board Games Studies 2022]

{{Tabletop games by type}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abstract Strategy Game}}
[[Category:Abstract strategy games| ]]
[[Category:Games of mental skill]]