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thud

Discworld furniture help

thud

Name

thud - a game of strategy

Syntax

join game as {dwarf|troll} on <object>
leave game on <object>
end game on <object>
start [new] [game] on <object>
set board {full|brief} on <object>
move [from] <from> [to] <to> on <object>
move [from] <from> [to] <to> on <object> capturing <position(s)>
shove [from] <from> [to] <to> on <object> capturing <position(s)>
hurl [from] <from> [to] <to> on <object>

General Rules

Thud is simple to learn and complex to master.

Dwarfs

The dwarf is your fairly basic heavily armoured mound of aggression. They can move any number of squares in any direction as long as the line is not blocked.

On the dwarfs' turn, they may either move or hurl one dwarf:

Move: any one dwarf is moved like a chess queen, any number of squares in any orthogonal or diagonal direction, but not onto or through any other piece, whether Thudstone, dwarf, or troll; or

Hurl: anywhere there is a straight (orthogonal or diagonal) line of adjacent dwarfs on the board, they may hurl the front dwarf in the direction continuing the line, as long as the space between the lead dwarf and the troll is less than the number of dwarfs in the line. This is different from a normal move in that the dwarf is permitted to land on a square containing a troll, in which case the troll is removed from the board and the dwarf takes his place. This may only be done if the endmost dwarf can land on a troll by moving in the direction of the line at most as many spaces as there are dwarfs in the line. Since a single dwarf is a line of one in every direction, a dwarf may always hurl himself one space to capture a troll on an immediately adjacent square.

Trolls

Trolls can only move one square in any direction on their own. They can club dwarfs into insensibility if they land beside one or more of them after moving.

On the trolls' turn, they may either move or shove one troll:

Move: one troll is moved like a chess king, one square in any orthogonal or diagonal direction onto an empty square. After the troll has been moved, any dwarfs on the eight squares adjacent to the moved troll may optionally be immediately captured and removed from the board, at the troll player's discretion; or

Shove: anywhere there is a straight (orthogonal or diagonal) line of adjacent trolls on the board, they may shove the endmost troll in the direction continuing the line, up to as many spaces as there are trolls in the line. As in a normal move, the troll may not land on an occupied square, and any dwarfs in the eight squares adjacent to its final position may immediately be captured. Trolls may only make a shove if by doing so they capture at least one dwarf. As is the case with dwarfs, a single troll is a line of one in every direction, so a troll may always shove himself one space to capture any dwarfs adjacent to the destination square.

Hurling and shoving are both constrained by a requirement that all squares passed through during the move are empty.

Objective

The battle is over when both players agree that no more captures can be made by continuing to play, or when one player has no more valid moves to make. At this point the players count score: the dwarfs score 1 point for each surviving dwarf, and the trolls score 4 for each remaining troll, with the difference being the 'final' score. The players should then swap sides to play another round, and the sum of their final scores for the two battles determines the overall victor.

Positions

Positions are specified as 'letter number' combinations, where the letter is in the range A through O inclusive and the number is in the range 1 through 15 inclusive. Where a list of multiple positions is required, commas should be used to separate positions in the list. Position parsing is case insensitive, and tolerant of white space surrounding or separating the parts of a position, but intolerant of white space between the digits of the numeric part of a position.

<from> and <to> expect a single 'letter number' combination. <position(s)> will accept either a single 'letter number' combination, or a list of such combinations separated by commas.

Colours

The colour scheme for this game can be altered with the options under 'options colour special'.

See also

reversi, connect_four, lost_cities, battleslugs, scrabble, liars_dice, mensa_regis