Talk:Abalone (board game)

Mathematical analysis
is there mathematical analysis of this game?

Xah P0lyglut 07:55, 2003 Nov 29 (UTC)

Defensive Play
I am skeptical of the recent edits regarding the potential for defensive play. Given that this may be a controverial topic, I would like to open a discussion here rather than expressing my opinion by directly editing the article.

My main objection is that it seems both POV and beside the point to say that good players are more aggressive and that defensive play is a sign of a weaker player. It is my understanding that among Abalone-lovers it is a social convention not to play defensively, because defensive play makes the game boring. In particular I understand that playing defensively is not shunned because it is unsound strategy that can be beaten by a competent offense.

Perhaps it is true that people who flout this social convetion tend to be newer to the game and therefore weaker players. Perhaps no one who is interested in playing Abalone seriously would be happy with an infinitely drawn out game with no chance of winning. But these facts even if true reflect on the psychology of the players of Abalone, not on the game itself.

There is a critical point of information that needs to be clarified, apart from psychology and apart from social convention: In the diagrammed position, can Black defend indefinitely against all White attacks? If Black does not make any mistakes, is the fortress of marbles secure against even a perfect attack by White? I believe the answer is yes, and if it is yes then this fact about the game dynamics per se needs a prominent mention.

I propose splitting the current paragraph about defensive play into two paragraphs. Let one paragraph make it clear that a defensively-minded player who makes no mistakes not only can't be beaten, but also can't even be forced out of the defensive wedge, and therefore not losing at Abalone takes only moderate skill and no imagination. Let a separate paragraph make it clear that serious players find ways to attack and counterattack and to enjoy Abalone despite the theoretical possibility of draws. Does this sound fair enough? --Fritzlein 22:27, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Re: Defensive Play
I also think there's nothing to do against a defensive player who doesn't make any mistake. Though, in variants such as the daisies ("Marguerite"), where both groups of marbles are split in two at the beginning, nobody knows (for the moment, at least) if a "perfect" play would lead to a draw (like in Standard opening), or to the win of one of the players (maybe Black). Moreover, the complex configuration at the beginning isn't easy to handle, and it's not easy to reach a stable position, if your opponent doesn't want to : if you try to reach such a position, rather than to get an advantage, the repartition of the marbles generally allows your opponent to eject some of your marbles in the meantime, and you may find yourself stable but with less marbles, and thus quite weak. From my own experience, I'll say that you cannot be safe by playing in a defensive way in these variants; in fact, being "defensive" or "aggressive" makes much less sense than it does in Standard games. Defensive would qualify the one who tends to stop the attack when he gets an advantage (to avoid intricate fights), and then to solidify his group of marbles.

This is the reason why the upcoming On Line World Championship of Abalone will be played in Belgian daisy.

AB, October 1st 2005

"Belgian"
Is the Belgian tournament starting position that in image Image:Abalone_belgian.svg? If so, include the image in the article. Also, the "In this player's experience..." is inappropriate phrasing. AnonMoos 14:48, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, this is a picture of the Belgian daisy starting configuration.
 * Lmkhjsfdg (talk) 15:22, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Abalone board.jpg
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Terminology
The instruction booklet for the game has a list of vocabulary. Has anyone considered posting it in the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.181.160.60 (talk) 19:37, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

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