Discussion on optimal Boop theory

[IFelici]

Always happy to look at boop. stuff. That triangle with one knocked in is definitely a great shape to hit, and can be easy to do it (just push that connecting diagonal piece in).

While maybe not end game, there is also value in learning how to play when up 3 cats or down 3 cats at the start (Though applies other places). Namely, if you are up 3 cats you should win. Put one cat down in the middle and then just putz around with your kittens, you can eventually either get more cats or your opponent will place a kitten next to your cat. If they do, just double up cats on the far side since the kitten stops pushing, and they now have to spend every turn putting a kitten down to block your cats.

From there, the easiest way to win is to just set it up (by pushing kittens out of the way with your kitten) so that by blocking your cats, they create three in a row and have to pick up their kittens, opening the win back up.

[Ceaseless]

Always happy to look at boop. stuff. That triangle with one knocked in is definitely a great shape to hit, and can be easy to do it (just push that connecting diagonal piece in).

While maybe not end game, there is also value in learning how to play when up 3 cats or down 3 cats at the start (Though applies other places). Namely, if you are up 3 cats you should win. Put one cat down in the middle and then just putz around with your kittens, you can eventually either get more cats or your opponent will place a kitten next to your cat. If they do, just double up cats on the far side since the kitten stops pushing, and they now have to spend every turn putting a kitten down to block your cats.

From there, the easiest way to win is to just set it up (by pushing kittens out of the way with your kitten) so that by blocking your cats, they create three in a row and have to pick up their kittens, opening the win back up.

Yeah, that stuff can get entertaining. From there you have to start looking at if they can block in your cats by blocking you not with their kitten, but by pushing your own into it. They can still aim to promote by getting all 8 kittens on the board, so that's also a threat to be aware of. But yeah, the position is just so dominant for a player when they have that many cats up. At 4 unopposed it only gets even worse for the opponent as you can start using cat 3 to push your 2 in a row into a double unblocked stunt.

[IFelici]

Always happy to look at boop. stuff. That triangle with one knocked in is definitely a great shape to hit, and can be easy to do it (just push that connecting diagonal piece in).

While maybe not end game, there is also value in learning how to play when up 3 cats or down 3 cats at the start (Though applies other places). Namely, if you are up 3 cats you should win. Put one cat down in the middle and then just putz around with your kittens, you can eventually either get more cats or your opponent will place a kitten next to your cat. If they do, just double up cats on the far side since the kitten stops pushing, and they now have to spend every turn putting a kitten down to block your cats.

From there, the easiest way to win is to just set it up (by pushing kittens out of the way with your kitten) so that by blocking your cats, they create three in a row and have to pick up their kittens, opening the win back up.

Yeah, that stuff can get entertaining. From there you have to start looking at if they can block in your cats by blocking you not with their kitten, but by pushing your own into it. They can still aim to promote by getting all 8 kittens on the board, so that's also a threat to be aware of. But yeah, the position is just so dominant for a player when they have that many cats up. At 4 unopposed it only gets even worse for the opponent as you can start using cat 3 to push your 2 in a row into a double unblocked stunt.

Yeah. That 4th cat play is also good. But if people knock your own kitten in to block (which they should) you can also set it up so that you have a pair of kittens (when they knock your own kitten in) so you can graduate them on your turn with a 3rd kitten and it just re-opens. Honestly, that one is easier and easier to see so opponents don't leave it much.

[IFelici]

Just adding on to this with what I have seen to be the best advice:

As much as it may look like it, this is not a game about getting 3 in a row (specifically kittens, but applies to cats somewhat too). That is your win condition, but it isn't really HOW you win. If you try to make pairs to hopefully turn into triples for graduation/winning you will end up getting outpaced. The best thing you can do is to just try to stay on the board and be annoying to your opponent. Eventually you will have enough kittens/cats on the board that your opponent has no good moves left or you can force split kittens/cats. It makes for better defense and offense at the same time. So when in doubt between a few moves, take the one that leaves you more closely packed towards the center of the board. (As with anything, there will be exceptions but that is a very good general rule of thumb to improve from being a meh or good player to a good or great player. Learning the exceptions and how to spot lots of different smaller things is the next step but that is a lot to have to just list out and is better found via experience).

[Kaepo]

boop. (or Gekitai²) presents some similarities with Go: unlike Chess, Shogi, or Checkers, and like Go, we start with an empty board and we can place pieces on any empty positions. This freedom of placing pieces anywhere we want implies a "good shape" theory, like in Go.

A "knight shape" (keima in Go) is definitely a good boop shape.

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It gives you two ways to push one of your piece and make 2 pieces aligned.

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Of course, a simple jump (tobi in Go) is also nice

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Unlike Go, an empty triangle is also a solid shape, offering a lot of possibilities.

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Pushing a piece from a keima to form a kosumi is also nice, in particular if you have pieces around: if your opponent plays in contact of both pieces, one of them will be pushed back towards one of your piece.

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or

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Like in Go, and certainly like in any board games, moves that are both offensive (aligning 2 pieces or forming a good shape) and defensive (breaking your opponent's line, or preventing him/her to make a line or a good shape) are usually the best ones.

Pushing your opponent pieces on the border, but not pushing them out of the board is also often useful, if you keep an eye on your opponent's pool of pieces, to prevent him or her from a promotion for having 8 pieces on the board.

And of course, try to dominate the center of the board.

[InfiniteEntendre]

I think we should have a boop nomenclature, similar to chess, for tracking games. My proposal...

Players are O (orange) and G (grey/gray). Similar to chess, left column is first player (unlike chess, the same color isn't always first).

The board's columns labeled a-f going left to right, and the rows are labeled 1-6 going bottom to top. Each turn starts with a number, then period, then each player's move. k or c for kitten or cat, followed by the square where it was placed. For pieces pulled (and possibly graduated), the placement is followed by which cat(s) was (were) graduated in parenthesis. For example, if a cat was placed at c1, and caused kittens at d4, e3, and f2 to graduate, that move would be cc1 (d4-f2). If any of those were already cats, the nomenclature wouldn't have to change.

Setting up a board would start with whichever player went first that game, O or G, then a colon, followed by placement of their cats and kittens, followed by what they have in their pool (possibly in parenthesis), then the other player's placement and pool, followed by which player's move it is.

IDK if it would get too messy trying to notate when a turn creates two cats/kittens/cat and kitten in a row (which is the best analogy to check), or potential to push for three in a row, but game ending moves should definitely end in #.

Thoughts?

[Ceaseless]

I think we should have a boop nomenclature, similar to chess, for tracking games. My proposal...

Players are O (orange) and G (grey/gray). Similar to chess, left column is first player (unlike chess, the same color isn't always first).

The board's columns labeled a-f going left to right, and the rows are labeled 1-6 going bottom to top. Each turn starts with a number, then period, then each player's move. k or c for kitten or cat, followed by the square where it was placed. For pieces pulled (and possibly graduated), the placement is followed by which cat(s) was (were) graduated in parenthesis. For example, if a cat was placed at c1, and caused kittens at d4, e3, and f2 to graduate, that move would be cc1 (d4-f2). If any of those were already cats, the nomenclature wouldn't have to change.

Setting up a board would start with whichever player went first that game, O or G, then a colon, followed by placement of their cats and kittens, followed by what they have in their pool (possibly in parenthesis), then the other player's placement and pool, followed by which player's move it is.

IDK if it would get too messy trying to notate when a turn creates two cats/kittens/cat and kitten in a row (which is the best analogy to check), or potential to push for three in a row, but game ending moves should definitely end in #.

Thoughts?

Well, there could be a default assumed color like how gray goes first on BGA. If you're listing a full game from the start, you don't need to say what was booped. The only special note is promotions need to be noted.