Posts:
1
Registered:
Feb 7, 2006
From:
Texas
Age:
46
Interesting history
Posted:
Mar 2, 2006, 7:43 AM
Years ago (too many) I played a game called 5-in-a-row on graph paper. We used to play in math class when the teacher wasn't looking. Played Go also - in pencil! Last month our daughter got a pente game as a gift, in a tube. Apparently there are red and black tubes. It has sky blue and amber stones and in addition to being a great strategy game the esthetics are absolutely beautiful. I'm hooked. The capture rule is taking some getting used to as we didn't have that on graph paper. Then I found this site and now I'm not getting any work done. The forums here have more civility than any other I've seen on the internet. One question though, is pente older than 5-in-a-row or the other way around. (We were playing in the mid-70's) Thanks for the games Maria and Karencita - in the future I shall try harder to make the games look close.
Re: Interesting history
Posted:
Mar 7, 2006, 11:35 PM
Pente in its (current)modern form has been around for close to 30 years now, but the game which it was simplified from (ninuki renju, I believe is the name) has captures and has been played in Asian countries for a long time, but I'm not sure exactly how long. 5 in a row (or go-moku) has probably been around for longer, is my guess. Probably what happened was that players played 5 in a row games in various countries at different times in history and then at some point attempted to lessen the first player advantage by implementing a capture (as well as a lot of other things - 3x3 doesn't win for the first player, six in a row doesn't win, a 5 may be captured across if possible to potentially prolong the game, etc.) Renju (no captures) is at least one culmination of such efforts, but the rules get very complicated in attempting to make the game "fair". D pente, keryo pente, G pente and playing games in sets are other attempt to make the game more equal. No doubt this is more information than you were really looking for. Short answer- both captures and non captures have been around for awhile, but I would tend to give the nod to non capture 5 in a row as the oldest, though probably the exact time of such things is lost in the mists of history.
Retired from TB Pente, but still playing live games & exploring variants like D, poof and boat
