Tubeblock

[GuyBarry]

OK, I'll remove that bit if it causes ambiguity.

To repeat: B: Stratford.

[tubeguru]

A: Aldgate East

[GuyBarry]

Oh bugger, I thought I had you there. Looks as though you've won.

[tubeguru]

Ah, you can't pass West Ham can you?

I thought that was a good move when I played it.

[GuyBarry]

Yes, silly move on my part. The sort of thing you should only play if you're sure it's a winner.

Anyway, do you agree that there's quite a lot of potential in this game?

[tubeguru]

Yes, Stratford is a bad move to play at more or less any point in the game if the other person is west of you!

It does have potential, yes. We just have to hope that the same endgames/scenarios don't keep coming up. The key point is that there is a general reluctance to leave Zone 1, as going out to a branch is suicide (as you just proved).

[GuyBarry]

Yes, for some reason I thought I'd trapped you between the Central and Jubilee lines, completely forgetting you had an "out" along the District line. I think in most games play will naturally centre on zone 1, but the occasional "surprise" move is possible.

I'll try to rewrite the rules to remove any further potential ambiguities, and then perhaps we can have some more organized games.

[The Orange One]

Direct Underground Train: Can we remove ambiguity here? In the first game (not the sample) I was at West Harrow and blocked by Green Park. However if this rule was taken literally I could have an out at Watford or something along those lines (in more ways than one!)

[GuyBarry]

Direct Underground Train: Can we remove ambiguity here? In the first game (not the sample) I was at West Harrow and blocked by Green Park. However if this rule was taken literally I could have an out at Watford or something along those lines (in more ways than one!)

You are absolutely right and I was wrong! I overlooked the fact that you could have gone to Harrow-on-the-Hill and then changed trains onto the other branch of the Metropolitan line. Sorry for ending that game prematurely - maybe we could replay it.

Here's my revised version of the rules. Have I left anything out?

TUBEBLOCK - RULES

(1) Tubeblock is a game for two players (or teams of players), based on the London Underground map. The object of the game is to prevent the other player (or team) from making a legal move.
(2) For the purposes of these rules the definition of "station" is the same as the GWR definition - Bank and Monument are counted as separate stations, as are the two Paddingtons and the two Hammersmiths. Edgware Road (Bakerloo) is excluded from the game as it is currently closed, but when reopened it will count as a separate station from the other Edgware Road.
(3) An "interchange" is defined as a station served by two or more lines running along different tracks. Stations where all services run along the same tracks (e.g. Bayswater) are not considered interchanges.
(4) A "journey" is defined as any route from one station to another exclusively using the Underground network - no walking between stations or other forms of transport are considered.

TWO-PLAYER VERSION

Play proceeds as follows:

(5) Player A chooses any station that is not an interchange.
(6) Player B chooses any station that is not an interchange and does not have direct Underground services from the station chosen by player A.
(7) Players A and B now move to stations alternately, according to the following criteria:
(a) Neither player may have moved to the station previously in the game.
(b) The journey from a player's previous station must NOT be possible by direct Underground train; it must require at least one change. (This stipulation cannot be avoided by following deliberately indirect routes.) Journeys between two branches of the same line are permitted if there is no service between them, e.g. West Harrow to North Harrow.
(c) The journey must not pass through any stations that are "blocked" by the other player, as defined by rule (8).
(8) All stations that have direct services to a player's current location are "blocked" to the other player. For example, if player B is at Piccadilly Circus then all stations on the Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines are blocked to player A. Note that this does not always mean that all stations on the same line are blocked, e.g. if player A is at Goodge Street then player B can still pass through Bank.
(9) When one player does not have a legal move the game is over and the other player wins.

MULTI-PLAYER VERSION

This is like the two-player version except that "player A" and "player B" should be replaced by "team A" and "team B". Anyone is free to make a move for either team A or team B, but having made a move cannot then move for the other team in the same game. If two players respond to the same move, only the first move posted is accepted.

If four players or more are involved, they may choose to operate the additional rule "No player can make two consecutive moves for the same team". This should be agreed in advance of play.

[The Orange One]

What's your ruling on the Watford North Curve? Technically there is a direct train from Chesham to Watford but is not displayed on the map. And Olympia - Edgware Road?

[tubeguru]

As there is a service between them, you can move between them.

Would you really want to be up there in the first place? And would you then move between them?

[GuyBarry]

What's your ruling on the Watford North Curve? Technically there is a direct train from Chesham to Watford but is not displayed on the map. And Olympia - Edgware Road?

I don't think either of those is likely to make much difference in practice, but for simplicity I think it's easiest to restrict ourselves to services that are displayed on the map.

As there is a service between them, you can move between them.

You've got the rules the wrong way round. If there's a direct service between two stations you can't move between them.

[tubeguru]

You've got the rules the wrong way round. If there's a direct service between two stations you can't move between them.

You know what I mean. But as I said, why on Earth would you be up there during a game?!

[GuyBarry]

Well, you probably wouldn't, but in our opening game team B was at West Harrow and I failed to notice that they had a legitimate move onto the Watford branch, so theoretically it might make a difference.

[tubeguru]

Maybe we should force people to start outside Zone 5.