18.2.16 Silken

Silken is a game of laying stones, representing spiders, to claim space. Unlike other board games, it is not concerned with the fall of a single piece or the destruction of an opponent's forces, but with the careful encirclement of stones to form an ensnaring web.

In order to play Silken, you must have a Silken board, or be in an establishment that provides one.

The rules of Silken are straight forward to learn, though mastery may take a lifetime. For a full explanation of the rules, please see HELP SILKENRULES.

The commands that are involved with Silken are:

PLAY SILKEN WITH <whomever>    : Starts a new game of Silken on a 9x9 board.

PLAY SILKEN13 WITH <whomever>  : Starts a new game of Silken on a 13x13 board.

PLAY SILKEN19 WITH <whomever>  : Starts a new game of Silken on a 19x19 board.

SILKENBOARD [id number]        : Displays the current state of the specified
                                 game. If no id is given, your current game
                                 will be shown.

SILMOVE <position>             : Places a stone at the specified position.
                                 Positions are given in coordinates such as
                                 D4 or Q16. Note that the letter I is not
                                 used in Silken notation.

SILKENPASS                     : Passes your turn. Two consecutive passes will
                                 end the game and begin scoring.

SILKENLIST                     : Lists your current Silken games. A * marks
                                 your active game.

SWITCHSILKEN <id number>       : Switches your current game to another of your
                                 unfinished games.

SILKENLOG <id number>          : Displays the sequence of moves played in a
                                 game.

SILKENRESIGN <id number>       : Concedes the game to your opponent.

Once a game begins, players alternate placing stones upon the intersections of the board, with one player using black stones and the other white. Black always moves first.

Stones remain where they are placed unless captured. A group of stones is captured when it has no liberties, meaning no empty adjacent intersections.

The game concludes when both players pass in succession, after which territory is counted and a winner declared.

Note this game is called Go in the real world.

See also: HELP SILKENRULES