How to play Stones

[Aien]

I dunno if anyone elses given this much thought, but I've been trying to figure out how to play Stones, the game Kettle gives Fitz in AQ. It seems fairly similar to Go, a game with just two types of pieces, black and white, one for each player, yet I can't figure out the goal of the game. Alot of the rules for Stones are shown, yet the way to win isn't told, the object of the game. If anyone's interested, have a think about it, I'll check back in a couple of days with any new thoughts...
Cmon, this could be GOOD!

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Unfortunately I have no ideas for you, sorry. Even Robin Hobb has said she hasn't worked out the game herself yet, but hopes to someday. This is from her websites FAQ sections. You were right about the game Go.

I love games. The Stone Game described in The Farseer Trilogy intrigues me. Can you give me the rules for it?
Unfortunately, no, I can't. The Stone Game is imaginary, a game concept based loosely on Go, Fox and Hounds, and several other old games. I never created a specific set of rules for it, though if I close my eyes, I can see the game cloth in my mind and I know the sort of strategies that I'd want it to have. Someday, when I'm old and retired to a nursing home and have lots of time to myself, I plan to work out all the rules for it. Unfortunately, by that time everyone will consider me a bit barmy and I probably won't be allowed to have pencils.

It will be interesting to see what ideas people come up with.

 

[Talysia]

I must admit, when I read Assassin's Quest, I first thought the game of Stones was some version of chess or Go, a strategy game, but no ideas other than that. Thanks for the quote from Robin Hobb's site's FAQs, Lady of Winterfell - that sheds a lot of light on the subject!

Oh, and welcome to the Chronicles, Aien!

 

[Aien]

Glad to be here.
I hadn't known about the Faq, thanks, yet it seems to me that all we're missing is a definite goal. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to think of one that incorporates the strategies that are kinda described in AQ. But once we have that, the rules should be easier to work out. Everything should fall into place...
MORE WORK REQUIRED.

 

[Aien]

Yes I'm actually doing stuff myself, instead of waiting for a year and seeing what everyone else has done... going for a record number of thread starter posts on the first page. (Ed: Enough whining.)
OK. So, the numerous times when Kettle gives Fitz the Stones problems, it is always implied that one can win the game with a move, so it dosen't end the same way as Go, with both players agreeing to an end, and counting to total amount of area accumulated to see who won.
Nighteyes repeatedly tells Fitz the game is played like Wolves hunting game. To me, the image I get from these hints is like a Go board, with one independent stone in the center. The two players attempt to drive tat stone to their ends of the game board, while driving off the other player. Each turn, the player draws a stone from a bag, each stone has a equal chance of being drawn. However, white stones are the weakest and cannot move other stones, they just get in the way of the other player (decoy, anyone).
Red stones are middle strength, they can move white stones, but not any others. They are kinda allrounded stones.
Black stones, the most powerful ones, cannot be moved. They move both white and red stones, and are like little rocks on the game board, you HAVE to go around.
To move a stone, just place a higher level stone on top of it, you can choose which direction you want to move the stone. So, in accordance with Nighteyes, you could have a string of stones moving each other around to move the ??object??stone.
Or something like that...

 

[Ice fyre]

The stones game as you describe it sounds a bit like the game chess is drived from, used as a basis for "Thud" . The game requires a set of one colour to defend a postion rather than actually take or check.

Other elements sound like Go in that respect the changing of counters colours. The solving of the problems sound like solving set puzzles in chess, and Go, take say ten moves to acheve a certain outcome.

I thought it quite interesting that the fool introduced the game into Buckeep life under the guise of Lord Golden, allowing the development of new skill users, and perhaps the spotting of them.

 

[MoedecaiSmith]

I would be really excited if somebody actually came up with rules for this game!

Maybe one has to surround and pin enemy stones in some way, not unlike GO?

 

[Samaulle]

I always think of Stones, it is my economic action. I know it is played with the skill, and that needs to be taken into account - with the way the game is played.

I know that Black stones are the highest count, red are the middle, and white the least - so we can assume it is three, two, one, in value.

I thought, the game could be played by removing stones from the board, in catchments.

You place stones on the mat, and make squares with one piece missing - and you can remove stones from the purse, by completing a square of the same colour, removing that stone into your own tally, (Not the whole square, the catchment remains in place.)

One could also toggle the colour of the stones; red on black making white, white on black making red, black on black making a space - all those excess stones are placed back in the purse, hidden from view.

I also decided that Black stones are folk, Red are skill users, and White are royalty, and that it is a killing game.

So, the aim of the game is to remove pieces from the board, and the player with the highest tally wins when a colour runs out from the purse.

It also makes sense, if Fitz were to try to solve a puzzle, that the mat would be a map of heroes and historic events, and Fitz would have to use his stones to create a good outcome.

Can someone recite to me all the information from the book, so I can check if I'm right?