Mist

In this Death Match, make the largest group of connected hex tiles without being spotted by your opponent under the fog of war.

Designer(s): e_is_cool, elara	Match Type: DM (for 2 players)
Featured in: The Genius: Heaven and Hell, The Genius: Contractual Obligation

The féth fíada conceals the Tuatha Dė Danann as they watch over mortals, but it's also known to envelop those same mortals, who suddenly find themselves in the Otherworld, the dwelling place of the gods and the land of the dead. The fog conceals your actions from your foe, but if you are caught, retribution will be swift.

OVERVIEW

This Death Match takes place on a 5 by 5 by 5 hexagonal grid, with the very center being unplayable, for a total of 60 cells. Players will alternate turns, placing pieces on the board in order to form the largest group. However, the state of the board is not publicly known; it's shrouded in mist, and players must gain vision in order to see what's happening.

RULES

On a player's turn, they may place up to three pieces (of their own color) on any cell. You cannot place pieces adjacent to other pieces you played on the same turn.

You will gain vision around each piece you placed, depending on the total number of pieces you played this turn. The center unplayable cell does not block your vision in any way. You cannot place pieces next to other pieces you played on the same turn.

> One piece: 3 spaces away of vision

> Two pieces: 1 space away of vision

> Three pieces: 0 spaces away of vision (you only gain vision on the 3 spots you placed)

You are allowed to place zero pieces, but you gain zero vision for it; this is your default turn if you run out of time.

Your pieces will then be placed, but have a possibility of being destroyed. If that happens, you will be informed on which of your pieces were destroyed. There are two ways for pieces to be destroyed, which are processed in this order:

> If your opponent spots you place down multiple pieces, those pieces are destroyed. A piece is spotted if an opponent's piece has vision of it.

> If a piece is placed on top of an existing piece, the new piece is destroyed.

Destroyed pieces still give vision but cannot spot opponent pieces.

Your vision lasts until just after your opponent places down their pieces. You will see where their pieces are placed within your field of vision, be informed which (if any) were destroyed, then your vision will disappear.

WINNING

The game ends when the grid is completely filled, or a player's victory is guaranteed no matter the sequence of remaining moves.

The winner of the DM is whoever has the largest connected group of their pieces (the center cell does not count towards either players' pieces). In the case of a tie, each players' second largest group is compared, and so on; if this is somehow a tie, the DMO, RedsToad, will win.

TURNS

Before the DM begins, both players should agree on which colors they would like their pieces to be. Additionally, the DMO, RedsToad, will publicly select the player to go first within the next 24 hours.

The player going first can only place up to two pieces and will have their first move publicized. Additionally, for the second player's very first turn, they may invoke the pie rule instead of making their move. The pieces on the board will swap color, and then it will be the original first player's turn again. (This is the same as the second player deciding that they want to be the first player, and making the same moves as the first player, but with their own colored pieces.)

Each player will get 1 minute to make their move, plus an additional 5 minutes of reserve time. If you run out of time, you will go into reserve time; if you have no more reserve time, you will automatically skip your turn (you will place down zero pieces and gain zero vision). Your final submission before your minute is up will be taken; your first submission when reserve time begins will be taken.

On your turn, you will receive a board that has cells you have no vision of grayed out, with all other cells you have vision of having their contents. It is up to each player to keep track of pieces they may have seen in the past but no longer have vision of anymore.

RESTRICTIONS

There are no special restrictions for this DM. You may use anything you want (e.g. pencil and paper, a spreadsheet) to take notes. You may not use any automated software.

Death Match: Mist

✏️ This game is almost identical to Mist, played in The Genius: Heaven and Hell, hosted by us. There are some minor differences. There is no pie rule, and the first player cannot play in any of the center six non-blocked cells. Additionally, players may play on the center cell (though any piece played there is automatically destroyed).

SUMMARY

RULES

This Death Match takes place on a 5 by 5 by 5 hexagonal grid, with the very center being blocked, for a total of 60 cells. Players will alternate turns, placing pieces on the board in order to form the largest group. However, the state of the board is not publicly known; it's shrouded in mist, and players must gain vision in order to see what's happening.

On a player's turn, they may place up to three pieces (of their own color) on any cell. A player cannot place pieces adjacent to other pieces they played on the same turn.

The player going first can place either one or two pieces on their first turn, but they cannot be in any of the center six non-blocked cells. This first move is publicized.

Normally, the entire grid is obscured, but placing pieces will let players see parts of the grid. Players will gain vision around each piece they placed, depending on the number of total pieces they played this turn. The center cell does not block vision.

One move: 3 spaces away of vision

Two moves: 1 space away of vision

Three moves: 0 spaces away of vision

✏️ Note that a player will always gain vision on the cells they placed.

When a piece is placed, it may be spotted and/or destroyed. A player will be informed on which opponent pieces they have spotted, as well as all destroyed pieces within their vision.

A piece is spotted if the opponent has vision of it from a non-destroyed piece.

A piece is destroyed if it is placed on top of an existing piece (or the center cell, E5). In addition, if the opponent spots a player placing down multiple pieces in a single turn, all spotted pieces are destroyed.

✏️ Note that pieces destroyed from being placed on top of an existing piece may still be spotted.

Destroyed pieces are removed from the board and will still grant vision, but will not spot opposing pieces.

The vision from a player’s placed pieces lasts until just after the opponent places down their pieces. Having vision of a cell means that a player knows the state of that cell. The current player will be informed on which pieces were spotted and/or destroyed within their vision.

WINNING

The game ends when the grid is completely filled, or a player's victory is guaranteed no matter the sequence of remaining moves.

The winner of the DM is whoever has the largest connected group of their pieces.

✏️ The center cell does not count towards either players' pieces.

✏️ In the case of a tie, each players' second largest group is compared, and so on; if this is somehow a tie, the player with the advantage wins the DM.

TURNS

✏️ Before the DM begins, both players should agree on which colors they would like their pieces to be. Additionally, the player with the advantage will publicly select the player to go first within the first 24 hours after the DM is revealed.

The player going first can place either one or two pieces on their first turn, but they cannot be in any of the center six non-blocked cells. This first move is publicized.

✏️ Each player will get 1 minute to make their move. There is no reserve time. If you run out of time, you will make the default submission of placing one piece in the center cell.

✏️ This game will be hosted via a bot. A submission consists of a message with space separated coordinates. If you intend on submitting multiple pieces, you must do so all in one message. You may change your submission up until the time is up.

After your turn, you will be told which pieces that you placed have been destroyed. After your opponent's turn, you will be told which pieces your opponent placed were spotted by you, and which pieces your opponent placed that were in your vision and got destroyed.

RESTRICTIONS

✏️ There are no special restrictions for this DM. You may use anything you want (e.g. pencil and paper, a spreadsheet) to take notes. You may not use any automated software.

BOT COMMANDS

[cells] - between 1 and 3 cells, space-separated, for your submission. Cells should match the name on the image (letter then number); capitalization is not necessary. You don't need to do a command for this, although /submit [cells] will also be accepted.

Examples:

C3

f3 d7

/submit A4 G5 H2

/undo - reset your move; it will go to E5 as the default.

/pause - pauses the game. Do not abuse this; it should mainly be used if you think something is wrong or need a break.

HOSTING THIS GAME

If you'd like to host this game by hand, you can do it using this Penpa link.

Specifically, you can host it in the following manner: Get two instances of the Penpa, one for each player. Always update players' pieces in the Problem mode. Then, edit vision using the Solution mode. At any point, you can go back to the Problem mode and check "Visibility: Off" to see the entire grid with unblocked vision.

Mist

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