Santorini

SANTORINI

Climb up to the top, by using some god-given powers.

This game has never appeared in a previous The Genius ORG before. The base form of the game was invented by Gordon Hamilton; it was later republished by Roxley Games with additional variations. This version uses nearly the same rules as the board game; only the setup for god powers and the available god powers are different. The rules for the board game can be seen here: http://files.roxley.com/Santorini-Rulebook-Web-2016.08.14.pdf

GAME RULES

⚙️ Setup and terminology

The game takes place on a 5×5 board. The board has a coordinate system, where the rows are labeled A-E and the columns numbered 1-5.

Each player has two workers on the board, which will move and build. As workers build, cells on the board will feature blocks and domes.

The level of a cell is the number of blocks underneath it. At the beginning of the game, all cells are at level 0. As blocks are built on the board, the cells will rise in level.

Domes cap off cells, making them inaccessible for the rest of the game.

There are 10 god powers. Each player will have one, which grants them special powers.

To set up the game, first, 4 god powers are chosen and presented at random. The starting player chooses one god power among the selection; the opponent then chooses another god power among what's left. Then, the starting player places their two workers on the board on any different cells. The opponent then places their two workers on any different empty cells. The game will then begin with the starting player's turn.

🧠 On your move

On your move, you must perform the following two steps in order (move then build). God powers grant you special powers that may supersede these rules.

1. Move a worker. Move one of your workers, one space to a touching cell (adjacent orthogonally or diagonally). The cell cannot contain another worker or a dome. Your worker can move on the same level or down any number of levels, but can only move up by one level. Therefore, if your worker is on level 1, it can move down to level 0, stay on level 1, or move up to level 2, but you cannot move it to level 3 as it's an increase of 2 levels. On the other hand, if your worker is on level 2, it can move to any level, including level 0, as moving down is not limited.

2. Build a block/dome. Choose a cell touching your moved worker (adjacent orthogonally or diagonally). The cell cannot contain another worker or a dome. Build a block or a dome there. You will build a block if the level of the cell is not 3 yet; otherwise, you will build a dome. Therefore, if you build on a cell with level 2, you will add a block to make it level 3; if you later build on the same cell, you will cap it off with a dome.

💎 Winning

You win if you move up to level 3 on your turn. (You instantly win; you don't need to complete the rest of your turn.) You must move; some god powers can force a worker to change location, which does not count as a move. You must move up; moving on level 3 (which is possible if you're forced onto level 3) doesn't trigger a win.

You lose if you cannot complete your turn. Usually this happens when your workers are blocked off and so cannot move.

🔍 God powers

These god powers change the rules of the game, giving special powers to the one holding them. All of these powers refer to the player holding them; "you" means the player holding the power. (These powers are the simple gods from the board game.)

- Apollo: You may move to a space containing your opponent's worker, as long as you follow the other rules (e.g. respecting the level). Your opponent's worker is forced into the space you just vacated, essentially swapping their positions.

- Artemis: When moving, your worker may move two spaces instead of just one. Each move must still follow the usual rules, and your worker may not return to the same space.

- Athena: If either of your workers moved up on your turn, your opponent's workers may not move up on their turn following yours.

- Atlas: When building, you may build a dome regardless of what level the cell is.

- Demeter: When building, your worker may build two times instead of just one. Each build must still follow the usual rules, and you may not build twice on the same space.

- Hephaestus: When building, your worker may build two blocks on the same space instead of just one. The builds must be both blocks; i.e., you cannot build a block and a dome using this power. (A cell's maximum level is 3.)

- Hermes: You may elect to not move up or down during your turn. In this case, both of your workers may move any number of times (including zero), as long as they do not change their respective levels. After that, one of the workers builds normally.

- Minotaur: You may move to a space containing your opponent's worker, as long as the space behind it is free (doesn't have any worker or dome). Your opponent's worker is forced into the space behind it. (Here, "the space behind" means the next space in the same direction of your movement.)

- Pan: You also win if your worker moves down two or more levels.

- Prometheus: You may elect to not move up during your turn. In this case, your worker may additionally build before moving. (Your worker still must build after moving. The worker that builds before moving must be the one moved.)

ADMINISTRATION

🏷️ Writing your move

Your move must be your complete turn. This usually means your worker's move and your worker's build, although god powers might modify this (for example, with Hermes, your worker's move portion might be significantly longer). If your move is missing any mandatory action, the entire move will be refused as illegal and you need to redo it. (You are allowed to change any part of your move.)

To make your move clear, a worker's movement should consist of the starting cell and the ending cell (and any cells in between in case of longer moves like Artemis and Hermes). A worker's build can simply consist of the cell(s) you wish to build; the block or dome is automatically chosen, unless you're Atlas in which case you should specify when you want to use your power.

👁️ Available information

There is no hidden information. All information is public. You should make your moves in the public game room.

After each move, the current board will be posted.

⌛ Timing

You have the standard time controls. You have 1 minute per move (including during the initial setup, where you have 1 minute to pick a god power and 1 minute to place your two workers). You also have a time bank of 5 minutes. If you run out of time, you lose the game.

CLARIFICATIONS

📌 Board updates

A cell's level is denoted by a shaded ring around it; the color gets darker the higher the level. The level is also written as a number on the corners.

A cell with a dome is entirely black with an X marking it. The level of a cell with a dome is still marked with a number, but there is no more shading for the ring as it is irrelevant.

Your workers are identified by colored letters. (Since you can never step into a cell with a dome, this will not conflict with a dome.)

Look at the examples heading below for some examples on how the board will look like in the middle of a game.

📌 Examples

The following is the middle of an example game between Red (R) and Blue (B). Red has Demeter power and Blue has Artemis power. It is Red's turn.

The worker on C3 can move to any touching space except for C2 (has a worker) and D2 (has a dome). The worker on C2 can move to B1, B2, B3, C1, or D3; it cannot move to D1 since it would move up more than one level.

Red would like to secure a level 3 cell so the worker on C3 can move up the next turn. However, Red doesn't want Blue to be able to cap off the cell with a dome.

Without god powers, Red would be able to move C2 to B3, and then build on C4. Note that it's allowed to build on any touching space (that doesn't have a worker or a dome), regardless of levels. This sets up the level 3 cell on C4; in addition, it also blocks B3, so Blue wouldn't be able to move A2 to B3 to cap off C4.

However, Blue has the Artemis power, which makes Blue exceptionally agile. The A2 worker can take a detour to A3 then B4, allowing Blue to cap off C4.

But Red also has a god power. On the previous move, using the Demeter power, Red builds not only on C4, but also B4. This blocks Blue from being able to take the above detour (since A3 to B4 is a move up by two levels), and Blue cannot cap off C4 in any other way. Red wins on the next turn by moving C3 to C4.