Gonnect
Gonnect is a strategy board game for two players invented by João Pedro Neto in 2000. The game is played with standard Go equipment (usually on a 13×13 or 15×15 board) and basically uses the same rules as Go, however the goal of the game is to construct a group that connects any two opposite sides.
Seen from a superficial point of view, Gonnect belongs to the family of connection games with relatives Hex and Havannah; however, the game mutates into a game of territory (like Go) when played by advanced players.
Game rules
All the rules of Go apply, except that unlike Go, passing is not allowed. The pie rule is used to determine who moves first. A player loses if he has no legal move.
Games between skilled players often end up temporarily deadlocked, since the square Go board allows a "four corners" configuration where neither side can strongly connect; however, since players cannot pass, they eventually must start filling in the internal liberties of their groups. The player who has gained the smallest amount of territory usually loses, so building more territory than your opponent is a means of forcing a connection and winning.
Thus, a Gonnect game between similarly skilled-opponents generally unfolds in two stages:
- Board-filling stage – opponents race to connect sides until the position is deadlocked
- Eye-filling stage – players must fill in their own eye space or destroy their opponent's
Opinions on Gonnect
Although Gonnect requires similar tactics to Go, some players feel that Gonnect has a more interesting opening and endgame. Most Go players, however, feel that the eye-filling stage of Gonnect is tedious, and that the game lacks the simple elegance of Go.
References
- http://www.di.fc.ul.pt/~jpn/gv/gonnect.htm
- Browne, Cameron; Neto, João (Summer 2001). Kerry Handscomb, ed. "Gonnect: The Best of Go and Hex". Abstract Games (Carpe Diem Publishing) (6): 17–21. ISSN 1492-0492.