From: David Litchman <Davel23_at_rcn.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:03:33 -0500

Not only is Mattel's online Othello not very well written, it also
CHEATS! How did the sheep manage to take the lower corner? This is an
unretouched shot:

http://users.rcn.com/davel23/othello2.jpg


At 05:28 PM 2/26/2004 +0000, you wrote:
>LOL - I'm glad it's not just me! I like the way it takes about 15 sconds
>to work out where to go when there is only one square left on the board -
>I had to put a delay loop in mine or the computer moved so quickly you
>ended up feeling like it was permanently your turn - I must say though,
>when I revise the rules (as your next post ("see screenshot") clinches -
>thank you) I quite like the "oponents piece flashes to let you know where
>it went" idea.
>
>I can't believe I have been playing to 'bad' rules for so many years ...I
>wonder if the ZX81 had the "cannot-pass" rule? ...I'm now determined to
>work out where I got it from!
>
>>Oh... my... god... That has to be the SLOWEST Othello game I've ever
>>seen! I don't know if I'll have the patience, but I'll see what I can do.
>>
>>At 04:50 PM 2/26/2004 +0000, you wrote:
>>>I tried and tried to get www.mattelothello.com to put me in a position
>>>where I could not move so I could see what the official game did, but
>>>could not work the board to that position ...fancy giving it a go?
>>>...I'm just curious now!
>>>
>>>Depressing news is that Sheepy can beat C-3 quite soundly - looks like
>>>the AI algorithm could also do with a little work ;)
>>>
>>>>Well, as I said, it's no big deal. I can always count it as a win even
>>>>if the game disagrees. But thanks for writing the game in the first
>>>>place. Othello is one of my favorites, and this is the first really
>>>>good portable version I've found.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>At 06:11 AM 2/26/2004 +0000, you wrote:
>>>>>Yes.
>>>>>
>>>>>First off, what happened is intended - whether it is "right" or not is
>>>>>debatable...
>>>>>
>>>>>However, EVERY set of rules I can find online (first the good bit)
>>>>>agrees with me that the winner is the person with the most pieces
>>>>>irrespective of the end-of-game conditions ...BUT (now the bad bit)
>>>>>they also ALL INSIST on 'pass' IFF you CANNOT move
>>>>>
>>>>>This is MAD, I have played Othel(l)o for years (more than I care to
>>>>>mention) and I have ALWAYS used the ruleset I coded.
>>>>>
>>>>>Well, respect due, yes you have found a flour in the program! It
>>>>>should at least allow pass=on/off. I will look into this at some
>>>>>point - I would normally jump on it and have it fixed inside the day,
>>>>>but having no simulator is a pain ...someone on IRC the other night
>>>>>said they would pick up on the Win32Sim patch, so hopefully they are
>>>>>being succesful ...off to sourceforge to check.... see you on the flip side :)
>>>>>
>>>>>>> > And is he on the list? I've found something, I hesitate to call
>>>>>>> it a bug,
>>>>>>> > rather a misinterpretation of the rules.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>that would be bluechip, but are you sure is isn't a regional type thing?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Well, here's the thing. I played a game against the computer and it
>>>>>>reached a point where it was the computer's turn and the board was
>>>>>>not filled, but there were no spaces that it could place a piece in,
>>>>>>so the game ended. That's fine, I've played variations in which a
>>>>>>player can skip a turn if there's nowhere to go, but it's also not
>>>>>>uncommon to end the game under those circumstances. The problem was
>>>>>>that the computer had more pieces of its color on the board at the
>>>>>>time the game ended so the game awarded the win to the computer. I
>>>>>>know it's not a big deal, but seeing that it was my skill that
>>>>>>maneuvered the computer into not being able to move, I should get the
>>>>>>win. Especially if you consider that if the computer skipped its
>>>>>>turn, I could still make a move.
>>>>>
>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>http://cool.haxx.se/mailman/listinfo/rockbox
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>http://cool.haxx.se/mailman/listinfo/rockbox
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
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>
>_______________________________________________
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Received on 2004-02-26