Hare and Hounds (board game)
- Hare and Hounds (board game)
Hare and Hounds is a two-player strategic, deterministic board game. The game originated in 19th century France, where it is said to have been popular with military officers during the Franco-Prussian War. The game is also known as the French Military Game.
Rules of the game
*One player represents the three Hounds, which try to corner the other player's Hare as it seeks to win by escaping them.
*Each player can move one step in each turn. The Hounds can only move forward or diagonally (left to right) or vertically (up and down). The Hare can move in any direction.
*The Hounds win if they "trap" the Hare so it can no longer move.
*The Hare wins if it "escapes" (gets to the left of all the Hounds).
*If the Hounds move vertically ten moves in a row, they are considered to be "stalling" and the Hare wins.
Analysis and modern implementations
Hare and Hounds is a classic example of the type of game studied in combinatorial game theory, giving it some similarities to checkers (draughts), Go, Fox and Geese and other such games. Mathematician Martin Gardner stated that Hare and Hounds "combines extreme simplicity with extraordinary strategic subtlety" in his "Mathematical Games" column in "Scientific American" magazine.
As the rules of the game are simple to program, there are many electronic implementations of the game. Online versions are usually written in Java.
External links
* [http://www.mazeworks.com/hounds/index.htm Java implementation of Hare and Hounds at MazeWorks]
* [http://www.huffmancoding.com/code/fmg/index.html Java implementation of the French Military Game]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Hare and Hounds — may refer to: *Paper Chase (aka: Hare Hounds) A running race laying where a hare leaves a trail of paper to follow. *Hare and Hound (Motorcycle Race) An off road motorcycle race *Hare and Hounds (Board Game) A simple boardgame where 3 hounds… … Wikipedia
Hare games — are two player abstract strategy games that were popular in medievel northern Europe up until the 19th. century. In this game, a dog is trying to get pass three hares who are trying to surround it and trap it. The three hares are represented by… … Wikipedia
Catch the Hare — is a two player abstract strategy game from Europe, and perhaps specifically from Spain. It is a hunt game, and since it uses an Alquerque board, it is specifically a tiger hunt game (or tiger game). In some variants, some or all of the diagonal… … Wikipedia
Jeu du lièvre et du chien — La position de départ du jeu. Le jeu du lièvre et du chien[1] est un jeu de stratégie combinatoire abstrait à deux joueurs. Son invention remonte au Moyen Âge. Il était populaire parmi les forces armées françaises lors de la guerre fra … Wikipédia en Français
Pub names — The sign of the Saracen s Head in Broad Street, Bath, England … Wikipedia
Motorcycle racing — Two motorcycles racing at Lydden Highest governing body FIM First played November 29, 1895 Characteristics Mixed gende … Wikipedia
Sport in Macau — Macau residents participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation and competition. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, jogging, swimming, table tennis, and badminton are among the most popular in the community. Local leagues and competitions are … Wikipedia
Martin Gardner — Born October 21, 1914(1914 10 21) Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Died May 22, 2010(2010 05 22) (aged 95) … Wikipedia
Radio-frequency identification — (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag, called RFID tag or label, attached to an object, through a reader for the purpose of identifying and tracking the object. Some RFID tags can be read from… … Wikipedia
Drowning by Numbers — film poster Directed by Peter Greenaway Produced by … Wikipedia
