In The Oxford History of Board Games David Parlett defines "games of linear connection"
as games in which "each [player] in turn places a tile on a bilaterally symmetrical grid of cells or points,
and the winner is the first to connect opposite sides of the board in an unbroken line of pieces." In connection
games such as Hex, Bridg-it, and Twixt a connecting line consists of adjacent pieces of the same color, while other
connection games, such as Dr. Eric Solomon's Thoughtwave, use marks on tiles to form the connection line. Games such
as Thoughtwave "involve flat tiles that can be … part of a linear track … and the aim is to lay tiles in such a way
as to connect opposite sides of the board" (The Oxford History of Board Games).
Everything I have read regarding the origin of connection games lists Hex as the earliest. It was independently
invented twice: it was first invented in the 1940's by Dutch poet and mathematician Piet Hein, and then later by
American mathematician John Nash. The purpose of this article is to present a connection game from the 1890's,
the game of Lightning, produced by Selchow & Richter (better known as the makers of Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit).
The box cover is a beautifully lithographed picture of a man resembling Benjamin Franklin flying a kite which is
being struck by lightning. The cover reads, "Patented March 29, 1892," which is over 50 years before the invention of Hex.
Rules
The game board is divided into two sections, each with its own 8x17 rectangular grid of squares. The pieces for Lightning
consist of 150 tiles. The tiles are the same size as the squares on the board; they are marked on one side and blank on the
other side. There are five distinct types of tile, as shown in Figure 1, and 30 tiles of each type.
Lightning is played by two players, who share the same objective: to build a continuous, unbroken line from one end of
the board to the other along the length of the board, by placing the pieces upon adjoining squares. Each player must
use only his section of the board for his line. A player's line can never connect into his opponent's section of the
board. The two sections must be thought of as completely separate boards. The lines, as they develop, resemble lightning bolts.
To start the game, the tiles are placed face downward on the table and mixed. The players move alternately, each
move consisting of drawing a piece randomly and placing it on the board in such a manner as to carry the player's
line forward to the best advantage. The line may be commenced on any one of the eight squares at the near end of
the board, and its termination may be any one of the eight squares at the further end of the board; but the play must
always be upon the end of the line.
Either player has the privilege of playing the piece he has drawn upon his opponent's line instead of his own if he
so desires, as it may be more advantageous for him to divert or turn back his opponent's line than to extend his own line.
Should it be impossible to play the piece drawn upon either line, or should the player choose not to play it upon
either line, he may leave it face upward upon the table; the pieces thus left turned up forming the "pool."
Instead of drawing a man from the main pile, a player may use one of the pieces in the pool, should it contain any.
The pool may contain one or more pieces, or it may be formed and emptied several times during a game.
By following these directions it will be found possible to carry the line to the side of the board, or against a piece
already played, in such a way that it cannot be extended. When this happens, the line is said to be "blocked." Until
the line is blocked it is said to be "open." For instance, in Figure 2 suppose the game to have proceeded as shown at
A; then the line is blocked, as no further junction is possible at the end. It is also blocked at C, E and H.
A line is not complete unless it is so terminated at the further boundary that it cannot be brought back. In the figure
the line is not finished at G, as it may be continued as shown; but it is complete at J, as no further junction is possible,
and the game is won.
When a line is blocked, a player may make a branch from the point furthest advanced where a junction is possible, or,
if there be more than one such point, at either of them. In the figure it will be seen that it was first necessary to
make a branch at B, and later in the game other branches were started at D, F and I.
The privilege of playing upon your opponent's line may be exercised also in beginning a branch; that is, if your line
is blocked, and it is your opponent's play he may begin your branch, and if there is a choice of points equally far advanced,
he may choose whichever he desires.
It may happen, in endeavoring to reach the goal, that all the squares at the further end of the board may be occupied by men
without having completed the line, in consequence of repeated blocks and diversions of the line. If one side is in this
condition, the other player may still win before completing his line; but should both players fail to complete their lines,
the game is drawn.
Comments
Because the marks on the tiles form the connection line and tiles must be placed adjacent to existing tiles, Lightning is
closer to games such as Thoughtwave than Hex or Twixt. An unusual feature of Lightning is that the players play to accomplish
their objectives on separate boards. In nearly all board games the players share a common board, although there are other
exceptions, such as Salvo or Battleships.
The game of Lightning, while a connection game, is not a "pure" abstract strategy game since the tiles are drawn randomly.
In addition, the only significant decisions to be made are which rotation to use for a tile when placing it on the board
and when to play on the opponent's line. It really is more of a family game. When I first started thinking about the game,
I thought it would make sense to play it more like Hex or Twixt, on a common board with a store of open tiles, allowing
tiles to be placed freely anywhere on the board. After playing a couple of games, though, I do not think it improves the
game to try to convert it into a pure abstract strategy game; play is enhanced by keeping the tiles hidden, and it plays
nicely as it is.
The capabilities and powers of game pieces can have as much to do with the character and quality of a game as the rules of
a game. In this respect, the only design element I might change would be the distribution of the tiles. A tile's "connective
capacity" can be defined as the number of unique points where the line on the tile intersects the vertices or midpoints
of an edge. All rotations of a tile are considered in determining this total. Tiles I, II, and V each have a connective
capacity of four: Tile I has a connecting point at all four midpoints; Tiles II and V have connecting points at all
four vertices. Tiles III and IV each have a connecting point at all four vertices and midpoints, a connective capacity
of eight, twice as much as the other tiles. Tile V, in addition, is special in that the marked line connects a corner
to an adjacent corner. I refer to the fifth tile as a "power tile" because the placement of a power tile accomplishes
the same work in one move as a number of the other tiles. The disparity in the connective capacities of the tiles
warrants an investigation of the distribution of the tiles.
Tiles can be generated for a game we may call Hex-Lightning. Simply take all possibilities where a single arc across a
regular hexagon joins a vertex to a vertex, a side midpoint to a side midpoint, and a side midpoint to a vertex. Reduce
the number of tiles by rotation. Optionally, some of the midpoint-to-midpoint tiles can be eliminated, as the original
game, for example, does not have a tile connecting midpoints of adjacent sides. Two power tiles can be created by
joining vertices with an angled line. The resulting 11 tiles for Hex-lightning are shown in Figure 3.
I have not yet played Hex-Lightning, but, with the larger number of tiles, the game may play nicely with a shared board
and the freedom to place tiles anywhere rather than just at the end of a line.
The late 1800's and early 1900's produced some wonderful games, including Reversi, Halma, L'Attaque, and now Lightning.
They pointed the way to new types of games and redefined the gaming landscape. As more research is conducted and more
games or references to games surface, it will be necessary to revise the family tree of games. I hope you try playing
the game of Lightning. I would appreciate any observations and comments you would care to pass along.
Also, I would like to extend a special thanks to David Galt (mailto:gamepiece@msn.com), inventor of the excellent new card game
Space Dominoes, for his assistance with this article.
Jim Polczynski is an independent consultant in the Artificial Intelligence industry specializing in Knowledge Based Systems.
He earned a master's degree in Computer Science from Villanova University where he completed his thesis on Game Playing Models.
He also spent three years in the doctoral program in Computer Science at Leigh University. He lives with his wife and two
of his children where he is restoring an old train depot to a bed-and-breakfast inn. He is at work on a computer system to
automate the game invention process and also on a book unofficially titled A Modern History of Strategy Games.
Jim first saw Lightning at Sid Sackson's house when Jim was interviewing Sid to receive an annual award from the American
Game Collectors' Association (since renamed the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors). Jim immediately put Lightning
on his "want list" and, as with everything else on this list, kept looking.
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