HELP:QUESTION TIME:What is the official I.S.F. rule?

[acerimmer]

Hi
I wonder if anyone with experience could answer my question?

I was looking on the I.S.F.website trying to find out what was the official
rule for my question, but unfortunatly i found it unclear as to my question.

So please can anyone tell give me the answer?

My question is: If the last piece of each army is of equal rank and these 2 pieces are traded off. (Thus no-one has any pieces left) IS THIS A DRAW?

or does the person whose turn it is next ....LOSE?


In my opinion i always thought of this as a draw!
But could anyone give me the official answer?

Thanks

Ace

[stratego]

hi ace,

its long ago that we create the rules, but i think i can answere your question. by the way, this question belongs to a bundle of questions we discussed very carefully. of course always from the view of boardgames WITH bronstein clocks. (this is very important)

1. both players trade last piece. (f.e. last scout beats last scout)

this is a 100% draw. it doesnt matter that the player, who must play next move, cannot move anymore. (the game ends with trading)

2. both players trade last piece, but player b has a serg. in bombs.

player a beats with last cap the last (free) cap from player b. player a has only bombs and flag. player b is next to move, but cannot move. his serg. is in bombs. its also a draw.

3. same like example 2 but player a has a serg. in bombs.

in all examples both players can call an arbiter for proofing if a player can make a legal move. lets say, player b trades last piece. player a has a serg. in bombs. normaly if you dont proof, player a wins. he has a piece more. but calling an arbiter will clear that the serg. is able to move. if not its a draw.

4. special rule for board games with bronstein clock. (always at isf tourneys)

we had the prob, that players try a little trick. they wait, till the main time of the game was nearly over. (last second) then they beat with last moveable piece blind, hoping to get the flag. if it is a bomb, the main time was over and it was a draw. if they beat flag, they win.

we changed this. if a player beats with last piece and finds bomb he loose. it doesnt matter, if the main time ends in the same second. so its up to the player to risk it or not. but its a 50-50 now between a loss and a win.

5. generelly its a draw, if both players cannot move anymore. it doesnt matter if one player has a piece left. (arbiter check) he must be able to make a legal move. because of this you can create some strange situations. lets say you move 5 times between 2 squares. then last pieces trade. now (because of bombs you can only move back to the square you moved 5 times.) this would be 6th time, so no legal move - its a draw.

i am a little surprised, that you dont find this at isf rules. maybe you look at wrong rule. i will check were to find the answere within the rules.

greetings
Stratego

[stratego]

hi again,

i copy all responsible rules. its mentioned in several rules.

greetings
Stratego

------------------------------------

12 The end of the Match

12.1 A game ends when:
- one of the flags is captured

- at least one of the players has no movable piece anymore.
(this means the game ends - no one can or must move anymore)

- A movable piece is a piece that still has at least one legal
move. Note: according to the Two-Squares Rule it is not
allowed to move between two squares for a sixth time, even
if this square is theoretically empty and the piece is not
threatening an other piece! This can be important in case of
one last ‘movable’ piece.when the main playing time is over

- (if played with clocks) when at least one of the player’s
personal time on the clock has run out, and this is mentioned
by one of the players,when both players agree that the game
is over,

- when the arbiter decides that the game is over.

12.2 A player wins the match when:
- he succeeds to capture his opponent’s flag

- only the opponent has no movable pieces anymore

- the opponent surrenders

- the arbiter declares the match won

- (that is: lost by the opponent, for instance by receiving a red
card. Note that it is also possible that the arbiter declares
that both players lose).

- when only the personal time on the clock of the opponent has
run out, and the player mentions it.

12.3 A match ends in draw when:

- at the end of the official playing the match has not ended yet

- both players agree to a draw

- the arbiter declares the game a draw

- both players have no movable pieces anymore

- both personal times on the clock have run out and this is
mentioned by at least one of both players.

[acerimmer]

Hi Stratego

Thanks for answering the question i set!

I looked on the I.S.F. website and found 12.1 but couldnt find 12.3 at the time.
I have found it now!

Thanks again for answering this tricky question!

Regards

ACE