if unable to sleep try reading this lol

[cosmo]

i know rubins loves long posts so this is for him lol

1. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of:

requiring that the two or more players take turns for being an active player that is allowed to move one or more of the active player's pieces;
allowing the active player to move or position the active player's pieces in a way that manipulates by pushing or pulling an opposing player's pieces, wherein the opposing player's pieces are pieces that belong to an opposing player that is one of the two or more players other than the active player; and wherein:
pushing is a push move that comprises using a one of the active player's pieces to push a one of the opposing player's pieces out of a first space and into a second unoccupied space, and then moving the one of the active player's pieces into the first space; and
pulling is a pull move that comprises moving a one of the active player's pieces out of a third space and into a fourth unoccupied space, and then using the one of the active player's pieces to pull a one of the opposing player's pieces into the third space.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of manipulating the opposing player's pieces further comprises the step of:

using a one of the active player's pieces to freeze a one of the opposing player's pieces, thereby preventing movement of the one of the opposing player's pieces by the opposing player.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece unfreezes or otherwise prevents freezing of the one piece.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the game board further comprises one or more spaces that are designated as trap spaces; and the method further comprises the step of:

removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the two or more players; such that protecting a one piece prevents removal of the one piece when the one piece is in a one of the one or more trap spaces.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

limiting the step of manipulating the opposing player's pieces such that a one of the active player's pieces in a third space manipulates only a one of the opposing player's pieces in a fourth space provided that the fourth space is adjacent to the third space.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of:

further defining adjacent spaces as spaces that are orthogonally adjacent, row-wise or column-wise.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

assigning a type to each one of the pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type, and the varieties are at least visually distinguishable for all of the two or more players;
predetermining a strength value for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; and
allowing only stronger pieces to manipulate weaker pieces.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the steps of:

assigning a first row, a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players;
during the first turn of the game, each active player determining an initial setup for the active player's pieces wherein the active player's pieces are arranged in the spaces within the active player's first row and second row; and
completing an instance of playing the strategic board game wherein one of the two or more players wins by being the first one of the two or more players to move a one of the winning player's weakest pieces to the goal row assigned to the winning player.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

during one turn, allowing the active player to move or cause to move one or more of the pieces a total of one to four turn steps, wherein a turn step comprises a piece being moved from one space to any adjacent unoccupied space;
determining that a push move or a pull move uses two of the turn steps in a turn; and
requiring that a push move or a pull move must be completed within one turn.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of:

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

requiring that a first push move or pull move must be completed before a second push move or pull move can be performed.
13. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of:

allowing the active player to move or position the active player's pieces in a way that manipulates by using a one of the active player's pieces to freeze a one of an opposing player's pieces, thereby preventing movement of the one of the opposing player's pieces by the opposing player; wherein the opposing player is one of the two or more players other than the active player;
assigning a type to each one of the pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type and the varieties are at least visually distinguishable for all of the two or more players;
predetermining a strength value for each one of the least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; and
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the game board further comprises one or more spaces that are designated as trap spaces; and the method further comprises the step of:

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the steps of:

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

during one turn, allowing the active player to move or cause to move one or more of the pieces a total of one to four turn steps, wherein a turn step comprises a piece being moved from one space to any adjacent unoccupied space.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of:

21. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to designate spaces such that pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of:

designating one or more spaces as trap spaces by visibly marking the trap spaces;
allowing a player to move a piece into a trap space;
removing from the game a first one of a player's pieces that is on a trap space only if no second one of the same player's pieces is in a space that is adjacent to the trap space occupied by the first one of the player's pieces; and
specifying that a first one of the player's pieces on a trap space will not be removed from the game only if a second one of the same player's pieces is in a space that is adjacent to the trap space occupied by the first one of the player's pieces.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the game board comprises a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns; and the method further comprises the step of:

23. A strategic board game apparatus for playing a strategic board game by two or more players, the apparatus comprising:

a game board that is gridded to designate an array of spaces;
pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein the pieces can be positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; and
one or more spaces that are identifiable as trap spaces for removing from the game a piece that is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces:
the apparatus further comprising:
a type that is assigned to each one of the pieces belonging to each of the two or more players, wherein there are at least two varieties of type and the varieties are at least visually distinguishable for all of the two or more players; and
a strength value that is predetermined for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece; such that:
a one player's piece is only allowed to manipulate weaker pieces that belong to an other one of the two or more players, wherein manipulation comprises one piece causing or preventing movement of another piece;
and wherein:
the game board further comprises a rectangular array of sixty-four orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in eight rows and eight columns; and
the one or more trap spaces consist of four spaces, being spaces located at intersections of a third and sixth of the eight rows with a third and sixth of the eight columns.
24. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game is played by two or more players on a game board that is gridded to form a rectangular array of orthogonally adjacent spaces arranged in rows and columns such that pieces that are identifiable as belonging to each of the two or more players are positioned within, and moved among, the spaces; the method comprising the steps of:

predetermining a strength value for each one of the at least two varieties of type, wherein the strength value is selected from a hierarchy of strength values from weak to strong, such that when a first piece having a first type with a first strength value is compared to a second piece having a second type with a second strength value, if the first strength value is stronger than the second strength value, then the first piece is a stronger piece relative to the second piece which is a weaker piece relative to the first piece;
assigning a first row, and a second row, and a goal row for each one of the two or more players, such that each player's goal row is the row that is farthest away from the player's first row and second row;
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

designating one or more spaces as trap spaces;
removing a piece from the game only when the piece is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces; and
26. The method of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

allowing the active player to move or position the active player's pieces in a way that manipulates an opposing player's pieces, wherein the opposing player's pieces are pieces that belong to an opposing player that is one of the two or more players other than the active player;
designating one or more spaces as trap spaces, and removing a piece from the game when the piece is moved into a one of the one or more trap spaces; and
providing means for any one of the two or more players to protect a piece that belongs to the one of the more players; such that protecting a one piece prevents removal of the one piece when the one piece is in a one of the one or more trap spaces.
27. The method of claim 26 further comprising the steps of:

specifying a movement pattern for each type of piece wherein all movement patterns comprise stepwise movement from a first space to an unoccupied second space that is orthogonally adjacent to the first space;
limiting the step of manipulating the opposing player's pieces such that a one of the active player's pieces in a third space manipulates only a one of the opposing player's pieces in a fourth space provided that the fourth space is orthogonally adjacent to the third space;
during one turn, requiring the active player to move, or by means of manipulation cause to move, one or more of the pieces a total of one to four turn steps, wherein a turn step comprises a piece being moved from one space to any orthogonally adjacent unoccupied space; and
requiring that manipulation causing movement of the opposing player's piece must be accompanied within the same turn by corresponding causative movement by the active player's piece.
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of:

controlling an instance of playing the strategic board game by using time controls that comprise:
a turn time (M) that is the number of minutes:seconds allowed per active player's turn;
a player's reserve time (R) that is the number of minutes:seconds in a reserve maintained for each of the 2 or more players, for allowing extra time for the active player's turn;
a percentage (P) that is the percent of unused turn time that is added to the reserve when the active player declares completion of the active player's turn;
a reserve limit (L) that is an upper limit for the number of minutes:seconds in the reserve;
a maximum turn time (T) that is the number of minutes:seconds within which the active player must complete the active player's turn; and
a game limit (G) that is the number of hour:minutes, or the number of turns, after which the instance of game playing is halted and the winner is determined by a scoring system; wherein:
the active player loses the instance of game playing whenever the active player fails to complete a turn within a total of the turn time plus the active player's reserve time (M+R), or within the maximum turn time (T), whichever amount of time is less; and
when the active player completes the turn in less than the turn time, then the remaining amount of turn time is added to the active player's reserve time as determined by multiplying the percentage (P) times the remaining turn time, the total time in the active player's reserve time being limited to the reserve limit.
29. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of:

using a scoring system to determine a winner for an incomplete instance of game playing, such that a one player having the highest Score is declared the winner, the scoring system comprising:
a Score tallied for each of the two or more players such that a player's Score equals a sum of Weakest-type Points (Rp) plus the product of Piece Points (P) times the sum of a Weakest-type Count (C) plus one, expressed in an equation as Score=Rp+P*(C+1); wherein:
the Weakest-type Points equal a sum of cubed row values for each one of the player's weakest pieces, wherein each row value is a number assigned to the row to which the one of the player's weakest pieces has progressed, and the row value number assignments consist of sequential integers that increase from the integer 1 as rows are counted from the player's first row, having a row value of 1, to the player's goal row;
the Weakest-type Count equals the number of weakest pieces that the player has on the game board; and
the Piece Points equal a sum of piece type values for each of the pieces that the player has on the game board, wherein the piece type values are predetermined and increase with the strength value of the type.

[ruben87]

Omg