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Although the rules are quite simple (and were the simplest rules in the 2001 8x8 Game Design
Competition), the strategy is complex and sophisticated. Generally, an effective offensive strategy is to recognize and attack "pivotal" pieces which are in positions to block multiple routes to victory. An
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A piece may move into a square containing an opponent's piece if and only if that square is one step diagonally forward. The opponent's piece is removed and the player's piece replaces it. For example, the black piece can capture either the white piece e2 or the one on g2; it would replace them if
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The board is initially set up as shown on the first diagram. To play the game on a different-sized board, just fill the two front and two back rows with pieces; the board need not be square.
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A piece may move one space straight or diagonally forward if the target square is empty. In the second diagram, the white piece on c5 can move into any of the marked squares.
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effective defense is to arrange multiple blocking pieces in a blocking pattern (since a single defending piece can not effectively block a single attacking piece).
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it chose to capture. Note that capturing is not compulsory, nor is it "chained" as in checkers; a player can only capture one piece in a turn.
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420:, even though the game was originally played on a 7x7 board, as it is trivially extensible to larger board sizes.
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Handscomb, Kerry. "8x8 Game Design
Competition: The Winning Game: Breakthrough ...and two other favorites."
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Choose a player to go first; then play alternates, with each player moving one piece per turn.
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This article is about
Breakthrough, the board game. For Breakthru, the board game, see
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724:"Solving Breakthrough with Race Patterns and Job-Level Proof Number Search"
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659:Smaller variants of the game have been solved:
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638:The first player to reach the opponent's
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690:Breakthrough - Designed by Dan Troyka
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25:Breakthrough (disambiguation)
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666:5x5 : second player win
663:6x5 : second player win
16:Abstract strategy board game
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751:Games played on Go boards
694:About: Board / Card Games
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746:Abstract strategy games
713:, Issue 7, Autumn 2001.
711:Abstract Games Magazine
416:file (ZRF). It won the
23:. For other uses, see
21:Breakthru (board game)
722:Saffidine, Abdallah.
393:Initial position.
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414:Zillions of Games
403:abstract strategy
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655:Game Solving
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408:invented by
399:Breakthrough
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735:Categories
674:References
410:Dan Troyka
406:board game
646:Strategy
640:home row
401:is an
424:Rules
692:."
737::
700:^
681:^
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