RingStones Lite - 1.3
RingStones is a modern version of the very ancient game of Nim. In classic Nim, the game stats with several heaps or rows of objects. The players alternate taking objects from the piles, until they are all gone. Depending on the version of the game, the winner is either the person who takes the last object, or who forces the other player to take the last one.
In RingStones, the winner leaves the last stone for the other player. This is known as a "misère" game, and is slightly more complex than the normal version.
Circular Nim is somewhat more involved than the conventional form, since the number of object heaps grows during play. In standard Nim, the number of heaps can only decrease.
RingStones Lite differs from the Full version in 2 ways:
You can only play against the Computer opponent. It plays well, but NOT perfectly. What's the fun in playing an opponent that will beat, or at best, tie you every time? That's like playing tic-tac-toe against the machine - the novelty wears off very quickly. Think of this opponent as a trainer, getting you into shape to play against other humans in the full version.
Even with these minor limitations, it's fun to play and hone your strategy. As time goes on, I'll be increasing the intelligence of the AI. to keep the play interesting.
There is an informative article on Nim in
Wikipedia.
Change History:
Vers. 1.0 - Initial Release. Playable, especially if you read these pages.
Vers. 1.1 - Up and Down ring changes will no longer wrap - make s it easier to change rings. Also, the number of stones in the rings can vary somewhat.
Vers. 1.2 - Added some new tricks to the AI - should be more of a challenge now.
Vers 1.3 - Even tougher AI, cleaned up the stone spacing a bit
How to play
Opening screen
Here's the first screen you will see after launching the game. In the Lite version, you can not select Two Player mode.
You can select who goes first - you or the Computer.
And how many rings to play with. The Lite version allows you 1 or 2.
Press the Start button to begin a game, or the Scores button to go to the stats page.
Press the MENU button to access an explanation of the rules.
First turn
Here the Computer is taking the first turn of the game. The chosen stones are briefly highlighted, then removed. It will be your turn next...