Plateau (game)
| 300px Game pieces and board. | |
| Designers | Jim Albea |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Plateau Co. |
| Players | 2 |
| Setup time | < 5 minutes |
| Playing time | 30 minutes |
| Chance | None |
| Skills | Tactics, Strategy, Bluffing |
Plateau is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Jim Albea.
History
The game was developed over a two year period culminating in its present form on May 12, 1986. The original name for the game was Pinnacle, but it was discovered that an older board/card game had that name, so around 1989 the name was changed to Plateau.
From the 1980's through the 1990's Plateau was played at Science Fiction conventions mostly in the Southeastern United States. From the 1990's to the present, the game is played live at an online game site and via email. In 1997 a computer implementation of the game was created which facilitates email play and has a computer robot.
Plateau is self published by Jim Albea.
Rules
This is a paraphrasing of the Official Rules which can be seen on the PlateauGame.com web site.
Goal
The object of the game is to win either by building a stack of six of your pieces on the board, or by capturing six of your opponent's pieces.
Equipment
A 4x4 square board and each player has 12 color-coded disks.
Opening Move
left|thumb|Typical opening moves Black moves first by picking out two of his pieces and placing them in a stack on the perimeter of the board. White does the same on a different perimeter square.
Subsequent Moves
Players alternate moves. A move can be one of three types:
1. Onboard a new piece. Onboarding is adding one new piece to the play.
2. Move a stack already on the board.
3. Exchange captured pieces.
Onboarding
Onboarding is adding one new piece to the play. This new piece can be placed anywhere that doesn't directly harm an opposing piece. For instance you can onboard to any blank square or on top of any of your own pieces. The majority of Plateau moves are Onboards.
Movement direction
The direction that pieces move is determined by the color that is facing up. Some of the pieces have different markers on their two sides. Those pieces can be flipped over at the start of a move, which changes the direction they can travel.
When a piece has a blue side showing it moves diagonally.
When a piece has a red side showing it moves orthogonally (or straight).
When a piece has a blank side showing it can move either diagonally or orthogonally.
When the orange marker is showing the piece moves in a crooked fashion. It moves one square straight and one square diagonally. It follows this path regardless of the height of the stack.
Movement distance
A stack moves in a straight line up to one space for each piece in the stack. As a stack is moving it can pick-up and drop-off friendly pieces from the bottom of the stack in any combination. If it drops-off pieces on opposing pieces then they become pinned, which means that they cannot move. A stack can jump over any pieces as it moves.
BEFORE: In this example white starts with a stack of four pieces.
AFTER: White moves three spaces dropping pieces off along the way.
BEFORE: In this example white starts with a two-stack and a three-stack.
AFTER: White moves two spaces picking up the three-stack as it passes over.
Capturing pieces
Pieces with a color marker facing up can capture opposing pieces. You capture pieces by landing a stack on top of them. One piece is captured for each piece that lands on top. Captured pieces are removed from the board and become Prisoners. When a stack performs a capture it has to stop its movement on that square. Captured pieces are returned to the opposing player in a Prisoner Exchange.
BEFORE: In this example white has a two-stack with a weapon on top and black has a two-stack sitting on the next square.
AFTER: White moves on top of black and captures two pieces.
BEFORE: In this example there are three stacks on the board. White has a two-stack with a weapon visible and a single on the next square. Black has a two-stack that is pinning a white piece which is in turn pinning a black piece.
AFTER: White moves the two-stack two spaces picking up the single white piece along the way. This gives white three pieces when he begins the capture of black's pieces. Since he starts the capture with three pieces he captures three pieces.
The Pieces
Each player has 12 color coded pieces:
Four Mutes, which are blank on both sides. Mutes are worth 1 point in prisoner exchanges.
Two Blues, which are blue on both sides. Blues are worth 4 points in prisoner exchanges.
Two Reds, which are red on both sides. Reds are worth 5 points in prisoner exchanges.
One Blue Mask which is blue on one side and blank on the other side. Blue masks are worth 8 points in prisoner exchanges.
One Red Mask which is red on one side and blank on the other. Red masks are worth 10 points in prisoner exchanges.
One Twister which is Orange on one side and blank on the other. Twisters are worth 15 points in prisoner exchanges.
One Ace, which is red on one side and blue on the other. Aces are worth 21 points in prisoner exchanges.
Prisoner Exchange
Instead of Onboarding or Moving a player can choose to spend his turn exchanging prisoners. Prisoners are exchanged using the point values of the pieces. A simple value-for-value system is used. Since the pieces range in value from 1 point (for the mute) to 21 points (for the Ace) there are usually several combinations and options available for the players.
The player initiating the exchange selects the pieces he wishes to exchange. These pieces will all add up to some point value. The responding player then has four options depending on the point values of the prisoners that he holds.
- Option 1: Give an equal value. If he has a combination of values that exactly equals the value being tendered then he has exchange those pieces, or exchange a higher value if he wants to.
- Option 2: Give a greater value. If he has any combinatioin of values higher than the value being tendered he always has the option of exchanging a higher value.
- Option 3: Give the next lower value. If he doesn't have an exact match and chooses not to give a higher value, then he must exchange the next value below the value being tendered.
- Optioin 4: Refuse the excahnge. If he doesn't have an equal value, doesn't have a lower value, and doesn't wish to exchange a higher value then he can refuse the exchange.
Hidden information
Hidden information in the game consists of the true nature of the underside of pieces that have been onboarded. This information is revealed in the course of the game as pieces are flipped, captured, and onboarded.
The rule that controls this flow of information is called the "One Hand Rule": Any manipulations of pieces must be done with one hand in full view of the opponent. For instance if you onboard a piece inside one of your stacks you must do it in three steps: 1. Take pieces off the top (which displays the nature of the top of the next piece down). 2. Place your onboarded piece on the stack (which reveals the top of that piece). 3. Return the upper pieces to the stack.
Before play begins and throughout the game you position your unplayed pieces such that the opponent can't see them. The game box is used as a shielding wall for this purpose.
You can not inspect your opponents uncaptured pieces. When pieces are captured they can be freely inspected by both players.
General
If a player has no legal moves, then his turn is forfeited. A draw can be called by mutual agreement of the players.
Strategy
General tips and hints:
Onboard instead of moving. If you don't get your forces into play by Onboarding, you won't be able to do anything. A move that doesn't capture is usually wasted.
Guard your power pieces. The power pieces are the four pieces that have a different marker on their two sides. When you lose a power piece, the lopsided point value will cripple you in a prisoner exchange. Once a power piece has been captured, or even revealed, the other pieces can't pretend to be it.
Watch out for tall units. An unthreatened 4-unit wins - if you fail to threaten a 4-unit, your opponent next onboards to it, making it a 5-unit. Whatever you do on your turn, he then onboards piece Number 6 for the win.
Count weapons. You can garner lots of information. For example, there can be at most four red markers showing at any time - two Reds, the Red Mask, and the red side of the Ace. If you see three red markers, one must be a power piece. This is equally true of blues. Once a mask has been revealed, none of the blanks on the board can be that mask.
Bluff. It preserves your real weapons and is often just as powerful.
Significance of Pieces:
Mutes
The Mute has much mobility but no firepower. Its mobility makes it good when forming a six-stack. Its cheapness makes it a great decoy, especially when bluffing as a Mask. If your opponent takes the Mute/blank, he may be capturing a mask. If not, he risks it turning into a weapon later. Used well, the Mutes give the intimidation value of seven Masks (three real ones and four Mutes bluffing as Masks). Mutes also make great stack-stuffers. Onboard them inside and under units, giving greater reach and capturing power. In a way, there are only two kinds of pieces in Plateau: the Mutes and The Rest. To become skillful, one must become skillful playing the Mutes.
Reds
The red marker is the core of Plateau weaponry. A Red can be maneuvered to attack any square on the board. Its lines of influence (the lines along which it travels) are always four squares long, while the Blues' lines of influence vary in length from two squares to four. This movement versatility makes red weapons more useful than their blue counterparts. Any red marker, regular or Mask, can bluff as the Ace until that piece is revealed.
Blues
Blue markers are the least powerful weapons. Their movement is limited to diagonals, so a Blue can access only half of the squares on the board. Since a Blue is blue on both sides, it can't be flipped for repositioning. But Blues are weapons and can capture and pin as well as any Red. Their low point value makes them excellent cheap "formation busters".
The Masks: Red, Blue, and Twister
These three power pieces are weapons of total mobility. The regular weapons move only along their lines of influence. A Mask attacks on its line of influence but with its blank side up can move in any direction. A Mask is most useful as an instrument of stealth, so Masks should usually be Onboarded "face down", concealing their identity. When played in concert with the Mutes, they keep the opponent guessing by multiplying the number of "potential" Masks you have on the board.
The Twister, because of its crooked path, can attack any of the other pieces without itself being attacked. It is often thought of as the "Ace Slayer" and rightly so. It is often just as valuable. The Twister is the mobile of the mobile - almost impossible to pin down even on such a small board.
The Masks are dangerous for your opponent because they contain hidden threats and dangerous for you because they have large point values. Once lost, they can be impossible to buy back unless you have a similarly valuable piece to exchange.
The Ace
The Ace is the most powerful piece in Plateau, as reflected in its value of 21 points. Many games are won or lost depending on how the Aces are played. The longer an Ace goes unrevealed, the longer other weapons can pretend to be it, and the longer it stays out of danger. Give it up for commensurate gain. Avoid a "chase the Ace" scenario where your opponent onboards while you move your Ace to keep it safe.
Concept of AfterMath
The key forced situation in Plateau is the Prisoner Exchange. It is almost always to your advantage to force your opponent to exchange prisoners so that he will not lose the game by losing six captured pieces.
When players are well matched, the game proceeds as a series of prisoner exchanges. The key to winning is to emerge from exchanges with an advantage. There are three principles to follow:
1.Force your opponent to initiate the exchange. You get to move twice, gaining a deployment advantage. Force an exchange by getting and staying at least one up in captured pieces. Eventually you will have four pieces and your opponent will have three (or fewer). The game will change radically when you capture the fifth piece. You will have many options and your opponent will have few, which will degrade rapidly to one - a prisoner exchange.
2.Exchange favorably. The optimum situation is to both force an exchange and exact a favorable piece count in the exchange. This can only be accomplished if you have lost lower value pieces in captures and have gained higher value opponent pieces. This means that you should use the power pieces sparringly.
3.Maintain onboard piece count. Toward this end, one should only onboard or capture, especially in early stages; never move a unit without capturing. If you force your opponent to initiate exchanges, you should eventually have more pieces on the board.
Concept of "infomodity"
Treat information as a commodity: give up less than, and get more than, your opponent. Evaluate every move as to how it affects information. When you have more information, you have more options. For example, an offboard Mask has many options. When onboarded, it has fewer options (can't be onboarded elsewhere). When revealed, it has drastically fewer (can't pretend to be other pieces, making moves as if it were those pieces), and when captured it has none at all.
Onboard your pieces to gain information. If your opponent flips a power piece to to capture a Mute, for example, you have gained valuable information while giving up very little.
Guard your information. Don't flip a Mask or Ace for some short range good; wait for the big kill. Occasionally play a Blue when the Ace would be much better. Onboard a Mask with its weapon facing up. Onboard the Ace at the bottom of a stack, to be dropped later on a deadly destination. Play the Mutes. You must seem as if you're actively pursuing goals that in reality are fictitious, while surreptitiously pursuing others. Remember your opponent doesn't know what is on the bottom of a piece before you flip it over, and he doesn't know what pieces you have or haven't played.
The Kosinski Opening
The Hammond Method
External links
- PlateauGame.com - The official Plateau Game site
- Play Plateau online at Boardspace.net, against human or robot opponents.
- Plateau at BoardGameGeek