STRATIC
Home • Created 2020/4/20 • Updated 2025/1/5 • v0.8 • Read time 9min • Discord
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About
Stratic is a strategy board game designed to stop AI from outperforming humans. I made
Stratic so we could test AI edge cases as well as human cognitive limits. There is also
a very simple resource management function so Stratic technically qualifies as a
tactics-level wargame.
To clarify how this combats traditional AI engines: Stratic is computationally non-trivial. The board continually grows in size, the number of pieces on the board increases instead of decreases over time, players have imperfect information as there are no preset starting formations, new pieces can be placed randomly on the board, and the game is designed to continue potentially indefinitely, with no asymptotic difficulty limit. This means the state-space complexity, game tree size, and decision tree size are all infinite. Things like genetic algos (demonstrated by Hexapawn +) are thwarted as there aren't a finite or closed number of endstates to the games (you can't calculate Stratic end-states in finite time).
To clarify how this combats modern AI engines: we are working on implementing mechanics to stop DNNs from being able to use scaling effectively by making use of cryptographically non-trivial things like VDFs to force realtime delays and incentivize engines to train as slowly as possible. If that doesn't work, then at least the neural net will be only as good as humans.
We have a bot for Stratic on our Discord and soon we will have a web-end as well (this page you are on now will become a portal for playing the game) so you can play it online like most other strategy board games. Here is a link to a gdoc showing a recent game.
To clarify how this combats traditional AI engines: Stratic is computationally non-trivial. The board continually grows in size, the number of pieces on the board increases instead of decreases over time, players have imperfect information as there are no preset starting formations, new pieces can be placed randomly on the board, and the game is designed to continue potentially indefinitely, with no asymptotic difficulty limit. This means the state-space complexity, game tree size, and decision tree size are all infinite. Things like genetic algos (demonstrated by Hexapawn +) are thwarted as there aren't a finite or closed number of endstates to the games (you can't calculate Stratic end-states in finite time).
To clarify how this combats modern AI engines: we are working on implementing mechanics to stop DNNs from being able to use scaling effectively by making use of cryptographically non-trivial things like VDFs to force realtime delays and incentivize engines to train as slowly as possible. If that doesn't work, then at least the neural net will be only as good as humans.
We have a bot for Stratic on our Discord and soon we will have a web-end as well (this page you are on now will become a portal for playing the game) so you can play it online like most other strategy board games. Here is a link to a gdoc showing a recent game.
Pieces, Movement, & Rules
There are three ways to win in Stratic, either capture the opponent's Stone piece
(similar to checkmating the king in chess), have control of the midboard zone during
a board expansion round, or by opponent surrender. Attrition is a real strategy we
encourage, meaning the games can continue forever and get exponentially more complicated
over time — it is up to the player to win outright or test their will by simply never
quiting.
There are five kinds of pieces, named after the shapes they can make with their movement: Crescents, Wheels, Orthos, Asters, and Stones. There is only one Stone on the board per player and the game is over when it is captured. The board also starts with one Aster on each side. You must place at least one Cresent, at least one Wheel, and exactly two Orthos when starting. Starting formations have 19 pieces when completed. 19 was chosen for the starting formations since you can't score 19 in cribbage and an odd number of pieces on an even board works out well in the meta. Players do not know each other's placements until starting the game. You can only move a piece onto a square if it is empty or if you are capturing a piece that is currently positioned there.
CRESCENT: can move 1 space forward, to the sides, or forward-diagonals, meaning they can move one square in any direction except backwards. Crescents can be promoted to a Wheel or an Ortho if they move past the opponent's starting line. Crescents are worth 1 point.
WHEEL: jumps two squares in any direction, landing two spaces away from its starting position. Wheels can also jump to the squares that knights move to in chess (making an 'L' shape). This is the only piece that can move past other pieces that might be in its way. If a Wheel captures a piece by way of diagonal movement, the Wheel may make a second capture on the same turn if one is possible; this results in only the first piece returning as a reinforcement (see reinforcement rules below). Wheels are worth 2 points.
ORTHO: can move as many squares as they want orthogonally (meaning in the four cardinal directions). Orthos are worth 4 points.
ASTER: unlimited linear movement in any of the eight possible directions (like an eight-pointed star or asterisk). Asters are worth 6 points.
STONE: cannot move on its own. A Stone can only move if it is swapped with an allied piece that had the Stone in its range. Stones cannot be moved through or into threatened squares, the same as kings in Chess. Unlike Chess, Stones do not have to move when threatened with capture. This is due to the way draws occur in Stratic (see rules on draws below). Stones also have a special function as an anchor for new pieces; if your Stone moves beyond the starting line, reinforcement pieces can be placed in unoccupied adjacent squares. Stones are worth 1 point.
Turns in Stratic allow the movement of only one piece at a time, with turns alternating between players. There is no zugzwang, meaning you do not have to move if you don't want to, including during your very first turn of the game. You can indefinitely pass your turn if you desire. This is to allow battles of attrition and lets you wait to see how your opponent develops their pieces. If you pass on three turns in a row, you get an Aster reinforcement piece (which resets the zugzwang count). This is the only way to get new Asters in the game.
The board refers to the 10x10 grid the pieces start on. Starting formations can only be placed within a 2-row space on one of the opposing ends of the board and the space this occurs in is demarcated by the colored 'starting lines'. The 'midboard' is the rectangular space between the two starting lines; it is static and does not grow with board expansion. The 'trough' or 'trench' is the horizontal space between the two starting lines which does grow with board expansion.
Expansion refers to the growth of the board in every direction by one unit (inspired by the fictional game Prosfair). Expansion occurrs after 20 rounds pass (fourty turns total), and again after another 40 rounds, then 60, then 80, and so on. The reason for this irregular expansion is to quickly grow the board in the beginning of the game and then slow the growth for the mid-to-late game. Infinite expansion occurs in the official game, but that is not possible on physical boards so we limit physical boards to an expansion range of four (ending at 18x18 squares total).
Reinforcements are new pieces placed on the board after the game has started (like Shogi). There are three ways to gain reinforcement pieces. The first is by capturing an opponent's piece — if you capture one of your oppenent's pieces during your turn, you can place that piece back on the board during the same turn. The second way to gain new pieces happens during board expansions — when the board expands, the difference in pieces between the players, divided by two and rounded down, is given to the player with less pieces. The third way to gain a new piece occurs if you pass three turns in a row, gaining you an Aster.
When you gain a reinforcement piece by capture or board expansion, the new piece being placed can only be a Crescent or Wheel. Reinforcements can be placed anywhere behind your starting line. If your Stone is past your starting line, you can also place reinforcement pieces within one square of your Stone, as long as the square is unoccupied. If you place a Crescent in a position that would also allow for promotion, you may also promote that piece on the same turn.
You do not get additional time during your turn to place reinforcements, they must be placed after any other movements that turn. If you do not place your reinforcement pieces before your time runs out, they are lost.
There are five kinds of pieces, named after the shapes they can make with their movement: Crescents, Wheels, Orthos, Asters, and Stones. There is only one Stone on the board per player and the game is over when it is captured. The board also starts with one Aster on each side. You must place at least one Cresent, at least one Wheel, and exactly two Orthos when starting. Starting formations have 19 pieces when completed. 19 was chosen for the starting formations since you can't score 19 in cribbage and an odd number of pieces on an even board works out well in the meta. Players do not know each other's placements until starting the game. You can only move a piece onto a square if it is empty or if you are capturing a piece that is currently positioned there.
CRESCENT: can move 1 space forward, to the sides, or forward-diagonals, meaning they can move one square in any direction except backwards. Crescents can be promoted to a Wheel or an Ortho if they move past the opponent's starting line. Crescents are worth 1 point.
WHEEL: jumps two squares in any direction, landing two spaces away from its starting position. Wheels can also jump to the squares that knights move to in chess (making an 'L' shape). This is the only piece that can move past other pieces that might be in its way. If a Wheel captures a piece by way of diagonal movement, the Wheel may make a second capture on the same turn if one is possible; this results in only the first piece returning as a reinforcement (see reinforcement rules below). Wheels are worth 2 points.
ORTHO: can move as many squares as they want orthogonally (meaning in the four cardinal directions). Orthos are worth 4 points.
ASTER: unlimited linear movement in any of the eight possible directions (like an eight-pointed star or asterisk). Asters are worth 6 points.
STONE: cannot move on its own. A Stone can only move if it is swapped with an allied piece that had the Stone in its range. Stones cannot be moved through or into threatened squares, the same as kings in Chess. Unlike Chess, Stones do not have to move when threatened with capture. This is due to the way draws occur in Stratic (see rules on draws below). Stones also have a special function as an anchor for new pieces; if your Stone moves beyond the starting line, reinforcement pieces can be placed in unoccupied adjacent squares. Stones are worth 1 point.
Turns in Stratic allow the movement of only one piece at a time, with turns alternating between players. There is no zugzwang, meaning you do not have to move if you don't want to, including during your very first turn of the game. You can indefinitely pass your turn if you desire. This is to allow battles of attrition and lets you wait to see how your opponent develops their pieces. If you pass on three turns in a row, you get an Aster reinforcement piece (which resets the zugzwang count). This is the only way to get new Asters in the game.
The board refers to the 10x10 grid the pieces start on. Starting formations can only be placed within a 2-row space on one of the opposing ends of the board and the space this occurs in is demarcated by the colored 'starting lines'. The 'midboard' is the rectangular space between the two starting lines; it is static and does not grow with board expansion. The 'trough' or 'trench' is the horizontal space between the two starting lines which does grow with board expansion.
Expansion refers to the growth of the board in every direction by one unit (inspired by the fictional game Prosfair). Expansion occurrs after 20 rounds pass (fourty turns total), and again after another 40 rounds, then 60, then 80, and so on. The reason for this irregular expansion is to quickly grow the board in the beginning of the game and then slow the growth for the mid-to-late game. Infinite expansion occurs in the official game, but that is not possible on physical boards so we limit physical boards to an expansion range of four (ending at 18x18 squares total).
Reinforcements are new pieces placed on the board after the game has started (like Shogi). There are three ways to gain reinforcement pieces. The first is by capturing an opponent's piece — if you capture one of your oppenent's pieces during your turn, you can place that piece back on the board during the same turn. The second way to gain new pieces happens during board expansions — when the board expands, the difference in pieces between the players, divided by two and rounded down, is given to the player with less pieces. The third way to gain a new piece occurs if you pass three turns in a row, gaining you an Aster.
When you gain a reinforcement piece by capture or board expansion, the new piece being placed can only be a Crescent or Wheel. Reinforcements can be placed anywhere behind your starting line. If your Stone is past your starting line, you can also place reinforcement pieces within one square of your Stone, as long as the square is unoccupied. If you place a Crescent in a position that would also allow for promotion, you may also promote that piece on the same turn.
You do not get additional time during your turn to place reinforcements, they must be placed after any other movements that turn. If you do not place your reinforcement pieces before your time runs out, they are lost.
Special Rules
Direct checks (next-turn single-movement Stone captures) need to
be called but indirect checks (next-turn
multiple-movement Stone captures) do not. This means double captures from Wheel pieces can end
the game without warning.
Draws: if your Stone gets captured but you could have similarly captured your opponent's Stone in the very next turn, you may do so and call the game a draw. A draw can also be called if the players agree to end the game without a clear victor. This will usually occur when it seems like the game will go on too long and neither player has the will to outlast attrition.
Interdiction is when you capture one of your own pieces. Capturing your own piece is useful if you want to transport it somewhere else on the board, the same as when you capture one of your opponent's pieces. The only limitation is that you cannot capture your own Stone. This is a tentative rule and may be removed.
Time controls: to make Stratic games capable of continuing infinitely, the default game mode for Stratic uses time controls that count up instead of down. There must always be a limit on the amount of time a player can take to move (with 1 minute being an ideal time in our tests), and if that limit is hit, it becomes the other player's turn, with a reinforcement piece granted from the idleness of the prior player. There will be time controls that count down as well, to force games to complete faster, but these finite games are less important to the ranking system.
Draws: if your Stone gets captured but you could have similarly captured your opponent's Stone in the very next turn, you may do so and call the game a draw. A draw can also be called if the players agree to end the game without a clear victor. This will usually occur when it seems like the game will go on too long and neither player has the will to outlast attrition.
Interdiction is when you capture one of your own pieces. Capturing your own piece is useful if you want to transport it somewhere else on the board, the same as when you capture one of your opponent's pieces. The only limitation is that you cannot capture your own Stone. This is a tentative rule and may be removed.
Time controls: to make Stratic games capable of continuing infinitely, the default game mode for Stratic uses time controls that count up instead of down. There must always be a limit on the amount of time a player can take to move (with 1 minute being an ideal time in our tests), and if that limit is hit, it becomes the other player's turn, with a reinforcement piece granted from the idleness of the prior player. There will be time controls that count down as well, to force games to complete faster, but these finite games are less important to the ranking system.
These were the starting formations of the first game ever played, before the rules for
piece movements and board size were finalized (this setup is no longer possible). The
game was played by Snax (left) versus Sphlem (right).
Planned Variants
True Endless: capturing the Stone no longer ends
the game. The only win condition is to control the midboard during an expansion round.
This variant is designed to be truly endless so we can host The Endless
Tournament, in which all users of the site are automatically added to a single
endless game. You can vote for a piece to move on your side and for any reinforcements
to be placed. Your ELO is the weight added to your vote, meaning if you have 1500 ELO
then it is like 1,500 votes were cast for whatever move you selected. At the end of the
one-hour voting period, the movement with the most votes is what actually gets played
for your side. At the end of each week, the side that scored the most points through
captures is the winner of that week's cash prize which is then distributed evenly
between all the accounts that voted on moves that actually got played.
3D Stratic: add one dimension to the board so it goes from a 2D square grid to a 3D cube grid. Pieces still move and behave the same as normal but have another dimension to act in. This also loosely simulates space combat.
3D Stratic: add one dimension to the board so it goes from a 2D square grid to a 3D cube grid. Pieces still move and behave the same as normal but have another dimension to act in. This also loosely simulates space combat.