Stop that Cat

I like this game "Chat Noir" -- it reminds me of "Hex", one my favorite board games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(board_game)

Both games involve trying to prevent an opponent from creating a contiguous path across the playing board. However Hex has a more complex strategy which gives more interesting games. Those interested in playing Hex (and other games) online should try this site:

http://www.boardspace.net/english/about_hex.html

For a related but much more challenging game (even harder than chess), try Go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(board_game)

Regular Go (played on a 19x19 grid) seems too daunting to many who try it. Using smaller board sizes of 13x13, 11x11, and 9x9 makes Go easier (and quicker) to play. The web site below offers the free download "Igowin" in which you play Go on a 9x9 board against your computer.

http://www.smart-games.com/igowin.html

I couldn't beat it in a "few" rounds of play... anybody managed a win?

Yeah, but he's one slippery gato! Took me a "few" rounds to get the trick of it, but I think my best win streak is still only four.

I had similar results: took a few tries to determine the general strategy, after which I can beat the cat almost consistently (about 4 or 5 game winning streaks punctuated by occasional losses when distracted by multitasking). If anyone has any interest, we can try to describe some of the strategies.

5 tries...

...and I got lucky on my second try this time.

Seems like it comes down to the initial conditions... a bad draw and you are hosed.

I got 2 out of 2...should have quit there

I would like to see the quickest win that anyone can achieve (based on the fewest total number of dark stones used). I win most of my games, but so far not with less than 28 stones. Of course this game involves some luck since some of the random starting positions allow easier wins than others.

My best win so far:

That's pretty impressive. I usually try to get the entire perimeter closed and then trap him in the corner.

I also rely on "long-term containment" by strategically building fragments of distant porous walls. If I managed to win without this, I attribute it mostly to the luck of a favorable starting position -- and a couple of the cat's short-sighted choices.

Did you bait that spot with Tuna?

Catnip!