The Strategist -- Spring 2010

THE

STRATEGIST

ate Game

In The Field

n Sports

The Midnight Cran

noth Wins

Sudoku

Priso

Build S

Table of Contents General Table of Contents Meet the Strategists

Commentary, p05

Letter from the Editors

Is There a Method?

The Decline of Strategy Why Wesnoth Wins Strategy in Sports?

Features, p14 Build Season Sparring in Life PLUS: The Midnight Crank Magic: the Evaluation

Other, p21

Tick Tock

KJumpingCube and Fear-Based Gaming Time Spent on Homework In the Field Tic Tac Toe

Puzzle Time, p31 The Pirate Game Prisoners with Hats Sudoku

02

May 2010 // The Strategist

Letter

From

the

Strategists

Thank you for reading The Strategist! We have put our blood, sweat and tears into this, and the fact that this is reaching you is makes us feel that all the time we spent on it was worthwhile, a success.

There are plenty of magazines out there which touch on gaming, or technology, or politics, or economics, or anything which could conceivably involve strategy. But none of them will focus specifically on it, none of them will go outright and say it.

But they should! The concept strategy in itself is worth writing about; it’s not just the strategy of something, strategy is something. There should be something that exists precisely to describe strategy, something whose purpose is to talk about it. Not as an attribute of something else, but as a full-blown topic.

So that’s what we’ve tried to do with The Strategist. Hopefully you enjoy it.

Strategists

P.S. We didn’t give you the Editors yet, so here it is:

--The

Letter

From

the

S Confused? See inside back for a translation.

May 2010 // The Strategist

03

Meet the Stragegists Micah L Micah L is an avid player of a multitude of games, including Magic: the Gathering, Battle for Wesnoth, and Bang!. He is 14 years old, and goes to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (or LASA).

He prefers games that require thought to games like Halo.

Micah Lupa Zach K Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah blah blah. Blah?

Zach K isBlah. a 15Blah year blah old boy LASA with mixed blahwho blahattends blah blah.

Blah, blah blahfeelings. blah blah.

He could beBlah? known as a band geek, as he plays French Horn in Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah the blahLBJ blah Bands. Zach enjoys doing a wide variety of things in his free time, blah. Blah? Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blahlike blah playing video games, playing sports, and anything else that happens blah blah. Blah? Blah. to come up.

Micah Lupa Allan S Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah blah blah. Blah?

Allan S, 14, a freshman at blah.

LASA. Although he enjoys writing and Blah.

Blah blahisblah blah blah Blah, blah blah blah blah. designing for The primarily occupies himself Blah?

Blah. Blah blahStrategist, blah blah he blah blah. Blah, blah blah blahwith the extracurriculars he is involved in: Quiz Bowl, Science Olympiad, blah. Blah? Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah and Robotics.

He is a complete nerd, but not necessarily a geek. blah blah.

Blah? Blah.

Micah Lupa Roberto H Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah blah blah. Blah?

Roberto H Blah is a freshman LASA High He plays various Blah. blah blahatblah blah blah.School.

Blah, blah blah blah blah. strategy games such as Settlers of Catan, Risk, Tide of Iron, Axis Blah? Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah blah andblah.

Allies, andBlah.

Bang!.

He blah has ablah loveblah for board games.

Heblah is also Blah?

Blah blah blah.

Blah, blah practices Taekwondo and hopes to get his black belt this summer. blah blah. Blah? Blah.

04

May 2010 // The Strategist

Commentary

Is There a Method?

THE VARIATIONS ON RULES FOR THE POPULAR ITALIAN CARD GAME BANG!

by Roberto H. Dynamite blows up; a man goes down reaching for the

The new version of the rules of Bang! was created by

saloon. His opponent shakes his head. These men exist

Juan Hass. He and his friends created them to try and

in the world of Bang! A world created by cards. A card

bring a fair balance to the whole game, and make it so

game, and with all card games there are rules. Everyone

that the game wouldn’t get unbalanced. Unbalanced

obeys the rules, till now. One group rises above the

as in one person won’t completely dominant and leave

others to create a new version of the rules, a version

the others in the dust. The main problem with that is

that they see as more perfect.

that some people feel the official rules are better. That

MAY 2010 // The Strategist

05

A player flipping a card for dynamite.

Different types of cards used in the game.

06

The normal layout for a single-character game.

The Bang! Bullet (2nd Version, 4th edition)

The Strategist \\ 2010 May

is mainly a matter of opinion, same as the people

to do, and what the other players characters

who believe that the Hass version is better. The fact

and fields hold. The game has transformed

is that the Hass version actually follows the official

from a simple strange goal to a complex system

rules pretty close, the only thing that veers off the

in which what one person does has affects on

path is little things (i.e. a flaw in a character card that

the others. The fact is that when the a game

confuses players).

gets this complex problems are bound to arise.

No one wants chaos. That’s why the Hass version is

The Hass version transforms these problems

there, so that the chaos is restrained. Chaos can never

into decisions that the designated referee must

fully be disposed of, but the atmosphere provided

make. These decisions just get incorporated into

at LASA happens to influence it a little more than

the game flow and direct the flow. For example,

normal. People will jump at any opportunity to

say a dynamite card was to blow up on a player.

push themselves into better positions. This is

That player loses three bullets (bullets represent

especially true in the case of games. The competitive

life). Now depending on the version of rules,

atmosphere can get out of hand. The Hass version

that player can do two things. Take it and lose,

just happens to put a limit on this chaos, and provide an equal opportunity for all

or if playing with another

“The Hass version ties into the rules, like an extension.”

players.

version, one can play a Beer to save himself.

The Hass version was

Bang! has simple goals. If you’re an

created to provide fair game-play and the

Outlaw, take out the Sheriff. If you’re the

official rules are definite, but flexible. The Hass

Sheriff, take out the Outlaws. If you’re the

version just ties into the rules, almost like an

Deputy, protect and help the Sheriff. If you’re

extension. Why someone would argue with the

the Renegade, take out the Deputy and

rules doesn’t make sense except when one looks

Outlaws, THEN the Sheriff. While that might

at the people who play. All the players who

seem simple, the cards add a twist. The twist

play at LASA want to WIN. Therefore they are

lies in the character cards. The character cards

willing to twist the rules, sometimes even break

provide different “abilities” that lie outside the

them to achieve that goal, to have success. That

rules, providing a different game-flow, and in

is the main reason behind all these arguments,

there is where the strategy is. Depending on the

discussions, violence, to win.

characters, one must think about what they have in their hand, what their character allows them

2010 MAy // The Strategist

Roberto H. is an avid player of Bang! and enjoys

writing for the Strategist.

07

STRATEGY IN SPORTS? T H E B E S T OF THE BEST MAY BE STRONG, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING E L S E T H A T L I E S WITHIN...

BY ZA C H K .

Dashing out of the huge pileup of bodies, the star player goes for the gold. Aiming for the less guarded left side of the field, he makes a run for it. Touchdown! This is a typical football game, but is there more to it than sheer athletic skill? The answer is yes.

On every team, there is the guy who is so much better than everybody else. He is the one who is seen doing all of the scoring, and he also happens to be the fastest runner and the biggest player. Everybody loves him because he is the best, but its not all that superficial. While being strong is definitely a key to playing a sport, so much more is involved.

THE COACH MAKES THE PLAY

The strategy is in the sports. Every sport. Not every game has the same amount of strategic options, but all athletes can improve their plays. The athletes who play in the Olympics have not only trained their muscles, but they have also trained their fluency of playing the sport.

With a team sport, a lot of different options come in. In sports like basketball, hockey, and football, a good formation and action plan must be created so that it can get past the defense of the other team. In each offensive or defensive turn, or play, there is a different strategy, though, so constant thinking is always required. The best football team is the smartest because of the fact that they pick the best plays to avoid getting pummeled and humiliated. For example, a really stupid play in a game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants on December 21, 2009. The Redskins started off in a punt formation, but tried to “trick� the Giants when all of the Redskins, except for the quarterback, moved to the extreme left side of the field. The

08

MAY 2010 // THE STRATEGIST

quarterback then threw a lob pass towards the mass of players from both teams, and the Giants intercepted it and ran to the halfway mark. When a team doesn’t have any methods for strategy, they can easily be taken advantage of by the other team.

A huge factor in sports is efficiency. It is best to accomplish the most with the least possible energy. Think about the sport of track. The runners need to maximize the distance covered with each step. They wouldn’t be able to get much done if they ran 1 meter with 20 steps, because their legs can’t move fast enough to balance the decrease in distance per step.

A Harvard study showed that the fastest runners hit the ground with more force than slower runners who have around the same leg movement speed and feet placement. The fastest runners use their energy on this kind of strategy to go the faster. In the sport of tennis, the most efficient way to win a point is to hit the ball with such force, spin, and angle so that it remains untouched by the opponent. If the ball was hit straight forward from the middle of the court for the whole game, nothing much would get done, as the only thing any of the players would have to worry about is hitting the ball over the net.

It is true that no average person can just get up and play for a professional football team. Most everybody that plays sports at the professional level has an amazing physical talent, because it is estimated that around 1 in 5000 high school athletes grow up to play his or her sport at the professional level. Micheal Phelps is a great example of how physical gifts can allow one to be a great athlete. With an arm-span of 80 whole inches, Micheal is no joke. He can use those giant arms to get great leverage to push water with ease. Those gigantic appendages also give him the ability to touch the wall faster, as his arms give him a much farther reach than most swimmers. But with great power comes great responsibility. Over the years during his swimming career, Micheal has kept on learning how to swim faster, and now, he has a total of 8 Olympic gold medals. To physically build oneself, one can only spend so much time in the water before turning into a fish-man, but new strategies can also be practiced until

THE STRATEGIST \\ 2010 MAY

“ I’M

GOING TO HAVE TO PIC K M Y

SHOTS AND PLAY GREAT TENNIS. ”

-ANDRE A G A S S I

perfect form and placement are developed. Micheal has shown that he has pioneered and settled both sides of the spectrum.

Anyone can become what they want to become with a lot of time and effort. Professionals usually spend around 40 hours of the week preparing for competitions so that they can develop stronger muscles and better strategies. If that time was equally distributed to every day of the week, that pro trains almost 6 hours every day. That’s almost the equivalent of a school day’s worth of intensive and strenuous training. Because of this, its not all about raw talent and strength.

Another, more distant but still relevant form of strategy used in sports is nutrition. It has been scientifically proven, that eating the correct amounts of vitamins, fats, carbs, and proteins will give the body more energy. Eating different diets to prepare for different events allows oneself to prepare for the nutritional requirements. Carbohydrates provide 40 to 50 percent of the bodies energy requirements in sports, according to Colorado State University, and compared to other energy providing molecules, carbohydrates require less oxygen to process. Because of this fact, an athlete would want to consume more carbs in proportion to protein and fat, because it would conserve oxygen and provide a high energy boost. It is for that reason that athletes need to take into consideration these kinds of facts so that they can maximize the performance.

Making the best plays, practicing techniques that improve efficiency and eating an optimal diet are examples of how heavily strategy is built into sports. Strategy, along with physical skill come together to allow an athlete to be the best that they can be.

So, the next time you watch the guy who is better-thaneverybody-else play, you know that he is not just made of muscle.

9

09

The Decline of Thinking

text and art

by Allan S

WHAT PLACE DOES STRATEGY HAVE IN THE WORLD OF THE NON-GAME?

T

ake a look through a game store. Browse through the aisles upon aisles of games they have, in all sorts of varieties from all over the world. Card games, board games, video games, you name it. They might also have those weird games, like Pictionary or Taboo, which don’t quite fit into any of those categories. All of these games will have different sorts of mechanics -- from aiming and shooting to rolling dice or throwing things at people. And over there, in one tiny corner, behind a fake wall and two sets of dusted shelves, you might find the two or three games which take thought and strategy. The rest of the store is stocked with non-games: the latest and shiniest developments in wasting away your time, deluding you into believing you’re actually playing something, and crowding out the real games.

A real game, as opposed to a movie or the lottery (both of which cost less than many modern “games”), has gameplay.

You make decisions, which affect the rest of the way the game goes. This is the basic attribute of all games, and you can dilute it all you want -- but if you don’t have that in a game, it’s not a game. And while it may seem that every so-called game would have such a simple thing as this, surprisingly, a lot of them don’t.

We’ve all played them in some fashion; they’re everywhere. For a big-name example, Spore. In Spore, your gameplay choice is twofold: either you run around murdering all your neighbors in order to subjugate them and earn points, or you sing and dance at all your neighbors in order to subjugate them and earn points. It’s even simpler at the start, and the distinction gets a little more complicated in the last stage (at which point it becomes a sandbox game, where the lack of consequences is even more staggering), but for most of the game, that’s all you can do. Be a meanie or a hippie. And it ends up exactly the same

10

anyway, but with different colors and special effects.

I’m talking about Halo, the ultimate in waving around wildly and shooting things for no good reason (OK, sure, the plot has an excuse. But you’re shooting things because it’s fun.) I happen to be most familiar with video games, and they’re the worst of the bunch, but a lot of basic “games” are like this too -- I’m talking about ERS, where it’s a matter of having a fast hand and absolutely no fear of getting flattened, or War, where you don’t even pretend to make decisions -- it’s entirely luck. None of these are really games; to call them that is insulting to the word “game”.

But it’s true -- we continue to play them.

No matter what they are, they’re fun. If the game tells a good enough story, or the world is enthralling enough, I will enjoy immersing myself in it, because it’s a good movie. The basic interactivity is just a patch-on to the movie, another gimmick to draw you in. The designers barely try to cover it up; in the Harry Potter games, you’re practically a bystander to the action.

Second Life is blatant about the fact -- it’s not even advertised as a game, but as a world to enjoy.

Or perhaps it’s not the world or the story, but the simple fun of shooting things, or flying a plane, or whatever it is this particular game is letting you pretend to do. This is the appeal behind shooter games, and also a lot of the older games as well. It’s fun to jump on those mushrooms.

It’s fun to smash those whatever-they-are with a crowbar. Screw the ridiculously contrived plot, I’m enjoying this! Which is perfectly fine -- don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should feel bad for enjoying these things, God knows I certainly don’t -but remember, they’re not real games. And they’re getting in the way of the games that are.

For a quick example, look at Wikipedia’s top 10 PC games of all time. The top three are The Sims, The Sims 2, and World of Warcraft. There’s no strategy in the Sims games, there are no ways to win. Only ways to not go bankrupt; and nobody plays for that. That’s why there are cheat codes in there to give you money, so you can play it the way you’re intended to -- by acting out the lives of these people, and pretending to live in an extravagant house.

Or perhaps you’re more detached, and play it by pretending to be God. Either way, it’s a role-playing game, where the fun is in the doing. And the World of Warcraft is exactly what it says on the tin: explore this fascinating world of the Warcraft games.

Indeed, the only “strategy game” (as what used to be a “game” has come to be called) on the list of the top 10 is Starcraft.

Game players have come to expect this, so gradually, they’ve adjusted their idea of what “game” means. And because gamers expect stunning graphics instead of stunning gameplay, the gaming companies deliver on that expectation -- it just gets worse and worse, in a vicious cycle. I realize I’m complaining about semantics here, but semantics is occasionally important!

Is it right that most games on the market are simply not games, and that to find a truly astounding game like Wesnoth or KJumpingCube (see “Jumping Cubes and Fear-Based Gaming”, p24), I have to look into the open source games?! (Not to rag on open source here -- it’s wonderful that they’ve produced great games -- but it’d be nice if the professional companies did too.)

So be aware of this the next time you’re playing a “game”, the next time you . Ask yourself, simply: Why are you playing this? Why do you find this fun? Is it because you like escaping into being in this world, or going through these motions?

Is it because it tells a gripping story, or has beautiful graphics and design? Or is it because it truly has strong decisionmaking opportunities, withrepercussions and consequences, that you have to think about in order to win?

If the answer is that last one, consider yourself lucky. And hold on to that game.

Allan S is a writer for The Strategist. He spends his free time thinking about things everybody else finds boring.

MAY 2010 // The Strategist

Why Wesnoth Wins

fect it ranging from small like what units to recruit to large like wheth-

By Micah L.

er to take a sea rout or a land route.

Then once you have finished that campaign you move on to the next

Obviously the massive army you

gain experience and will become

one that will take a large quantity

command in the computer game

more powerful units, but as a trade

of your life and improve it greatly

the Battle for Wesnoth must assure

off will cost an additional gold for

then when you go back to the first

your victory over the small but well

upkeep.

campaign you will have forgotten

trained army of your opponent.

the Battle for Wesnoth is a good

all about it.

Unfortunately your huge army has

strategy game. That is open source

I believe that the Battle for Wesnoth

depleted your gold supplies and is

allowing anyone to be able to make

is one of the best games I have ever

preventing you from getting any

changes to it but only administra-

played and as such I believe that

more troops. Then one by one your

tors can modify the underlying

anyone how can ply it should. One

troops are eliminated and your vil-

mechanics of the game. It has

of the reasons I think it is such a

lages captured. All of a sudden you

many community made campaigns

great game is that it has amazing

find yourself in the same position

ranging in difficulty from impos-

replay value and, and so no two

as your opponent was but without

sible to lose to 99% impossible.

games are the same. The replay

any units at all. How did this hap-

One downside of playing Battle for

value comes from the multitude of

pen?

Wesnoth is that it does not have

campaigns that take days to beat

the Battle for Wesnoth, a computer

real time strategy or 3-D graphics

and then you can go back and play

game that is usable on Windows,

like many of the “good” games in

them again. The multiplayer games

Linux, and Macintoshes, it is a

today’s society (I’m looking at you

are hard to dominate, because each

strategy game that functions on a

Halo) it still has superior game

unit has upsides and downsides,

hexagram-based board. Each hex

play (as opposed to Halo: Shoot

and as such, as long as there are

has a terrain type and each side has

stuff, Move, repeat). The multitude

more than two players you should

a leader. The leader is most useful

of campaigns in Battle for Wesnoth

lose as many troops as you kill. this

inside of the keep (your base), and

will allow you to continue playing

prevents one player from getting

if you have the leader inside of the

for at least 100 hours not to men-

keep then you can recruit units.

tion the untold replay value and

You must pay a recruitment cost for

up to 6 player multiplayer good-

each unit you deploy and you must

ness. Battle for Wesnoth is a good

also provide an upkeep for that

strategy game due to the multitude

unit. these costs are paid in gold

of variables wile still being simple

which is obtained by capturing

enough to not risk mess ups.

villages. Once captured, a village is

The huge amount of replay value

yours until captured again so you

comes from the fact that any cam-

need not worry. As units fight, they

paign has multiple choices that af-

12

May 2010 // The Strategist

Screenshot of Battle for Wesnoth out of hand with the best units, and all will eventually be fair.

Battle for Wesnoth has some of the best story lines I have ever seen and the best game play I have ever experienced, therefore I believe that Battle for Wesnoth is one of the best strategy games I have ever played, and as such, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys strategy games.

Micah L is an avid player of many games and as such has devolped a vast knowledge of game strategy.

The Strategist \\ May 2010

13

Features Build Season STUDENTS IN ROBOTICS ARE GEARING UP FOR A GAME OF SKILL AND INGENUITY, TRYING TO ONE-UP EACH OTHER’S DESIGNS.

by Allan S photos by Allan S

I

t’s a normal day in Mr. Bertucci’s room. About 15 students are staring at their computers, armed only with their sketches, trying to recreate their ideas on the screen. One or two are checking some details on a website, and in the far corner, a group is looking over at a rough picture, penciled out in a rush the previous English class. Nearby, at tables, Rishi B. and Kate S. are discussing the possible ideas for a mechanical arm, and how to lift one with a pneumatic cylinder. Eventually, both of them will need to figure something out -- every student in the room will. Because in the next 2 weeks, they will need to have their ideas finalized. And a month and a half after that, their ideas will be tested, competitively, against each other. If their idea fails, they fail. This is Robotics, and the difficult task in front of them is only the last and hardest of a series of challenges that they have been bombarded with for the past year.

This challenge is the culmination of the class: a competitive robot game, which pits the students against each other in the struggle to win. No matter how well-designed and elegantly built their robots are, if the students cannot play the game effectively and beat their peers, their final exam grade (a direct result of their performance in the tournament) will reflect it.

At the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, this is hardly new.

Year after year, students sign up for Robotics, in which they receive four to six challenges across the span of the yearlong course, and spend six to nine weeks building devices to accomplish them. They must sketch, CAD, write up, build, and finally operate a robot for each one, learning skills ranging from the physical (e.g. electrical soldering and using a lathe), to the more abstract, like working under time pressure and designing within material constraints.

• Robots may not exceed a 12” by 12” by 12” cube at the start of operation (though after the game has started, they may extend beyond these bounds), nor weigh more than 22.5 pounds.

• Robots may not use more than 6 Joules of nonelectrical energy, and can only get their electrical energy through a special “umbilical cord” which is used to control the robot.

14

The game in question is fairly simple (see right): A Roomba moves around a field with a bucket on it, and robots must collect balls and score them in the bucket to score points. The robot that scores more of its color balls (robots are assigned to be either red or yellow) wins , and a special green ball, released in the last 30 seconds of the game, counts as five balls for whoever scores it. However, what makes the game difficult is the limitations placed on the students:

May 2010 // The Strategist

G

F

D H

C E

B A

I

Above: the Robotics game field.

This is a sample robot, on the starting ramp. It has two treads and, although most robots have arms to manipulate balls, this is left out.

A

The field is a standard carpet, making driving fairly easy. Robots are not allowed to leave the field, however, significantly, game pieces are.

B

The bowling ball, called “Mongo” in the rules, is mostly there as an obstacle.

In previous years, Mongo was mounted on a thin PVC pipe: if a robot touched the pipe, Mongo would crush them. But this year it’s too dangerous for the Roombas.

C

The main game pieces are the balls, red and yellow. They start in their rack, alternating colors. Red balls count only for the red player, yellow for the yellow.

D

The electronics box is inaccessible to players, but it is very important - it manages the joystick inputs and controls the pneumatic pipe, sending everything to the umbilical.

G

The bonus Roomba is activated 30 seconds before the end of the game, and is untouchable before then. If the bonus ball is in the bucket at the end, it’s worth 5 points for whomever scored it.

H

E The object of the game

is to score balls in the Roomba’s bucket. Only the final position counts, however, and taking opposing balls out of the bucket isn’t specifically forbidden (so it’s allowed).

Players must control their robots using these joysticks; no custom inputs can be used, due to the nature of the umbilical cord (Piece I).

F

The Strategist \\ 2010 May

The umbilical cord carries control information to the robot, as well as pneumatic pressure. Robots are not allowed to damage the umbilical cord, and so clever students have found ways to surround opposing robots with it.

I

15

Scott F.’s robot design, without motors. Note the arm style and the low chassis.

...and so on. Furthermore, the mechanical parts granted to the students (such as motors, pneumatic cylinders, etc.) are assigned in a lottery-style system, and so some students end up with better parts than others. However, says Arami R. (one of the students in the class), “If you’re a good engineer, you can make a good robot with what you have.” This idea is the central concept behind the entire class; to work under severe constraints and requirements, and to come up with clever solutions despite them.

One such idea, thought of by Juan H., involves the umbilical cord extending from the back of the robot, which players are not allowed to damage. “You can use your umbilical cord almost as a wall, like in FLTron,” he says. “From what I’ve seen, most people can’t drive over an umbilical cord.” Juan is also planning to use the umbilical to wrap around the Roomba, and prevent it from moving while he unloads balls into its bucket.

Some students see the game as more of a direct battle, as the only precondition for victory is scoring more points than your opponent. “I just plan on disabling their movement device, and scoring one ball,” Ben S. says. “It’ll pretty much be a personal smashing vendetta.” He must be careful to avoid breaking his enemy robot’s electric parts, though, as those must be returned unharmed at the end of the semester.

Both of these ideas are heavily dependent on the way the driver

16

Sample robot, built by the Robotics teacher Mr. Bertucci. Although it does not have an arm, the wheels and tread are similar to what students build themselves. Note the umbilical plug on the right. drives, and less so on the way the robot does. “Everybody has the same drive train”, Juan says. “It’s not about robot design.

It’s about driving.” But on the other end of the spectrum, some students are building their robots with extra features. Michael F. is building a circular robot to make it harder to pin against a wall, and Kate S. has a special arm with threaded rods and hinges for manipulability. Phillip S., in a counter to Juan’s strategy, is building his robot with treads specifically so he can drive over the umbilical cord. Every student has a different view of how the game is best played.

And at the end of the semester? Some will win, some will lose -- but everybody will have learned something. Hamsini S., whose design suffers because she doesn’t know “whether a particular part will be hard to build”, will have seen with her own eyes what can be built and what can’t. Mr. Bertucci firmly believes in the principle of learning by experience.

“If you come in with absolutely no knowledge of robotics, you’re screwed,” Arami R. says. But you will leave with skills and techniques that will last for a lifetime. And that’s partially the point; as Rishi B. put it, “most of us don’t know what the hell we’re doing, so it’s excellent”.

Allan S is a writer for The Strategist.

He wishes he was taking Robotics.

May 2010 // The Strategist

Magic: the Evaluation

by Micah L.

T

wo men are across from each other each intently staring at each other. These people have blood pressure and heart rates comparable with athletes that were exercising. Are these people athletes? No. Exercising? No. Rather than physically working these men are playing a game, the pressure from this game is causing all of these symptoms the games is Magic. Magic is a Collectable trading card game created

The Strategist \\ May 2010

17

by Richard Garfield; this means that you buy a set amount of cards (in this case a pack of 15 cards) from a set (an assortment of cards). You then can exchange cards (the trading part of trading card game) and eventually cards will go out of print causing the collectable part of collectable trading card game. This allows players to customize their decks to an unlimited amount allowing for unlimited variation. “ Magic is commercialized by Wizards of the coast and they have large scale tournaments all over the world monitored by the DCI (Duelist Convocation International or the people who judge Magic tournaments).

“If you end up on top you get quite a bit of money and even if you get into the top eight you still get quite a bit of money” says avid Magic player Peter Hunt.

Magic tournaments go all over the world and each year they have 5 large scale tournaments per year 2 in the Us 2 in other areas but mostly Europe and oriental countries the fifth one is a cruise around the world that is comprised of the winners of the other four which is comprised of the winners of smaller tournaments called grand prix’s which are open entry, however there are smaller tournaments that are run by private organizations the largest of which is called Channel Fireball after the iconic combo from protoMagic. The most common tournaments are hosted by individual game stores e.g. Pat’s games and Dragons Lair.

into it, the developers of Magic test a set for one year before it is released trying to remove any large issues and in the modern era of Magic (eighth edition and newer) they have had exactly 4 large blunders, 3 of which were due to not understanding what they were doing. As such Magic is one of the most tested games on the market. However a game with that much work put into it does not come for free.

Luckily the price of getting into non-competitive magic is relatively for just 12$ you can acquire one prebuilt deck and a free pack (prices based on Pats Games prices).

Magic contrary to the appearance from the outside is rather simple and easy to learn in context of a game with thousands of cards “Magic’s learning curve is a little strange because the game is customizable you can start out with just a limited understanding of some basic rules about turns and play a pretty fun game at that point” Peter muses on how hard it is to learn Magic However if you are going to play competitive magic and try to with the large cash prizes the you will have to learn more of the counter intuitive rules in Magic( however those have been mostly eliminated since the recent rules overhaul) “If you want to get really competitive and play professional magic there are some pretty expansive [rules] about the game” says Peter

“I really like being able to change what I’m doing; it’s sort of a creative outlet.”

One of the advantages of magic is that with the nearly unlimited amount of cards and combinations you will never run out of ideas or if you do you will be tweak to change your deck an unlimited amount of times.

“I really like being able to change what I’m doing it’s sort of a creative outlet” says Peter Being able to change you deck quickly is an in valuable asset to the game and gives it an advantage over most card games but what gives it an advantage over other trading card games is the amount of work that the developers put

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Magic is an expansive game as Kelly Digges once said in Opening the door (an article on Magic) “Now imagine all those doors (metaphor for the parts of magic) opening at once. You look past the exits of your cozy little room and see not one or two other rooms, but hundreds, thousands, an infinity of doors and books and shelves twisting away impossibly in every direction, staircases up and down and long hallways branching off.

And not all of the other rooms are cozy, either. Some of the further ones are downright strange, with objects and shapes and colors you’ve never seen before. Everything blurs to a distant vanishing point, and you get vertigo as your brain tries to make sense of the chaos. Yeah, that’s kind of what learning to play Magic is like.”

May 2010 // The Strategist

there is another level to everything. It’s a great workout.” To other martial artists sparring has an different meaning, for example to student Deputy Black Belt Tim S. sparring is about experience, “You want to take a few hits, and give a few hits, because you want to give them the same experience they give you. Basically you want to balance it out for a good experience.”

Sparring In Life HOW SPARRING HAS AFFECTED AND CHANGED PEOPLE INTO BECOMING THE PEOPLE THEY ARE TODAY

By Roberto H.

A

s a little girl, Cathy Chapaty never liked to visit her Aunt’s house, there her “country boy” cousins would hit and beat her till she would crawl up on the front porch and wait for the door to open.

Many years later, she finds herself sparring and BOOM she gets hit and starts to crumble, almost becoming that little girl urled up on the front porch. Instead she shakes her head and jumps back into the fray.

This is but one way that sparring in martial arts has affected people. Sparring changes people physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Sparring, to the 3rd degree black belt and martial arts instructor Cathy Chapaty, is “the ultimate application of everything that I have learned in Martial Arts. Whether I’m working on punches or kicks, sparring is the one place in which all of it comes together, sparring helps me realize that there is an end-all be-all, and yet

May 2010 // The Strategist

“There’s nothing that gets me more mentally and emotionally exhausted, lets me tap into my perseverance.”

This is important to Chapaty, because say someone is in a fight, and that person gets exhausted, and doesn’t have the capacity to keep going, then that person can get hurt very badly. Going through the process of fighting allows people to prepare for that situation, if they were to ever get attacked, it allows to know what is going to happen and be able to walk out of fight with minimal if no damage.

But that is not the only thing sparring can do for people.

Cathy Chapaty said “Now that I’m a teacher I’m in the mindset of, I’m not here for my benefit I’m here to teach people how to spar, I’m here to teach this person how to get over their emotional, physical, whatever.” Sparring to her represents a way to face ones problems, to help people break through their barriers. “It took me years to realize that it’s okay to feel whatever it is I’m feeling as long as I’m not angry.” To

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Chapaty being angry and sparring is a good way to get hurt. “When sparring with no emotional control, you lose good thought and clear thinking.” The term blind rage comes into use here, “[blind rage] masks everything else that you can clearly see. When you’re in that kind of space mentally and emotionally you don’t see that you shouldn’t do that, you just do and then you really pay the consequences.” That is one of the things Chapaty always looks out for when she teaches sparring. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, fortunately most students have to learn it by learning it, by having actually done it, and realizing, ‘Oh I’m never going to do that again.’”

There are many, many combinations that can be used in sparring. Chapaty prefers to use a front kick to push the attacker back, and then come in with a single punch

to the chest. She likes to say, “I’m all about punching because of my size, I’ve actually got a Judo body, but I really love a good punch, that, landing a good punch, if feel that I, especially on a bigger opponent, is my favorite thing to do, a nice fisted reverse punch right in the chest.” Tim S. usually uses side kicks or front kicks, but his favorite, is the running sidekick (a.k.a. flying sidekick). Although sparring is not without its hazards, both Chapaty and Tim have been lucky as far as accidents on the mat go. Some of these accidents can be broken legs, concussions, and sprained ankles.

Sparring has changed and will continue to change people, just as it has with Cathy Chapaty “[Sparring is] one of my favorite things that I teach, because it’s one of the things that I have had to fight the hardest to overcome.”

Photos by Roberto H.

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The Strategist \\ May 2010

The Midnight Crank FOR WHEN SOMEONE IS GRABBING YOU WITH ONE HAND

By Roberto H.

Situation: You are being grabbed with one hand.

This move should only ever be performed when someone is actually attacking you. If a friend grabs you, do not use this move, as it can break that persons wrist.

Step 3: Twist attacker’s hand till pinky is in the midnight postion (12 o’clock).

One should practice the moves ahead of time so that if the technique is ever needed. It has to be done quickly and catch the attacker off guard. Otherwise the technique will not work.

Step 1: Place you thumb in the soft spot between the other persons thumb and their forefinger.

On the last move, one should only apply the pressure as needed. There is no need to break the persons wrist.

Step 4: Take other hand and surround first hand, make sure to place thumb in soft spot, and place fingers on top of first hand fingers.

When or if you get a person in this situation you can ask them politely why they are doing what they are doing, or simply continue to rotate their wrist until they go to the ground, in which case it is up to you what to do next.

Step 2: Wrap fingers around the bottom of hand where the pinky is, maintain pressure on the soft spot with thumb

The Strategist// May 2010

Art Credit: Roberto H.

Step 5: Rotate hands until other person starts struggling.

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Tick-Tock

Students are receiving more homework than ever.

Find out how some LASA students are dealing with it.

Text and Art by Zach K.

It’s probably a typical morning in Mr. Moody’s class. Moody is giving his daily current event lecture, and the students are not making a sound. Sure, this looks a lot like the productive classroom, but look a little closer and it can be seen that the students are asleep.

More than ever, students are missing out on one of the most important activities: sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is vital for the body, as important body and brain activities occur. When sleep is cut, though, these activities cannot be completed, and fatigue is experienced as a result. This can include drowziness or unwanted dozing-off, reduced attention span, weakness, and the list goes on.

Everybody can experience different negative symptoms from sleep deprivation.

It is recommended by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) that a teenager should get 8.5 to 9.5 hours of

sleep per night. This typically the time it takes for a teenage body to regulate itself during sleep, but everybody is different, and some need more or less. One study by the NSF found that around 75% of teens sleep less than 8.5 hours. Because of this, many teens are being subjected to the symptoms of sleep deprivation.

These days, teens are caught up with so many social, athletic, and academic interactions in their lives. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Email, sports, afterschool robotics, etc., these common teen activities are will publicized.

Believe it or not, Another huge contributor is homework. According to a study done by the University of Michigan of 2,900 students, the amount of time spent on homework has increased by 51% since 1981. Many students simply cannot find enough time to be involved in their activities, complete homework and get enough sleep, just to do it again the next day.

In any case, though, students are finding it more important than ever to manage their time efficiently so that they can get the most amount of sleep.

This is especially true in the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School of Austin, Texas where many students find themselves swamped with work.

“I generally get [homework] done pretty early,” says LASA freshman Micah L. “ I generally go to bed between 9:30, on the best of days, when I have little to no homework, and its just great, on to 10:30 on the worst of days. Although, I have been getting up at 5:15 for school.”

The amount of homework that the students receive has a lot to do with the teachers that they are assigned to and the electives that they choose.

LASA also practices block-scheduling, where on A-days, a student has 4 of 8 classes, and on B-days, the other 4. The combination of these factors really make an impact on how much homework a student has each night.

Students don’t want to spend all night getting homework done, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

“I have had a few all nighters, mostly big projects that have been due.” LASA freshman Prasaad M. says.

Because LASA students are often plagued by all nighters, time management is important so that students can space out work to get it done early, to a certain extent. Some students find that procrastination suits them best.

All Male

Hours spent per week 1980 2002 1980 2002 Less than 1 17% 2 21 2 How Homework Between 1 and 3 29 21 31 24 Has Increased

More than 3 but less than 5 25 14 24 14

Between 5 and 10 22 26 18 26

More than 10 7 37 6 33

22

Female

1980 2002 13 1 28 19 26 14 25 26 8 41

MAY 2010 // THE STRATEGIST

“Most of my work is really boring, so I just choose not to do it,” says LASA freshman Max H., a self-proclaimed procrastinator.

Every student has their own study habits “I think about, for like 30 minutes what my homework is, I go through every class period in my head and say, ‘Okay, I’ve got that, got that,’ and I plan how long it would probably take me,” Prasaad says.

“I mean it all depends on how I’m feeling.” he says. “I’ve found that my grade doesn’t really diminish if I work late at night, so I don’t shy away from that. But it doesn’t happen that often.”

One and a half hours of homework, for example, doesn’t sound like it should keep students up all night, but

when combined with the numerous extracurricular activities that many students participate in, the time can really escalate. Some students find it necessary to sort through all of their extra curriculars to find time for the homework.

could make some serious changes with their policies.

“I would reduce [the homework load] by about 25%, either that or make it so that teachers space out the projects so that its not like, get project, get project, get project…” “[Extracurricular activities] don’t really Micah asserted. affect me, because I’ve learned to stop doing what I don’t like.” Prasaad says. “I think that teachers should coordinate and know all the kids Everyone has their own opinions on and what projects are due at a the amount of homework that LASA certain time.” Prasaad also says. gives, and the policies that they have on homework. Some people are fine with Overall, time management strategies everything, and some could use a little really vary with each student less. A lot of students find that block because of their activities and scheduling really helps. their personalities. Obviously, the students of LASA are still surviving, “I love the block scheduling, with passing grades or with failing. which gives you 2 days to do your Time management is still an homework,” he says. extremely important skill, because students all over the country are Some students can agree that LASA suffering from the lack of it.

THE STRATEGIST \\ MAY 2010

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Redundancy

Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy

where just one just isn’t enough

where just one just isn’t enough where just one just isn’t enough

Paid for by the United States Department of Redundancy Department

Redundancy

Redundancy Redundancy Redundancy

where just one just isn’t enough

where just one just isn’t enough where just one just isn’t enough

Other begins next page

Paid for by the United States Department of Redundancy Department

Tic Tac Toe: A game played by children, the precursor in gaming to chess how much strategy can fit in just a 3x3 grid?

Tic Tac toe is a simple game played on a 3x3 grid where each player takes turns placing X’s or O’s on the board. this game becomes much easier when broken down

X X O O

Priority two: Block This is used to prevent your opponent from winning and as such keep yourself from loosing next turn. This priority is followed by when your opponent has a two in a row place the third and block that move.

X

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Go Here

T IC TAC T OE

Priority one: Win This may seem to be a no brainer but this is supposed to be a comprehensive list and as such it is put in here for consistencies sake. This priority is accomplished by if you have a two in a row place the third and win the game.

Go Here

XO O

Priority three: Fork Forking is a term applied to scenarios where a player has two ways to win and as such their opponent can only block off one. This is a little tricky to tech, because of the many forks available however you can use this by observing the board and looking for areas where

By: Micah Lupa

X OX

Go Here

O

May 2010 // The Strategist

Priority four: Block Forks This is similar to priority three in both its reason and execution however rather than setting forks you are now defending against them, again this is hard to teach so it would be easier to just observe the situation and block forks that you see

O XO

Priority five: Center If none of the above are applicable play in the center square.

Go Here

Go Here

X

Priority five: Corner If none of the above are applicable play in a corner square.

Priority five: Side If none of the above are applicable play in a side square.

XOX X OXO

Go

X

Here

Go

Here

XXX O O

The Strategist \\ May 2010

If you follow these rules to the letter than I can guarantee that you will never lose a game of Tic Tac Toe again, however this is not as good as it sounds because most of your games will end in a cat’s game.

Micah L. is a writer for the strategist and spends his free time puzzling over many things including simple strategy games.

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1

3

Jumping and FearGaming

2

This is KJumpingCube, a free game.

The goal of KJumpingCube is to fill the board with squares of your own color.

Here, green has placed a dot in a square to the lowerleft, making it his own.

Players take turns placing dots on either their own squares or unoccupied ones.

A square is considered full if it has as many dots as neighboring squares. So, for example, the two corner squares are both full with two dots each.

1

2

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Here, blue has added a third dot to the upper-right corner square, but it was already full with two -- so it exploded.

An exploding square sends one dot to each of its neighboring squares (changing their color to match it).

3 MAY 2010 // THE STRATEGIST

4

5

Cubes -Based a photo essay by Allan S

6

When an exploding square sends a dot to a full square, the full square becomes overstuffed itself, and it too explodes.

Planned well, this causes massive, game-changing chain reactions. Green is trying to do just that.

Here blue forces green’s hand, putting a stop to his plan. Either green makes a move immediately, or blue can explode the three-dot square and destroy green’s foothold.

But that wasn’t a very good idea of blue’s...

4 THE STRATEGIST \\ 2010 MAY

5

This sort of chain reaction that happens often in KJumpingCube. First green exploded the corner.

The two squares next to it were already full, so they both exploded.

Green has probably won.

6 29

However, most of KJumpingCube is not about the grand explosions per se; it’s about planning them, preventing them, et cetera.

This here is the ideal situation -an elaborately long fuse. No matter which square goes first, adding a dot to any one of the squares here will cause it to explode, which causes the ones next to it to explode, which causes the ones beyond that to explode, and so on.

In the resulting explosion, dots will be sent to all the remaining squares, and blue wins.

Blue and green were building up fuses here, trying to blow up each other. But instead of building up to a conflict he might lose, blue does something interesting -- he claims the middle spot as his own and then leaves it alone.

This puts both players into an uncomfortable situation, as neither one wants to move.

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MAY 2010 // THE STRATEGIST

If green explodes his fuse first, then he leaves a full square right next to a blue fuse. By exploding second, blue can capture two extra squares; so green will not explode his fuse.

If blue explodes his fuse first, then he leaves a full square right next to a green fuse. By exploding second, green can capture two extra squares; so blue will not explode his fuse.

So unless one of them can pull something clever, this situation ends in a standstill.

THE STRATEGIST \\ 2010 MAY

Exactly as blue wanted.

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Of course, there are clever things that can be done.

For example, the small fuse that blue has at the bottom of this picture. When exploded, it will gain some territory, to be sure.

But what’s notable is that it sends two dots into the currently two-dotted green square. Not only will that fill it up, it will explode outright.

Green couldn’t have fought back or stopped blue; at best, if green noticed, he would open the way for small blue gain. At worst, green doesn’t notice, and lets this happen.

In KJumpingCube, it’s all about building up defenses. Instead of attacking, you want to force your opponent into attacking.

This creates a game dynamic that is versatile, unpredictable, and beyond all -- fun.

Allan S is a writer for The Strategist.

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MAY 2010 // THE STRATEGIST

ZACH K.

Outside The Classroom Every student has homework. It is a mandatory part of school that everybody had to take part in. But since all students go to different schools and have different teachers with different cirriculums, the amount of homework is not the same. But, as a student, have you ever wondered about how much everybody else has, and what they think about it? Well, you can find those facts for LASA in the table below.

LASA students and homework: Average Hours/Night 43% 21% 21%

1-2 Hours 2-3 Hours Over 3 Hours Less than 1 Hour

16% Too Much?

Yes

47%

No

53%

Most of the data was received from LASA freshmen

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In The Field A clash of swords Flashes of muskets Explosions rained from above The bloody sands of Normandy Everywhere conflict, Ideals upheld Flags disheveled Maps lay out Tiny clay figurines representing The lives of tens of thousands of men One mind against the other Napoleon commanding L’Arme Grande Julius Caesar standing with the Xth Legion George Washington and the Continental Army Robert E. Lee and the Confederates Ulysses S. Grant with the Union Alexander the Great Sam Houston All these living and finding ways to win Whether the odds Are with them Or against them Finding ways to survive

By: Roberto H. Art from Wikipedia

STOP PUZZLE TIME

with Allan S, Mical L, and Zach K

The Pirate Game

So there are a bunch of pirates on a boat, and they’ve just discovered some treasure. Who gets how much?

Here’s how they decide:

OK: How about I get 100, and you all nothing?

1) The first pirate proposes a plan for dividing the treasure.

1

2) The pirates vote on the plan. If more than half of the pirates vote yea, the plan is adopted.

3) If it’s a tie, or a majority votes nay, then the first pirate is thrown overboard.

4) The rankings are adjusted, and it starts all over again.

Aye!

2 Nay!

3

Aaaah!

But - the catch is: the pirates are perfectly logical, and operate under a set of priorities.

0) Obey the rules.

1) Survive.

2) Get as rich as possible.

3) See as many people die as possible.

4

So... 98 for me and 1 for each of you two?

So suppose there are five pirates. What will the first pirate propose, and why will it pass?

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May 2010 // The Strategist

OK prisoners: I have a game. If you guess right, you can go free.

However, if you guess wrong, you die.

Prisoners with Hats

Now: what color is your hat?

Five Criminals are sent to a prison, however this prison has no space left. So the warden offers a game to the criminals.

The game is the warden places a hat on each of the criminals the hat is either red or blue with the same probability of it being either.

The next day the warden will ask each of the criminals what color his hat is.

If he answers correct then he is set free otherwise he is killed.

The next day The warden lines up all five of the prisoners so each one can see all of the prisoners in front of him and places a hat on each.

The warden then asks the prisoners from last to first what color their hat is, miraculusly none of the prisoners are killed and there was no communication after the hats were placed on their heads, so how did they do it?

The Strategist \\ 2010 May

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Ea

sie

r

Sudoku

Ha

rd

38

er

Letter From the Strategists Thank you for reading The Strategist! We have put our blood, sweat and tears into this, and the fact that this is reaching you is makes us feel that all the time we spent on it was worthwhile, a success.

There are plenty of magazines out there which touch on gaming, or technology, or politics, or economics, or anything which could conceivably involve strategy. But none of them will focus specifically on it, none of them will go outright and say it.

But they should! The concept strategy in itself is worth writing about; it’s not just the strategy of something, strategy is something.

There should be something that exists precisely to describe strategy, something whose purpose is to talk about it. Not as an attribute of something else, but as a full-blown topic.

So that’s what we’ve tried to do with The Strategist. Hopefully you enjoy it.

--The Strategists

P.S. We didn’t give you the Letter From the Editors yet, so here it is:

S

The Strategist \\ 2010 May

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