Domino/GatewayProject

This is the home for my Gateway Project. I may move this elsewhere in time, but for now this is the best home for it.

You folks are welcome to make suggestions under commentations, and I'll be glad to discuss it the subject. But please don't make any changes to the body of the text here. Thanks.

The Board

The gateway board has five separate tiers formed of tesselated hexagons forming larger hexagonal figures. They have six 'rings' of hexagons tesselated outwards, and the final combined figure resembles a large hexagon. The board also includes its namesake, the Gateway, another hex-tesselation with only four rings.\

The Pieces

There are eight pieces, named loosely after creatures of the Realm and Threshold. The specific names of each piece vary, sometimes with style of the Gateway set and sometime with affiliation of the color chosen.

• The Dragon - Almost always called the Dragon, this is the most important piece. Losing it will not always result in losing the game, but it is considered poor form.
• The Hound - Also the Feral Dog, Red Wolf, and others. An excellent piece for loyal protection of a tactically strategic area.
• The Cat - Also the Devil Tiger, White Lion, and others. Ferocious in attacking but limited in its range of movement.
• The Yeddim - Sometimes the Dragon of Earth or Stone Horse. Slow in movement and unable to attack, this piece can only be removed from play if threatened by more than one venue and then attacked.
• The Eagle - Also the Raven, Carrion Bird, and others. It excels in movement and has the ability to climb tiers, but has weak offense.
• The Mount - Also the Sterling Cavalry, Loyal Beast, and others. A weak piece in movement and assault, but cheap.
• The Hybroc - Sometimes the Great Strix or Lightning Flight, it's most valuable asset is the its ability to lift other pieces up tiers. Thankfully to its enemies, it is a fairly transparent gambit.
• The Boar - Often the Terrible Beast or the Golden Hog, it is a decent offensive piece.

Gameplay

Each Gateway set comes with five sets of pieces. Originally each was worked in a different color of jade, but as the game grew popular with patrician families colored stone and lacquered wood became commonly used as well. It is rumored that a magical set with each team forged from one of the five magical materials has been created in the distant Threshold, but proof is not forthcoming.

Each set of pieces includes one Dragon, ten Mounts, two Eagles, three Yeddim, three Hounds, one Hybroc, two Boards, and two Cats. Each player secretly selects which of his pieces he is going to include in the game and then reveals this to the other players. Every army must include a Dragon. The point value of each army is compared, with the lowest point value taking the highest tier, second-lowest taking the second-highest, and on down. If two armys are equal in point value, each player chooses a single piece that is not the Dragon and compares, with the lowest point-value taking the tier. If this again results in a tie, each player chooses two pieces and compares the sum of points. And so on. If two players have drawn the same army, a game of chance is played to single out the victor.

Gameplay begins once each player has placed his pieces on the appropriate tier. Play moves counterclockwise around the table, each player situated nearest her or her tier, beginning with the player occupying the top tier. A turn consists of moving one to three pieces. An attack counts as a move. A player may choose to pass.

Each tier has access through one side to the Gateway, and it is through the Gateway that most armies pass to do battle. The top tier has access through height to several of the tiers below it, and the lower tiers have lesser access to tiers below them. The bottom tier may only access higher tiers through the Gateway. It it not an uncommon strategy, especially for less-advanced players, to simply include the entire army and take the bottom tier in the hope of stampeding over the other players. Eagles are the only piece that may fly up the 'slope' between tiers.

A player is eliminated if he or she:

• passes five turns in a row.
• does not have a piece occupying any space in the Gateway for over ten turns. This requirement is removed in common variants where the more defensive postures are allowed.
• has no more pieces remaining on the board.
• cannot move any pieces that remain on the board.
• has lost the Dragon. This requirement is adjusted in some variants, giving a player who has lost her Dragon five more turns to wreak havoc - eliminating the last opponent in that time will net a victory for her.