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In Latin, "arbos" means "tree".
Components
The board (of the game) is a rectangle formed
from 20 * 20 cells. On the sides of the board, on the vertical,
each row is labeled from A to T. On the sides of the board, on
the horizontal, each column is labeled from 1 to 20.
There are 80 white, 80 black, and 21 green
discs.
Definitions
Cell = a square of the board. Each cell is
identified by its coordinates, which are represented by the
labels of the row and of the column put next to each other.
Piece = a white, black or green disc.
Pawn = a white or black piece.
Seed = a green piece.
Neighbor cells = cells which have a common side
or corner.
Free cell = a cell with no piece on it.
Occupied cell = a cell with a piece on it.
Neighbor pieces = pieces which are on neighbor
cells.
Linked pawn = a pawn which is neighbor with
another pawn of the same color.
Linked seed = a seed which is neighbor with a
pawn.
Tree = a group of pawns (even a single one), of
the same color, which are linked among them. A seed is a part of
a tree (of either player, or for both of them) if it's linked to
at least one of the pawns of the tree.
Neighbor pieces
"P" = piece, "S" = piece
neighbor on a side, "C" = piece neighbor on a corner.
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| C | S |
C |
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| S | P | S |
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| C | S
| C |
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Game
The number of players is two.
At the beginning of the game, the board is
empty.
Then, all seeds are randomly put on the board.
Each player sequentially puts a seed on the board, without
thinking where to put it, as quickly (less than 5 seconds for
each one) and as spread as possible. Seeds can't be neighbor
pieces.
Each player receives all white or black pawns.
The name of each player is the same as the color of his pawns:
white or black.
The game ends when neither player can put a
piece on the board, or when both players say "pass" one
after another.
Turn
Each player has his turn, sequentially, when he
has to put one of his pawns on the board, on a free cell. The
free cell must not be neighbor on a side with a pawn of the other
player.
Each player may have maximum 3 trees at any
given time.
From the moment his turn begins, each player has
a maximum time limit (for example, 10 minutes) to put a pawn on
the board. If he doesn't put a pawn within this time limit, it is
considered that he says "pass".
Any player can say "pass", that is, he
doesn't put a pawn on the board. In this case, the other player
has his turn.
The white player has to put the first seed and
the first pawn on the board.
After a pawn is put on the board, it can't be
moved or removed from the board.
Scoring
The game is won by the player who has the
highest number of seeds linked to (any) 2 of his trees.
If both players have the same number, there is
no winner.
Player classification
The force of a player can be from 0 to 20 ops. A
player who has never played Arbos has 0 ops.
The 10 ops force represents an average player.
It is given to players who have played hundreds of games with
players of the same force, and won at least 40% of them.
In a game, the player with a smaller force has
to play with the white pawns. If the force of the players is
equal, they must randomly choose who to play with the white
pawns.
Miscellaneous
If a player doesn't follow the rules of the
game, he is declared defeated and the game ends.
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