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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 20 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.
Bead = a white, black or green disc.
Pawn = a white or black bead.
Seed = a green bead.
Neighbor cells = cells which have a common side
or corner.
Free cell = a cell with no bead on it.
Occupied cell = a cell with a bead on it.
Neighbor beads = beads 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 beads
"O" = bead, "S" = bead
neighbor on a side, "C" = bead neighbor on a corner.
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| C | S |
C |
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| S | O | 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 (maximum 3 seconds for each
one) and as spread as possible. Seeds may not be neighbor beads.
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 bead
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, 5 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 may 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 may not 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 is measured in ops.
The force of a player is equal with the force of
other players, if after playing tens or hundreds of games with
them, the player does not lose more than 45% of the games.
A player who has never played Arbos has 0 ops.
An average player has 10 ops.
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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