I’ve released another new OpenTafl version, this one with two major features:

First, tablut games. Two tablut variations are included. The one listed as ‘tablut’ is standard tablut, according to the rules given at Aage Nielsen’s site: armed king, strong at the center but weak elsewhere on the board. The one listed as ‘Foteviken tablut’ is, again, from Aage Nielsen’s site, and features something altogether new for OpenTafl, a feature I had planned for but had not yet used: attacker fortresses, used here for hostile attacker camps. In this version, the attackers may move around inside their starting areas, but may not re-enter them from the outside. Defenders may not enter the attacker fortresses. Additionally, the attacker fortresses are hostile to the king. In exchange, the king is always strong. This represents an interesting middle ground between corner escape rules and edge escape rules: the king’s side must still play for the corners of the board, but needs not play for the corners specifically.

Second, the implementation of the ‘rules’ command. In a game, you can type ‘rules’, and you’ll get a dialog window showing the rules of the game you’re currently playing, or the replay you’re currently viewing. Helpful if you lose track of them, or if you want clarification on a certain point of the rules for a replay.

In other news, I’ve made some small improvements to the UI, specifically the scrolling labels used for the help and rules windows, and for the in-game status display, and have compiled two more of Tim Millar’s excellent annotated games (from the World Tafl Federation) into OpenTafl replay files.

This is likely the end for 0.2.x; I hope to do some serious testing over the next week or two, as well as finalize the engine protocol. Look for a 0.2.x final in the next few weeks.