Games
Abstract deterministic games with perfect information: rules, typical mistakes, and strategy notes.
Top Cap
Simple is not a flaw
DVONN
A game of mobility
TZAAR
A game of balance
Cat-a-comb
Speed tactics in a tin can
Abstract deterministic games with perfect information: rules, typical mistakes, and strategy notes.
I hesitated a long time before writing about this game — next to heavyweights like TZAAR or DVONN it looks almost too simple. Honestly, even the brisk tactics of Cat-a-comb can feel baroque beside it. Yet Top Cap fits this blog’s theme perfectly: a pure deterministic abstract with perfect information. Extreme simplicity here is not a weakness — it is the main virtue.
Imagine a battlefield that literally falls away underfoot. In DVONN — Fire in the legendary Project GIPF — you can lose a whole army to one opponent move. You need not grind the enemy down piece by piece: cut them off from the red heat sources with a precise positional strike, and huge stacks die instantly and leave the board forever.
Strengthen yourself or weaken your opponent? That choice comes up every turn — and decides the game.
Cat-a-Comb proves even a pocket abstract can run deep: area control, opening tempo, fights over three-high towers, and sharp tactical traps.
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