                       | |||
| 65R-54$-31 is the same as 65R-54O-31 | |||
| Position ID: yOfgATDgc/ADIA Match ID: cIkFAAAAAAAE | |||
| The choice here is not obvious to me.
By eschewing the hit, Blue would leave his opponent with 2, 4, and 9 to cover the slot. That’s 25 or 26 rolls (depending whether you think White should cover with 33). Blue will certainly be happy when White fails to cover. He will have escaped a back checker, made his 5pt, and earned another shot at the slot. But even when White does cover, Blue may have the better circumstance. He would have his 5pt, while White would have his 4pt, and Blue would be playing with only one checker back. In favor of hitting, of course, is the race. The hit converts a tie into a significant advantage for Blue. Thereafter, Blue would be playing one checker back to White’s three. On autopilot, I have no doubt that I would hit. Were I to pause to reflect, I might well make the 5pt instead. It will be interesting to see what the bot prefers. If I were trying to play the opponent, I would assume that hitting creates the more complicated game. Not hitting means the opponent will try to cover the slot. That’s the kind of obvious action that even a weaker player should be good at. NactationBack in 2011, Nack changed the meaning of I. The original definition, given in the 1st Edition of the Nactation Tutorial states, “I stands for In. This refers to bringing a checker into or playing it inside (within) one’s own inner board.” By this definition, Daniel’s usage is correct.In the upcoming 2nd Edition, however, I (In) is replaced by I (Inside). The meaning was first explained in Nack’s post from 2011, wherein he writes, “I (Inside) plays (both or) all four portions entirely within the inner board.” According to the new definition, I (Inside) cannot be used for 13/4. The correct arial (i.e., area-based) family for 13/4 is O (Outer). In the O (Outer) family, half the move is played down (to a destination in the outer board), and the other half is played out of the outer board (by jumping over the bar into the inner board). For a non-doublet, the ratios Far:Down:Jump:Inside = 0:1:1:0. Alternatively, the $% (Slot/Alternate slot) style family can be used for 13/4. Moving 8/4 makes the slot, and the remaining die is played down 13/8. Mike |