ZÈRTZ

In ZÈRTZ, the third addition to the GIPF Project, players compete to acquire sets of multi-colored balls. This is mostly accomplished by jumping one ball over one or more others, Checkers-style, on a hex board. A player's turn consists of either jumping (which can be forced) or placing any color ball on the board and removing an empty space from the edge of the board. In this manner, the play space continually shrinks, giving the endgame an almost claustrophobic feel. This game is part of project GIPF.

{
  "game_id": 528,
  "name": "ZÈRTZ",
  "core_verb": "jump marble or place ring",
  "decision_shape": "combinatorial",
  "reward_schedule": "delayed",
  "aesthetics": [
    "Challenge"
  ],
  "core_loop_pitch": "Place a marble and remove an empty rim ring, OR force a checkers-style jump chain; collect color sets to win.",
  "mobile_translation_difficulty": "Easy",
  "translation_difficulty_reason": "Pure abstract two-player with deterministic rules — touchscreen is ideal. Free web play exists at boardspace.net and gipf.com; no first-party app.",
  "direct_digital_port": "ZÈRTZ (browser, BoardSpace / official gipf.com)",
  "direct_digital_port_kind": "unofficial",
  "closest_loop_translation": "none yet",
  "primitive_tags": [
    "forced_capture_rule",
    "shrinking_play_area",
    "color_set_win_condition",
    "ring_removal_constraint",
    "perfect_information_two_player"
  ],
  "confidence": 0.7
}