Branches & Twigs & Thorns

From IcehouseOrg

Branches & Twigs & Thorns
Andrew Plotkin
Players build branching tree structures from a root, trying to always branch from their own pieces, not their opponent's.
Min. Players:	warning.png“” is no number.
Max. Players:	warning.png“” is no number.
Icehouse stashes:	1 per player
Treehouse sets:	warning.png“” is no number.
Other equipment:	Chessboard, two pairs of markers
Setup time:	1 minute
Min. Playing time:	warning.png“” is no number.
Max. Playing time:	warning.png“” is no number.
Rules complexity:	Medium
Strategy depth:	Medium
Random chance:	None
Primary Mechanic:	warning.png“” cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.
Additional Mechanic:	warning.png“” cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.
Theme:	Horticulture
BGG Link:	none

Branches & Twigs & Thorns (AKA BTT and formerly known as Barsoomite Go) is Andrew Plotkin's refined version of Martian Go, tweaked to produce fewer tied games and a bit less of a first-mover advantage. Instead of automatically occupying the center of the chessboard, the root is placed wherever the non-first player wishes (or the second pair of players in a 4-player game). The first player (and the second, in 4-player) places a "null" to which no one may point. Also, scoring is a bit funnier: not only does the player who placed lose points equal to the size of the target of the placement, but the owner of the target gains points equal to the size of the hapless pointer. (This is all tracked with tokens.)

BTT can be played with other numbers of players when played on Eeyore's chessboard wedges.

BTT was published in Hypothermia #15.

Additional Languages

Branches & Twigs & Thorns (Polish)

External Links

• Branches & Twigs & Thorns is listed on BoardGameGeek.

• Official Rules site: http://www.eblong.com/zarf/barsoom-go.html

• This game can be played online at Super Duper Games.