Some of you might recall me writing about a new game called Senket last month, something that I had absolutely no clue about. And since it is in my nature to refuse not understanding anything, I begged my friend, and creator of Senket, Geoff Canyon to sit down with me and give me the 30,000 ft. introduction to what Senket is all about, why he created it, what he thinks about the game and so forth.
Interview with Senket Master, Geoff Canyon
So Geoff,
Since you’re the authority in the game of Senket and you’re such a buddy – I thought I’d send you some interview questions so my readers can get more educated on your creation.
What motivated you to create Senket?
I like abstract strategy board games. In particular I like Go, which is one of the oldest board games in the world. Go is notable for the simplicity of its rules and the incredibly deep strategy that results. So I wanted to try to create a game with a few basic characteristics: rules as simple as possible, gameplay as deep as possible, and playable with nothing but pencil and paper.
How long did it take you to come up with the rules for the game?
I tried several variants over a few months before I came up with the rules in use today. For several years the scoring was slightly different. It was just the sum of the territory you take and the prisoners in it. That’s simpler than the current scoring method, which is to square the area of each separate territory, but the current method put a strong emphasis on connecting territories, which I think opens up the strategy significantly.
How many players can play this game? 2 or more?
Two is standard. I’ve played with three, but the other two ganged up on me and it didn’t work so well. It would probably work to play with two teams of two, but I haven’t tried that.
What is the closest thing to Senket today?
Senket’s basic game mechanics are similar to a game called TwixT invented in the early 1960s by Alex Randolph, who was a successful game inventor who created many games over the years. The overall strategy of taking territory is similar to Go, although in practice it works out quite differently.
Do you plan on releasing an iphone application soon?
It would be difficult to play Senket on an iPhone, since the standard board size is 31×31. There are a few implementations of Go on the iPhone. Go uses a 19×19 board, and that barely fits. Until Apple releases a bigger screen, or I figure out how to do a decent job of it, no — although I own an iPhone and would love to be able to play Senket on it.
I know recently Senket is slowly but steadily spreading on the internet, how well received is it?
People who like abstract strategy games seem to like it a lot. I post puzzles to my site all the time, and there is one Go master in particular who seems to have a better grasp of Senket than I do at this point.
If someone wanted to learn more about Senket, where can they find information?
Of course, at gcanyon.wordpress.com
That was great! Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to give me and my readers some insight into the history of Senket.
Credits:
I would like to thank Geoff for spending the time to walk me through his game and to all you Senket lovers out there, continue spreading the word about this game. And to those who have yet to discover this new game - well, now you know about it - take it for a spin!
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