David Artman wrote:
<snip>
SO, how about these revisions:
* If the game uses no more than 15 pieces, and color is irrelevant ***or
the use of opaques hinders play***, then it's "single stash."
* If the game uses no more than 15 pieces, and color is relevant or is
***critical*** to distinguish piece ownership during play, then it's
"Treehouse set."
Closer? Or do you have a set of counter-definitions that "hook into"
simpler ways to distinguish?
Maybe a third category would help? Something like:
Where Stash = a set of 15 pyramids, 5 of each size
"Standard Stash" -- playable with any stash. Color irrelevant, opacity
irrelevant.
"Treehouse Set" -- playable with a Treehouse set.
"Special Stash" -- playable with <=15 pyramids but requires additional
specifications.
So "standard stash" is a subset of "treehouse". _Any_ of the
pre-Treehouse monochrome stashes or a Treehouse set will work.
"Treehouse Set" games that are not also "Standard Stash" rely on some
feature of the Treehouse set, either a mix of colors or a single nest of
opaques.
"Special Stash" games cannot be played with a Treehouse set or an
arbitrary monochrome stash -- but might work with _some_ monochrome
stashes. (E.g., a game that requires all opaque or all transparent, or
two to four opaque nests. Maybe <= 15 pyramids but a different
distribution of sizes.) I imagine these games are relatively rare.
The Special Stash category doesn't feel _quite_ right to me. Vaguely
paraphyletic, but might be useful anyway.
Frank F. Smith
Thanks!
David