Kropki (Dots) - frequently asked questions
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I am playing against the computer, but
it doesn't seem to respond. Why is it 'thinking' for so long?
The computer rarely takes more than a few
seconds to make its move. Nevertheless, there may be a lag caused
by communication latency between our server and your PC.
Occasionally the game might 'hang' (the computer move sent from
our server might get lost). In that case refreshing the web page
usually helps (Ctrl-R in Firefox).
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How can I download the software to play games against the computer?
The computer program can be downloaded
here.
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Can I resign, or do I have to play to the end?
There is no need to play to the end. At any time during the given game
you can press the 'end the game' button either to resign, or to start
again if the game has been played against the computer.
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How can I play against other people?
Just click on a person's screen name to
invite them to play. You may also try another website:
http://www.szkrab.net.pl.
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If I accept someone's invitation to play, will my current game against the computer be lost?
No, it won't. You can resume the game at any time by clicking the 'play against the computer' button.
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Why has my game with 'foo' (a human player) disappeared?
The games between people disappear if one of the following happens:
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Nobody has kept a browser tab with a particular game open for over a
minute.
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Neither Blue nor Red has been at the game table for over a minute, and
there has been no activity at the game table for over 15 minutes.
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The game has already ended, and there has been no activity at
the game table for over 1 hour.
The phrase 'no activity at the game table' means that no one has made
a move, no one has requested a permission to take back their previous
move, no one has resigned, and no one has commented on the game in
question.
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What does a star symbol in front of a screen name mean?
A star symbol in front of a screen name designates a guest player
(i.e., an unregistered player, who, as such, is not required to log
in) as opposed to a registered player (without a star symbol). (Note
that many options in the game such as choosing various rule sets or
playing rated games are available only to the registered players.)
A caution is advised when dealing with players who use familiar or
well-known screen names preceded with a star symbol as they might
happen to be some shady individuals, who pretend to be someone they
are not.
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What is the outcome of banning a kibitzer?
Banned kibitzers will not be able to use the chat room to comment on
the current game, but they can still follow it and read other people's
comments. All games and chat rooms are public, and no one can be
forced to leave the table.
An option of a private chat room between players might be added in the
future.
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How is my rating computed?
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How can I get access to a past or recently played game?
Click '>' below the board to open a
window where you can review the current game. After the game has
ended, click on the link to eidokropki generated by the system.
Another option would be to access eidokropki directly via
http://eidokropki.reaktywni.pl/games.phtml
to search for and view the game. Note, however, that all games played
on a given day will be available at eidokropki on the following day!
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How is the patial score for yet unused pools computed?
To make a long story short, it is estimated by means of a computer
simulation during which the game is played out to the end.
Under the standard rules the following assumptions are made: 1) no pools will be destroyed or reduced, 2) the pools bigger than two squares are worth as much as the two-square pools.
The second assumption may lead to an inaccurate final score. Indeed,
this may happen if there are big pools on the board (bigger than 3
squares) which can be partially salvaged even after an opponent has
placed a dot in them. In such cases the players are advised to
continue playing until there are only small pools left on the
board. If one side has a considerable advantage the above phenomenon
should not significantly affect the computation of the final score via
the simulation.
Under the szkrab rules the final score is computed almost exactly as
on szkrab. The only difference is that the possibility of capturing an
opponent's dot is taken into account even if there is no more room to
place a dot. This may lead to a one point difference in the final
score as compared with that of szkrab.
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Why is the private chat not always working?
One cannot talk (privately) with somebody who plays with someone else.
That means, in particular, that if one plays with somebody, then one
is allowed to privately talk only with the opponent (provided the opponent does
not play simultanously with someone else).
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Why do I get private messages (PM) from people who are not logged in?
A registered user may send PMs to another registered user even if the latter is logged out.
The PMs will be delivered by the next login. Warning: do not trust too much that the messages
to offline users will be delivered -- they should be, but we do not guarantee it. In particular,
the messages will be lost when the server is restarted.
Guests can neither get PM from nor send PM to people who are not logged in.
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I talk privately with a guest. If the guest logs out and then someone else logs in
using the same nick, will that person see our conversation?
No. When one of the interlocutors is a guest, then the chat will be deleted (on the server side)
immediately after any of the interlocutors logs out.
That is why guests usually do not appear on the list of interlocutors after clicking ''(load last)''.
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How private are private chats?
Chats are not encrypted, so they can be easily eavesdropped when one of the interlocutors uses
unencrypted WiFi network; chats can be also read by people controlling a host between the client
and the server.
Chats can be read by anyone, who is able to guess the password of a user.
The last 64 lines of the chat may survive quite long on the server.
One may see what is possible to recover by clicking ''load all'' and loading the chats.
One may delete the chat using a link ''delete chat'' above chat area.
Talks between guests disappear immediately after one of the interlocutors logs out.
Administrators of zagram.org do not read the chats, but they may gather and publish statistical info
concerning the use of the chats (for example, total number of lines sent during a day by all users).
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Are there any other websites dedicated to the game of Kropki (Dots)?
Of course there are, for example: