Bulltricker

Goal of the game

Mate the enemy King : surround it on its royal square with the four neighbouring squares occupied, at least one of them yours.

The board

• Only the rectangular squares are playable : frontal (tall) and transversal (wide).
• The alleys (odd rows, columns a–g) are used for captures ; the lanes (h rows, v columns) for movement only.
• The buffers, the only squares on the lanes (narrower than the alleys), are never occupied ; a piece glides along them freely but cannot pass over another piece on the same lane. The royal squares hold only Kings.

Movement

• Pawn : one square forward, straight or diagonally (the diagonal switches frontal↔transversal). The 7 starting pawns (h2/h7 row) may advance two squares.
• Queen : slides orthogonally any distance, or steps one square diagonally.
• King : one royal square at a time, orthogonally ; two Kings never touch. The King neither captures nor is captured.

Capture (mandatory)

• A capture is forced and continues to the end of the chain.
• Queen priority : capturing is mandatory. Priority comes neither from the type nor the number of pieces to be captured, but from the piece that captures : if a Queen and a pawn can both capture on the same turn, the Queen must capture. Among the different captures available to a given piece, the player chooses freely (no obligation to take the maximum).
• The Queen flies over its alley and captures at range ; the pawn captures the adjacent piece ahead.
• A pawn reaching the last row is promoted to a Queen.

How games end

• Mate : you encircle the enemy King.
• Trick : a mandatory capture forces you to close the trap on your own King (your opponent wins).
• Petit Trick : the same, but through your only possible move (no capture).
• Stalemate (draw) : too few pieces, total blockage, or repetition.

Note

• White moves first.
• An anti-blunder rule applies : self-defeating moves are hidden as long as another move exists.
• Simplifications : trick levels are not counted, the repetition rule is simplified, the donjon is not tracked.

This adaptation provides the Bulltricker AI engine, adjustable across several difficulty levels.

A game can be played:

• either against the Bulltricker AI App (limited to a few levels in this free-to-use version);
• or between two human players (minimal 1v1) sharing the same screen in turn — two people can thus face off on the same device.

The AI App offers a choice of colour and four levels: Discovery, Beginner, Easy, Apprentice. From Beginner onwards, the thinking time is adjustable (or unlimited); the Discovery level plays instantly.

As a guide, the Apprentice level in Limited mode, with the delay set to maximum, begins to show its strength. It can be even more formidable in Unlimited mode, at the cost of a little waiting and patience.

Future "IA Maxi" version

An "IA Maxi" version has been built. It carries the Bulltricker AI engine developed almost to its maximum, combining several algorithms and technologies.

This version remains undisclosed for now. It already includes several additional levels, the two most powerful being Master and Grandmaster. It accounts for trick-level counting, the repetition rules and the donjon — an unbeatable defensive structure as long as its configuration stays in place.

We are currently studying its release online. It will be playable for free, but progressively: a higher level only unlocks after you have beaten the current one. It is only a matter of time before you can face it.

Online "player versus player" version

In parallel, we are preparing the development of a true Player versus Player mode, in real time and online. Two formats will be offered:

• Training: to practise freely, against other players or against the Bulltricker AI engine — with no impact on your rating.
• Official (ranked PvP): games in which each player puts their true playing strength on the line, every result moving their rating.

For this rating, we have chosen the Elo method — the benchmark rating system in the world of two-player games, born in chess and today adopted by countless games and sports.

Thank you for your patience — we are delighted to finally share this game with you.

The game Bulltricker is protected by international copyright.

David Jonca, born in 1970 and of French nationality, is the author and inventor of the game Bulltricker — both its rules and its design. He began designing this game around the age of 20 and completed its creation in 1992.

Contact the team: bulltricker@gmail.com