Amazons is an Abstract Strategy Game for two players, invented by Argentine mathematician Walter Zamkauskas and first published in the Argentine puzzle magazine El Acertijo in 1988. It belongs to the category of territory games, specifically, it is a pure blocking game, in which the goal is not to capture pieces but to be the last player who can make a legal move.
Each player controls four "amazon" pieces on a 10×10 board arranged like queens in chess. On their turn, a player moves one amazon any number of squares in a straight line (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), and then that same amazon fires an "arrow" in a straight line from its new position, permanently blocking that square. The game ends when one player cannot move any of their amazons; that player loses.
Amazons is notable among combinatorial game theorists: it is one of the few mainstream games where Game Theory analysis using surreal numbers and combinatorial game theory has produced genuine insight into practical play. It is studied in academic computer science because AI approaches to Amazons must be qualitatively different from minimax-based programs used for games like Chess or Draughts.
Tropes applying to Amazons:
- Abstract Strategy Game: No randomness, complete information, pure blocking strategy.
- Abandoned Mine: The arrow mechanic transforms traversed squares into permanent obstacles, progressively fragmenting the board until both sides are isolated in separate territories.
- Destructive Saviour: Every move your amazon makes is also an act of destruction, even optimal play fills the board with unusable squares.
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Growing the Beard: The opening phase looks almost like free-form Chess, but once territory begins to divide, the game shifts into a rich endgame calculation. - Inertial Dampening: Once fired, arrows stop everything, no piece can ever cross a blocked square, including the amazon that fired it.
- Obstructive Code of Conduct: The arrow is mandatory, you cannot choose not to fire it. You must block a square after every move, even if it would be strategically better not to.
- Original Generation: Unlike most classic abstract games, Amazons has a precisely known inventor, date, and publication.