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Sashité Game Protocol
Overview
The Sashité Game Protocol defines the fundamental mechanics and terminology for abstract strategy board games within the Sashité ecosystem. This protocol establishes the conceptual foundation that underlies all Sashité notation specifications, providing consistent terminology and game mechanics that enable rule-agnostic representation across different game systems.
This document serves as the theoretical foundation for the entire Sashité specification family, ensuring coherent terminology and consistent game modeling across all formats.
Core Concepts
Match and Game Structure
A match is a gaming session between two players. The game consists of two fundamental components: three locations where pieces can exist, and a collection of pieces with varying attributes and capabilities.
Players and Turns
When a match begins, the first turn is assigned to the first player. The other participant is called the second player. These designations remain fixed throughout the entire match.
The player who has the initiative, meaning the player whose turn it currently is, is called the active player. The other player is the inactive player.
As long as a match is not finished, both players can alternately make moves. After each move, the active player becomes the inactive player, and the inactive player becomes the active player.
Locations
A location is either the board, the first player’s hand, or the second player’s hand.
The board is composed of squares that can either contain a piece or be empty. Each square can hold at most one piece at any given time.
Pieces and Their Attributes
Each piece possesses four fundamental attributes that completely define its identity and capabilities:
Type
The type of the piece identifies its functional class, determining its basic movement patterns and abilities within the game system.
Style
The style of the piece specifies the rule system and tradition that governs the piece’s behavior, enabling pieces from different game systems to coexist within the same match.
Side
The side of the piece indicates its alignment with either the first player or the second player, which may influence movement direction, interaction rules, and other contextual behaviors.
State
The state of the piece reflects its current status, which may be diminished, normal, or enhanced, potentially modifying its capabilities or interactions with other pieces.
Move Mechanics
Move Definition
Each move represents a complete action taken by the active player during their turn. A move can be viewed as a sequence of atomic actions that execute sequentially within a transaction.
Displacement Operations
A move may result in zero, one, or multiple displacements of pieces between locations:
- Board-to-board displacement: Moving a piece from one board square to another board square
- Board-to-hand displacement: Moving a piece from a board square to the active player’s hand
- Hand-to-board displacement: Moving a piece from the active player’s hand to a board square
Piece Mutations
A move may also result in zero, one, or multiple mutations affecting one or more pieces. A mutation causes one or more changes to a piece’s attributes:
- Type mutation: Changing the piece’s functional class
- Style mutation: Changing the piece’s rule system
- Side mutation: Changing the piece’s player alignment
- State mutation: Changing the piece’s status level
Move Validity Constraint
Important constraint: Every move must result in at least one displacement or one mutation. A move cannot result in zero displacements and zero mutations simultaneously, as this would constitute an invalid “null move” that does not advance the game state.
System Invariants
Conservation Principle
At each turn, the total number of pieces across all locations must remain the same throughout the match. Pieces may change attributes or locations but are never created or destroyed.
Position Evolution
Each move creates a new position. A position is defined by:
- The board structure and layout
- The complete list of pieces in the game
- The current location of each piece
- The current active player
Transactional Integrity
The execution of a move must occur within a transactional context, ensuring that all atomic actions within a move are completed successfully or the entire move is rolled back. This guarantees game state consistency and prevents partial move execution that could leave the game in an invalid state.