Dots (previously the names “feudal lords”, “cities”, “states” were also used in a limited way) is an abstract turn-based intellectual strategic board game with a fixed number of players (two sides) and full information.
It is played on a flat playing field, divided by horizontal and vertical lines into cells of the same size. Players alternately place dots of two colors at the intersection of lines - points. The goal is to surround the opponent's dots by closing a continuous chain of your own dots around them, located no more than one cell apart horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
In the classic version, the game uses a sheet of squared paper (for example, from a regular school notebook) and ballpoint pens (pencils, felt-tip pens) of two colors (traditionally blue and red).
Itmost likely originated in the Soviet Union, but it was not widely distributed until the second half of the 1970s. Initially, it was a spontaneous adaptation of Go to play not on a special goban, but on paper. Over time, it acquired a number of specific features, making it, in general, the antipode of its ancestor.
In the late Soviet era, Dots were one of the favorite pastimes of schoolchildren and students, which is why an extremely persistent stereotype was formed in relation to the game: frivolous, childish, unworthy of the attention of an adult. These prejudices have nothing to do with reality, but they still greatly hinder development.
Meanwhile, Dots are, in essence, although somewhat simplified and modified, but still Go. And Go is a very deep game, an officially recognized sport and a whole philosophy. From its ancestor, Dots inherited rich game mechanics, combining tactical enumeration of options and spatial strategy. The variety of combinations, positional variability are enormous. The only problem is that the amateur status does not contribute to the disclosure of potential and the formation of a full-fledged theoretical base.
The game develops attention, memory (especially visual), spatial thinking. Very exciting, “attaching”. Here, apparently, the specificity of the gameplay and its visualization has an effect: chasing an opponent, capturing, visible increase in one’s own possessions. The hunting instinct, nothing else. Quite spectacular for an outside observer: the position quickly changes and constantly becomes more complicated, the result often does not correspond to the visible course of the game. The basic rules are simple, you can learn to play at a primitive level very quickly.
Dots as a social phenomenon are a unique element of folklore. A spontaneously emerging intellectual pastime of student youth, which for most of its history was passed from mouth to mouth (or from hand to hand - as you prefer), was not artificially imposed by anyone and was not seriously promoted. It existed in this form for several decades and is now unlikely to disappear without a trace in space and time.
Only in the early 2000s, when the World Wide Web united a few enthusiasts of points, some kind of crystallization of the gaming community began to emerge. In small steps - from one online project to another - the game gradually developed. More or less generally accepted rules were formed, truly skilled players appeared, obvious criteria of skill and, logically, hints of sports motivation.
Almost all projects were completely amateurish and were based on the sheer enthusiasm of the creators and the enthusiasts who joined them. When the enthusiasm dried up, the project ended. However, the legacy accumulated, and the daredevils who were ready to try one more time did not run out. The conclusion from this is simple: the phenomenon has potential for development and people intuitively feel it. Everything rests on a banal lack of resources.
The fate of the project Sport Dots, one of the authors of which was your humble servant, was quite indicative in this regard. When in 2015 the Belarusian IT company PixelPlex decided to develop a multi-platform gaming application and turned its attention to Dots, the community involved in the work and minimally stimulated (its active part, of course) perked up and in a couple of years produced an unprecedented volume of all kinds of creativity. The process of standardization and codification of the rules of the game,the theoretical basewas radically improved, dozens of tournaments were held (including several face-to-face ones), the Sevastopol Sports Dots Clubwas registered, under the auspices of which a single rating list was established and sports ranks were introduced, the volume and quality of thematic content was increased by an order of magnitude, and much more. But as soon as the developer became disappointed in the commercial prospects of his product and gradually curtailed support, the community activity quickly returned to the background values of the standby mode.
So is it worth discussing further development at all if its obligatory condition is outside help? I will answer with a question: do you know many sports, both purely amateur and quite official, that are commercially viable in themselves and are able to survive without state support or sponsorship injections? How long will some St. Petersburg “Zenith” survive without Gazprom money or Moscow “Lokomotiv” without Russian Railways? But these are the number one sports. And not some provincial teams, but multiple champions of the country. I am afraid that if we completely stop direct or indirect subsidies, then even football will very quickly return to the courtyards, where, in fact, it came from. What can we say about less promoted disciplines.
It is in such a conventional courtyard that the Dots are now located. And with minimal support they are quite capable of organically fitting into the process of increasing sports diversity, the importance of which we have already discussed. Not in the leading roles, of course, but an orchestra cannot consist of soloists alone, right?
Alexander Parfenov January 5, 2021