I'd like to introduce “*Inertia*“:http://mindsports.nl/index.php/arena/inertia to the LOA community in the hope it serves to achieve what it deserves, whatever that may be. A chess board and a checkers set will suffice, but the game can also be played turnbased at “mindsports”:http://mindsports.nl/index.php/players-section .

I can guess what “connectivity-6” is for Hexinertia, but what is its “base-5”?

That's the usual way of indicating the size of the board. Base-5 means a side of 5 hexes (including both corners), making a hexhex board of 61 cells.

I guess the line is thin between new variant and new game. What makes the difference? Before I follow, I'm not trying to say that inventing this one was easy. However seeing 4 different variants at brainking (base, scrambled, cheshire cat and parachute) and black hole here I really feel that it's just another opening variant (quite similar to parachute).

“*Inertia*“:http://mindsports.nl/index.php/arena/inertia is not played at Brainking and there are two variants: basically the same game on a square- and a hex-grid.

Sorry if my English is too bad for you to understand, I'll try again to make my point.

Except being able to play on hex board what really makes Inertia to stand out form being just another set of opening rules for Lines of Action and being a game on it's own? It's rules are just a step further than, in example, already existing variant that is on brainking called Parachute Lines of Action, which is just one stop further than base game.

Again, the question is, what makes the difference between being variant of LoA and separate game.

I thought you had the game mixed up, sorry I should have checked, my bad.

As to your question, Inertia started out as a flawed “Ayu”:http://mindsports.nl/index.php/arena/ayu clone because that is a beautiful game of unification, quite different from LOA or any other unification game I know in that it has no capture. I found the object fascinating and wanted to try my hand at it.

You can follow that development and the rationale behind it in a “thread”:http://arimaa.com/arimaa/forum/cgi/YaBB.cgi?board=other;action=display;num=1362313664;start=15#15 at the Arimaa Off Topic Forum and in a “thread”:http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1021241/introducing-inertia at BGG.

The last part of its development was the translation to the square grid, and since a base-5 hexhex (61 cells) had proven large enough, an 8x8 square seems natural.

I'd argue that Inertia is a game of [i]unification[/i], but not a LOA variant, because LOA is characterized by its move and the specific generic restriction on the range of it. In Inertia the generic restriction is very different. It is not based on restricting the range of a piece, but on restricting the number of groups, counted as the sum of [i]both[/i] sides: this number may never [i]increase[/i]. I wouldn't deprive you of thinking through some of the consequences.

Oops, I'm sorry too because I have missed the movement rules. After I read your answer I realised that there are actually different movement rules. Of course now it makes no sence for me to try to classify that as LoA variant!

On the other hand, one could apply opening rules of Inertia to LoA to use as LoA variant, but I'm not sure if that would be enjoyable beyond a first few games.

That's the other major difference. But to state the obvious: though I did discover it, the opening protocol is generic and might be applied to any game that requires an evenly divided opening setup. I've first used it in “Triccs”:http://mindsports.nl/index.php/the-pit/triccs-627, a minor territory game with no particular promise of drama, more or less to 'store' it for future use. It might serve LOA as you rightly observed, and I would invite anyone to try. If it works, you may give it a name :)

_“On the other hand, one could apply opening rules of Inertia to LoA to use as LoA variant, but I'm not sure if that would be enjoyable beyond a first few games.“_

The average number of men in the Inertia games so far, has been 11.7 men each, ranging between 2x10 and 2x14. That's slightly higher than regular LOA.

The average duration of the games was 24.3 turns (so about 12 turns each). That includes the placement stage, so Inertia is a fast game.

Draws have not yet occured, nor anything even coming close.