Game play notation
How to record moves
As with any strategy game, it is useful to record a game in notation format. In NXS, the coordinate system begins in the center of the board, with the a hex, and expands in concentric rings (see diagram below). The first position in each ring is on the center-line hex, and increases clockwise. Each coordinate also requires the color of the board, to distinguish it from the other player. When playing the standard black and white, only the first letter is needed. Otherwise the whole name of the color would be used.
The d1 hex on the White board -- W:d1
The b4 hex on the Black board -- B:b4
The c3 hex on the Red board -- Red:c3
Long form notation
Black's 3-2 piece on Black b4 moves to Black c1 -- B3-2,B:b4/B:c1White's 5-4 piece on White d16 rotates clockwise -- W5-4,W:d16>
Short form notation
In most cases, only the hex coordinate need be used:The piece on White hex a moves to White c7 -- W:a/c7 (the color of the second hex is omitted if it is the same)
The piece on White c1 moves to Black d16 -- W:c1/B:d16
The piece on Black b4 captures a White 4-3 piece on Black b6 -- B:b4/b6!W4-3
The piece on White c7 rotates clockwise -- W:c7>
The piece on Black hex a rotates counterclockwise -- B:a<
The White board is rotated clockwise -- W>
Setup notation
When describing a board setup, or game in progress, you must note not only the location of each piece, but the direction that each piece is facing. Each piece has a standard "forward" direction (relative to the center-line of the board). The standard forward facing of each piece is shown in the diagram below.
For reference, the notation for the setup of the standard short game is shown below.
W,1 (the white board is facing direction 1)
W:d15,W4-3,1 (white d15 space has a white 4-3 piece facing direction 1)
W:c10,W3-2,1
W:b5,W4-2s,1
W:b4,W3-0,1
W:b3,W4-2s,6 (white b3 space has a white 4-2s piece facing direction 6)
W:c4,W3-2,1
W:d5,W4-3,6
