"You're supposed to have to make exactly 2 moves, but of course a piece can move back and forth if one needs to stall."
I think the rules state that "the same unit may not take 2 moves in a single turn". I have been playing a bit, and I personally find that the game is more dynamic when you ignore this rule. What was the logic behind it if I may ask?
Also I'm curious, what happens when a player is out of legal moves? Is there some stalemate mechanism? Two possible scenarii where this would happen:
- One player has two remaining walkers in a1 and b1, stuck behind two flatdogs (a2-b3 & c1-d2), one flatdog being pinned down, the other being blocked by the opponent's flatdog(s).
- You could imagine the same scenario with the player being able to move the non-pinned flatdog, but moving it in a way to block its own remaining walkers (for instance from g1-h2 to c1-d2), therefore being out of moves, as it cannot move the flatdog again according to the rule.
(my personal opinion is that a stalemate mechanism could be fun, it would allow players to still keep hope of potentially drawing a losing game)
Would love to have evaluation engines (like Stockfish) for these types of games, it would make it much easier to balance the game, and make sure there are no forced wins from any starting position.