u/Aggravating_Quiet_85

Karn

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What is Karn:

Karn is an abstract strategy game I created where you build in 3D; the aim is to build as high as possible and have the most pieces at the highest level. You and your opponent should use strategies to both gain height while trying to stop each other. You can hinder your opponent by blocking them off; this can be done in many ways, and you must plan your structure to give yourself the most options and give your opponent the least.

 

The pieces:

This game has 3 pieces: blocks (15 per player), pillars (10 per player). These are building pieces, and platforms (20) are shared between both players.

 

How to play:

This is a turn-based game starting with white, then black. You start by placing a building block on the board, and then your opponent does the same; from there, you need to work out how to build up and block your opponent from doing the same.

 

Rule 1 – Blocks and Pillars may only be placed on the Board or on a Platform.
Rule 2 – A Platform may only be placed between a Block and a Pillar that are orthogonally adjacent and on the same level.
Rule 3 – You cannot place a building piece on the part of a Platform directly above a Block, unless your Platform is owned (see Rule 6); then a Pillar can be placed in that area.
Rule 4 – Your opponent’s pieces are inverted for you: their Blocks act as Pillars, and their Pillars act as Blocks.

Rule 5 – You cannot place a Pillar next to an opponent’s Block unless that Block has a Platform above it.
Rule 6 – A Platform is owned by you if both supporting pieces are yours, shared if one supporting piece is yours, and off-limits if neither supporting piece is yours. You cannot build on a Platform that is off-limits to you.
Rule 7 – A 2×1 tower may only continue directly upward for two Platforms. To build higher, the next Platform must connect from a different stack or direction.
Rule 8 – Running out of legal moves: If your move leaves you with no legal moves, your opponent gets one final turn, and then the game ends. If your move leaves your opponent with no legal moves, that move counts as the final turn and the game ends immediately.
Rule 9 – Scoring: When the game ends, find the highest occupied level, where a level encompasses all platforms at the same height and building blocks on them. On that level, Blocks score 1, Pillars score 2, and Platforms owned by you score 1.

Win: The player with the higher score on the highest occupied level wins.
Draw: If both players have the same score on the highest occupied level, the game is a draw.

Prototype image (last two images):

I have uploaded an image of a prototype Karn board after a game.

For the prototype, I borrowed draughts pieces to represent the Blocks and several differently sized Catan pieces to represent the pillar. Even though the Catan pieces are different sizes and shapes, they all represent the same pillar piece type in Karn.

Game Name: Karn

I have updated some names (hard-powered is now owned, soft-powered is now shared, and dead is now off-limits; I have changed "lintel" to "platform"). These are not reflected in the images, but they are in the post body.

Players: 2
Play Time: 20–30 minutes
Components: 30 Blocks (wood), 20 pillars (wood), 20 platform (glass)

What is Karn?

Karn is a strategy game where you try to build as high as possible while battling against your opponent. You can sabotage their structure, but they can do the same to yours, so you have to develop 3D strategies to counter their advances.

The game uses only 3 types of pieces, each with its own use. Blocks and pillars are the main building pieces used for gaining height, strategic placement and attacking. Lintels connect the structure together and form the floor for each new level.

At the end of the game, the player with the highest score on the highest occupied level wins.

Rules:

Start

The game starts with an empty board. White goes first, followed by Black, and the players then alternate turns.

On your turn, you place one legal Block, pillar or platform.

At the start of the game, Blocks and pillars can be placed on any empty space on the board.

Objective

Build as high as possible, attack the other player with your Blocks, and keep your tower stable and connected.

Piece types:

Building pieces – Blocks (15 per player) and pillars (10 per player).

Platform (20 in a shared pool)

Building:

Rule 1 – You can not place building pieces on top of each other.

Rule 2 – Platforms are only placed between a Block and a pillar, but not along diagonals. Platforms cannot be placed directly on the board and must be level.

Rule 3 – You can place Blocks or pillars on platforms; you can not place one of your pieces on a platform in the area above a block.

Rule 4 – Defining the level: a level comprises all platforms at the same height, along with the building pieces placed on them.

Attacking:

Rule 5 – You can not place a pillar next to your opponent’s block if that block is adjacent and at the same level (diagonal does not count).

Rule 6 – If your pillar gets surrounded by 2 opponent blocks on the same level (diagonal does not count), then your pillar is taken, and you must replace it with a block (if there are no blocks left to replace it, then you lose).

Rule 7 – Blocks can be either active (when no platform is placed above it) or inactive(a platform is placed above it). When active, the block can perform Rules 5 and 6, but when inactive, it can't perform them. Pillars are also safe when a lintel is placed above them, meaning they can no longer be taken.

Rule 8 – Your opponent's blocks and pillars have inverted functions, so their blocks act as pillars, and their pillars act as your blocks.

Platform mechanics:

Rule 9 – Platforms have three states; these states depend on whose blocks support them. If both of the building pieces supporting a platform are yours, the platfomr is owned; if one building piece is yours and the other is your opponent's, then the platform is shared. If both are your opponent's, then the platform is off limits for you, which means you cannot place any of your building blocks on it.

Rule 10 – If a platform is owned, you can place a pillar on a lintel in the space above a block; this counters Rule 3.

Rule 11 – You can only make a 2-by-1 tower 2 platform high before you need to have a platform coming from another stack; this prevents the tower from falling over.

 

Game ending:

Rule 12 – Running out of legal moves. If you make a move and afterwards you have no legal moves left, your opponent gets one final turn, and then the game ends. If your move causes your opponent to have no legal moves at the start of their turn, then the move you make now counts as the final turn and the game ends.

Scoring:

Rule 13 – when the game ends, find the highest stack level and count all pieces at that level; blocks have a score of 1, pillars have a score of 2, and owned platform have a score of 1. 

 

Win and draw:

W1 – The game ends; you have the highest score, calculated using rule 13.

W2 – You take an opponent's pillar, and they have no blocks to replace it with.

D1 – The game ends; both sides have the same score, calculated using rule 13.

Prototype image (last two images):

I have uploaded an image of a prototype Karn board after a game.

For the prototype, I borrowed draughts pieces to represent the Blocks and several differently sized Catan pieces to represent the pillar. Even though the Catan pieces are different sizes and shapes, they all represent the same pillar piece type in Karn.

Game Name: Karn

Players: 2
Play Time: 20–30 minutes
Components: 30 Blocks (wood), 20 pillars (wood), 20 Lintels (glass)

What is Karn?

Karn is a strategy game where you try to build as high as possible while battling against your opponent. You can sabotage their structure, but they can do the same to yours, so you have to develop 3D strategies to counter their advances.

The game uses only 3 types of pieces, each with its own use. Blocks and pillars are the main building pieces used for gaining height, strategic placement and attacking. Lintels connect the structure together and form the floor for each new level.

At the end of the game, the player with the highest score on the highest occupied level wins.

Rules:

Start

The game starts with an empty board. White goes first, followed by Black, and the players then alternate turns.

On your turn, you place one legal Block, pillar or lintel.

At the start of the game, Blocks and pillars can be placed on any empty space on the board.

Objective

Build as high as possible, attack the other player with your Blocks, and keep your tower stable and connected.

Piece types:

Building pieces – Blocks (15 per player) and pillars (10 per player).

Lintel (20 in a shared pool)

Building:

Rule 1 – You can not place building pieces on top of each other.

Rule 2 – Lintels are only placed between a Block and a pillar, but not along diagonals. Lintels can not be placed directly on the board and must be level.

Rule 3 – You can place Blocks or pillars on tiles; you can not place one of your pieces on a lintel in the area above a block.

Rule 4 – Defining the level: a level comprises all lintels at the same height and the building pieces placed on them.

Attacking:

Rule 5 – You can not place a pillar next to your opponent’s block if that block is adjacent and at the same level (diagonal does not count).

Rule 6 – If your pillar gets surrounded by 2 opponent blocks on the same level (diagonal does not count), then your pillar is taken, and you must replace it with a block (if there are no blocks left to replace it, then you lose).

Rule 7 – Blocks can be either active (when no lintel is placed above it) or inactive(a lintel is placed above it). When active, the block can perform Rules 5 and 6, but when inactive, it can't perform them. Pillars are also safe when a lintel is placed above them, meaning they can no longer be taken.

Rule 8 – Your opponent's blocks and pillars have inverted functions, so their blocks act as pillars, and their pillars act as your blocks.

Lintel mechanics:

Rule 9 – Lintels have three states; these states depend on whose blocks support them. If both of the building pieces supporting a lintel are yours, the lintel is hard-powered; if one building piece is yours and the other is your opponent's, then the lintel is soft-powered. If both are your opponent's, then the lintel is dead for you, which means you cannot place any of your building blocks on it.

Rule 10 – If a lintel is hard-powered, you can place a pillar on a lintel in the space above a block; this counters Rule 3.

Rule 11 – You can only make a 2-by-1 tower 2 lintels high before you need to have a lintel coming from another stack; this prevents the tower from falling over.

 

Game ending:

Rule 12 – Running out of legal moves. If you make a move and afterwards you have no legal moves left, your opponent gets one final turn, and then the game ends. If your move causes your opponent to have no legal moves at the start of their turn, then the move you make now counts as the final turn and the game ends.

Scoring:

Rule 13 – when the game ends, find the highest stack level and count all pieces at that level; blocks have a score of 1, pillars have a score of 2, and hard-powered lintels have a score of 1. 

 

Win and draw:

W1 – The game ends; you have the highest score, calculated using rule 13.

W2 – You take an opponent's pillar, and they have no blocks to replace it with.

D1 – The game ends; both sides have the same score, calculated using rule 13.

Prototype image (last two images):

I have uploaded an image of a prototype Karn board after a game.

For the prototype, I borrowed draughts pieces to represent the Blocks and several differently sized Catan pieces to represent the pillar. Even though the Catan pieces are different sizes and shapes, they all represent the same pillar piece type in Karn.

I have built a full adder that completes all calculations in 2 ticks. This differs from my very compact adders in that it does not use XOR or XNOR. I have compacted this design, but I believe there is a lot more room for improvement in future small versions of this adder. I built this using torches, dust, glass (and target blocks) I have been able to remove all target blocks with same form factor with little change to structure, this version is on planet minecraft.

This adder works via cross-inhibition and NOR gates. So there are two core rails; these are directly linked to the A and B inputs, respectively. Each core rail has a torch at the end, which directly acts on the sum output. Each core rail has a cross-inhibitor that uses a torch to invert the opposite rail's input onto the core rail it outputs on. When carry is turned on, this will directly inhibit both core rails, preventing an output sum. For all other cases, there are two NOR gates directly acting on the sum: the first one takes the inverted carry and the inverted OR of both A and B; the second NOR also takes the inverted carry and a signal made from the inverted A ORed with the inverted B.

The carry circuit has a NOR gate with inverted A and B inputs acting directly on Cout, followed by another NOR gate that also acts directly on Cout; this one has two inputs: the NOR of A and B, combined with the inverted carry.

This has been implemented in Java. I have uploaded a schematic on Planet Minecraft under the same title.

I have built a compact 1-bit full adder using only torches and dust; the dimensions are 5 wide by 8 tall with a depth of 2. I was able to make this very small thanks to my XOR gate, which is 4x2x4 and on my Reddit.

I stacked two of my XOR gates on top of each other, and for the carry-out, I used the torches that both XOR gates already have, which works out when both inputs are on; I simply ORed these signals together.

I have managed to place inputs A and B on the base and the carry-out on the side. So this can be stacked on in front of the other with a 1-block gap and one extra block on the side to accommodate the extra wiring.

This design, V1.2, builds on my last design (V1.1) by reducing the width from 6 to 5 blocks, bringing the total bounding-box volume from 96 to 80. This design also reduces the tick count on the carry input to 4 redstone ticks when configured to chain with another adder. I have uploaded a file showing how this can be done on Minmev; however, when chained, the adder becomes 6-wide rather than 5 due to the extra logic required.

This is done in Java Edition.

I have been able to make a 2-long full adder using my 2-long XOR gate design. This full adder design uses two XOR gates stacked on top of each other, and for the carry, it uses part of both XOR gates where there is already a troch that works out if both inputs are on; the signals from both are ORed together, which gives the carry out. This design is not fully optimised, so it's very likely there is a way to compress the height and width a lot more. At the moment, it stands 9 high and 7 wide.

I have made an XOR gate from scratch using only Redstone dust, torches, and wool. I have made this very compact, at only 2 long, 4 high, and 4 wide, without using repeaters or target blocks.

I have made a 1-bit adder and subtraction unit; it works via 2's complement. I was able to make my full adder much more space-efficient, allowing me to make this unit only 5 blocks high, 4 blocks wide, and 7 blocks long, without needing comparators, pistons or repeaters; the only blocks used are:

Redstone dust

Wool block

redstone lamp

target block

glass

The back has input B and a substation mode toggle (2's complement when high). on the right side is input A, and on the left side is carry input/ borrow. The front has the main output, and the carry out can go either forward or to the right.

I have made a XOR gate that's 2 long and 4 wide and 4 high (5 high if you replace the repeater with a block and run the redstone dust up and above the inverter torch), i have used target block's and a repeater to more efficently reduce the size while not using any comparators, though as i mentioend the repeater can be omited but with high increase as a compromise.

I use this design and similar versions in adders and subtracters so they can integrate quite well with each other, though some slight shuffling helps a lot with size reduction. It being 2-wide has helped a lot in compressing the length of the logic using them. Often, when I shuffle this around to fit a circuit, the repeater is no longer needed (only one of my circuits still uses a repeater in one of the XOR gates).

I have built an XNOR gate from scratch without comparators.

To make the wiring more compatible, I used a target block, as an incoming redstone line would redirect the dust. Target blocks can be removed and replaced with normal blocks, depending on the input direction (if activated by a torch from underneath or above, they can be removed).

It's only 2 main blocks long (there is a torch for the output, so this would make it 3 long, but this can drive a wire underneath it, so in a way it's no longer than the redstone output collecting wire; this is why I put it as effectively 2 long), 3 wide, and 4 high.

I have built a 3-bit adder without any help or tutorials. The inputs are a decimal keypad (only one number can be chosen per keypad) and a 7-segment hexadecimal display.

I have used two decimal-to-binary converters to convert the inputs, and then the output bits are fed into one half adder and two full adders in a carry chain (the full adders are based on the adder I posted before). The outputs from the adders are fed into a binary-to-hexadecimal converter, which then drives a display driver that works similarly to a decimal-to-binary converter, but for segment control rather than an actual binary number.

It's quite big, so I know it's not optimised as much as it could be. I could try to incorporate the binary-to-decimal and display driver into a single logic solution in the future. Also, routing can definitely be optimised. still think it's worth sharing.

No comparators or pistons are used. I have designed all parts from scratch.

I have spent all day going from 8 length by 6 height by 7 wide to now 5 length by 6 height by 4 wide.

The two-bit inputs are on the front, and the carry input is on the right side.

The main bit out is on the front, and the carry-out is on the left side.

There are definitely better designs, but I still think this is a fun one.

No comparators or repeaters are used here.

I have retaken the pictures.

I have spent all day going from 8 length by 6 height by 7 wide to now 5 length by 6 height by 4 wide.

The two-bit inputs are on the front, and the carry input is on the right side.

The main bit is on the front, and the carry-out is on the left side.

There are definitely better designs, but I still think this is a fun one.

No comparators or repeaters are used here.