Welcome to the Soccer Hockey Duality Game! (Play time: < 20 min)

This is quick demonstration page which will teach you the rules of the game and some basic strategy. The real game (i.e., soccer or hockey) will then be played on the next screen (linked at the bottom of this page). This game must be played with a friend. While you can be sitting side-by-side for this demo game, it will be important for the next game (i.e., the real game) that you cannot see each other's screens. You can both open this webpage separately on your own devices and the game state will automatically be synchronized across the two browser sessions.

Goals:

Each player's objective is to get the ball/puck (i.e., the red circle) into one of the extra goal squares which is sticking out of the 9x9 area below. Decide amongst yourselves who is Player 1 and who is Player 2. If needed, click the change player type button below. Player 1's objective is to advance the ball/puck five spaces forward (i.e., upwards and to the right) into their goal. By contrast, Player 2 wants to advance the ball/puck into the other goal at the opposide side of the playing area (i.e, downwards and to the left). The game ends once either player scores a goal. The game will end in a tie if neither player can move.

Allowed/Disallowed Moves:

Different moves will be allowed in soccer and/or hockey, but in this demo game you can either move the ball/puck into one of the eight adjacent squares or you can pass it a farther distance away. These allowed moves are highlighted in yellow. Try moving the ball/puck sideways (e.g., down and right) one step at a time to the edge of the board. Notice that the game board is periodic horizontally (like Pac-Man's world). Notice also that the places where the ball/puck has previously been are now marked with a black circle. These locations are now forbidden; The ball/puck cannot return to a previously visited space. You can click the button below to reset the game.

You are now ready to play the demo game. (If you want to understand the basic stategy before playing, scroll down some more.)

Have Fun!

Basic Strategy:

Notice the six bullet points marked off in front of each goal. These are strategically important locations because they can reach one of the goals on the next move. Hence, in order to score you must begin your turn on one of these bullet points. Importantly, however, you should not just rush onto these important squares. If you do, your opponent will just knock the ball/puck away. Moreover, you will have wasted one of your six attempts at a goal. Once all of the bullet points in front of a goal have been occupied, that goal is completely blocked off. In order to win, you need to somehow force your opponent into moving the ball/puck onto one of your bullet points. This requires strategic thinking!



Now The Real Game Begins:

Once you both feel comfortable with the game's interface and the basic strategy we can move onto playing the actual Soccer Hockey Duality Game (linked below). But please read all of this text before you start playing.

There is a mystery at the heart of this game which the two players should try to solve together after playing their first game. In brief, there are two seemingly contradictory ways of looking at this game which are nonetheless somehow coherent with each other. In order to preserve the mystery until the end of the first game, however, a rather strict separation between the player's perspectives must be enforced. During the first game, each player should be focused solely upon their own game experience. In this game (as in life) the only access that you will have to the other player's experience is through their actions (and, later, through their words).

Concretely, the two players should now be seated apart from each other, and hence playing in different browser sessions. Moreover, the next game should be played without talking to each other (e.g., mute your audio call). Once the first game is over, however, the two players are encouraged to play again while looking at each other's screens and to compare notes regarding their respective experiences with the game. The nature of the game's mystery will naturally become apparent at this point.

One Last Note:

Despite the fact that you and your opponent will be looking at different game boards, this is nonetheless a "complete information game". As you look at your own game board, you see the entire game state (there is no hidden information). Moreover, you know exactly what your opponent's objective is (to score in the opposite goal) and exactly how they can achieve this goal (their move-set is exactly the same as yours). In these ways, your opponent is no mystery to you. Nonetheless, however, they will still surprise you after the first game is over.

You can now click this link to play the game. You will both be randomly assigned to play either Soccer or Hockey.