Windows BG Program that Uses Keyboard?

Barry F Margolius

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May 5, 2012, 1:21:15 AM5/5/12

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Does anybody know if there is a Windows BG program that will let me
use the keyboard (as opposed to the mouse) to move checkers?

Thanks,
-barry

Walt

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May 5, 2012, 8:52:31 AM5/5/12

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On 5/5/2012 1:21 AM, Barry F Margolius wrote:
> Does anybody know if there is a Windows BG program that will let me
> use the keyboard (as opposed to the mouse) to move checkers?

gnubg comes with a command line interface. I've never played with it,
but it should do what you're asking for. It's free so give it a try.

//Walt

Barry F Margolius

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May 6, 2012, 4:48:31 PM5/6/12

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Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded GNUBG and tried it.
Unfortunately, it is a mouse based interface.

Thanks,
-barry

Michael Petch

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May 6, 2012, 9:21:35 PM5/6/12

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On 06/05/2012 2:48 PM, Barry F Margolius wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded GNUBG and tried it.
> Unfortunately, it is a mouse based interface.

If you click on the Windows Start logo, Select Programs, Find Gnu
Backgammon .. select GNU Backgammon CLI .

CLI stands for Command Line Interface.

Some of the basic command to get you started:

To set up the command line to play against the computer use:
set player 1 human
set player 0 gnubg

Human vs Human

set player 1 human
set player 0 human

Computer vs Computer
set player 1 gnubg
set player 0 gnubg

new match <number>

number = 0 for money session, or match length.

These commands are self explanatory:
cube - turn cube
accept - Take a cube or agree to a resignation
drop - Drop a cube
decline - decline a resignation
beaver - beaver (money session)
end - have gnubg play the rest of the game automatically
hint - ask the computer for help
resign - resign match

When it is your turn you can make a move by typing the command:

move <from> <to> <from> <to> ...
equivalent to
move <from>/<to> <from>/<to> ...
equivalent to:
<from>/<to> <from>/<to> ...

An example opening 61 would be:

13/7 8/1

If you want to set the playing strength of the bot, I recommend you run
the GUI, set the playing strength via Settings/Players, set player 0 to
GNUBG and set the strength. Exit the GUI and restart the command line.
It happens to be that setting the playing strength directly on the
command line is rather involved.

The last command you may wish to use is:

help

It will provide a list of commands and a description.

Walt

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May 7, 2012, 9:04:07 AM5/7/12

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Yes, the usual gnubg interface is mouse-based, but it also supports a
command line interface. See Michael's post above for details.

You can also play on FIBS with a command line interface (telnet). You
can play against real opponents or one of the bots on FIBS. See
http://www.fibs.com/

--
//Walt

Michael Petch

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May 7, 2012, 3:49:36 PM5/7/12

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In my previous post I showed the basics of the command line. GNUBG got
its start as a command line program without the Graphical User Interface
(GUI) back in the late 90's. The GUI was added later. The GUI itself was
designed to be a wrapper around the command line (I am oversimplifying
that, but it is close).

Not knowing the intentions of why the poster wanted to use the command
line I wanted to start with the CLI.

With all that being said, when you run the GNUBG GUI, the command line
is still available to you. You can use a combination of the GUI and the
keyboard to play.

The command line in the GUI is hidden by default. You can get access to
it by going to "View"/"Panels" and select "Command". A data entry box
should appear in the bottom right hand corner of the display. The
commands there are the same as the ones available in the CLI version.
One command that works better this way is the "help" command. It is
easier to navigate the help system via the GUI.

You can mix playing between the command line and GUI (It is your choice).

Grunty

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May 8, 2012, 8:23:32 AM5/8/12

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On 6 mayo, 22:21, Michael Petch <mpe...@capp-sysware.com> wrote:
> hint - ask the computer for help

you meant, ask the computer for a suggestion on playing this roll?

> resign - resign match

you meant, resign match or current game?

Michael Petch

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May 8, 2012, 1:29:52 PM5/8/12

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Resign current game (and or match if the resignation forces the end of
the match)

resign takes one parameter, the number of points to resign.

I didn't get into the specifics of each command as you can learn more
from the help. As an example:

help resign

Barry F Margolius

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May 9, 2012, 10:34:03 PM5/9/12

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Aha. Now I understand. Thanks for the info. The CLI is a bit
tedious, but it does work. Although I cannot figure out how to move
off the bar: I've tried "move 0 22" and "move 25 22" and "move bar
22", all with no success.

-barry

Michael Petch

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May 9, 2012, 11:34:52 PM5/9/12

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On 2012-05-09 20:34, Barry F Margolius wrote:
> Aha. Now I understand. Thanks for the info. The CLI is a bit
> tedious, but it does work. Although I cannot figure out how to move
> off the bar: I've tried "move 0 22" and "move 25 22" and "move bar
> 22", all with no success.
>

It can be tedious I agree, but one can get use to it. As for coming off
the bar you use "bar" . When bearing off a piece it is "0".

Are you sure you made a valid and complete move with your example "move
0 22". In order for a move to be valid it has to be complete. Rules are
here: http://www.bkgm.com/rules.html (Movement of checkers section).

If you have an example (paste the GNUBGID to this newsgroup thread) and
a move command that you would expect to work, I can try it here.

I did do some experimentation coming off the bar here and it does work
for me.