TEDxZurich-Gian Klainguti-Shows you how to play Birom
John Kangi introduces BōM, a game invented by his uncle, Jery, that combines logic from Chess, the excitement of Beemono, and the shared space concept of Go. The central mechanism involves maneuvering Yellow and Blue stones around a neutral Red center stone, with strategic scoring and pattern creation offering both competitive advantages and potential for mutual benefit for the community. The speaker hopes the game's unique pattern-forming capability will allow players to document and potentially decode all possible formations over time.
## Speakers & Context
- **John Kangi** — Presenter who is "really in love" with the game BōM.
- **Jery** — John Kangi's uncle, described as an inventor, painter, writer, and artist, who conceived the game in the 1980s.
- **Ted** — The venue where the presentation is taking place.
## Theses & Positions
- BōM combines the best elements of three existing games:
- **Chess:** For its logical requirement of thinking "a couple of steps in advance."
- **Beemono:** For its sustained excitement until the last stone is played.
- **Go:** For the concept of neutral territories or the "common ground."
- The game's design encourages mutual benefit: if a player creates an advantage for themselves, they should also help create an advantage for everyone around them to build a "much more sustainable place to live on."
- Documenting the created patterns via photographs and uploads could eventually lead to decoding all possible formations.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **BōM** — The name of the game, invented by Jery.
- **Red Central stone** — The core element of the game; it is designated as *neutral* and always the center of attention.
- **Common ground/Neutral territories** — The shared, empty space where stones can connect colors, allowing Blue to connect even when Yellow has captured stones.
- **Points** — A scored objective at the end of the game; the winner is determined by who has more points.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Core Play:** Two-player game (Yellow vs. Blue) attempting to surround the neutral Red stone.
- **Scoring/Advantage Mechanisms:**
- **Surrounding Opponent:** Capturing an opponent's stone allows the capturing player to take it out, which is noted as a "big Advantage."
- **Making Points:** Creating empty space (a point) allows a player to fill that space with their color, and even the opponent can use those points to connect their colors.
- **Connectivity:** The empty space left over after point creation remains "common ground," which other colors can use for connection.
- **Pattern Generation:** Simple rules lead to "really really crazy patterns" and "complex patterns."
## Timeline & Sequence
- **1980s:** Jery conceived the game while being "totally into games and puzzles and games."
- **Unspecified period:** Jery had the vision "one night... lying in bed full of sweat," leading to the patterns that form BōM.
- **A couple of years:** After conceiving it, the game eventually became "actually playable."
- **Today:** The game is being presented at Ted, having been "locked up in an archive over 20 years."
## Named Entities
- **John Kangi** — Presenter.
- **Jery** — Inventor; John Kangi's uncle.
- **Yellow** and **Blue** — The two opposing players/colors in the game.
## Numbers & Data
- **80s:** Decade when Jery was into games.
- **20 years:** Time the game was locked up in an archive.
## Examples & Cases
- **The Central Focus:** The Red central stone serves as the constant, neutral center point.
- **Pattern Variation:** Patterns created when playing with a "banker" are "very organized," whereas patterns played with the uncle (an artist) are "very crazy."
- **Future Goal:** To photograph patterns created during play, upload them, and eventually decode *all possible formations*.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **BōM** — The game itself; physically presented at the event.
- **Picture uploading/database system** — Proposed method for players to document and contribute their created patterns online.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Competition:** The strategy shifts from purely surrounding the central Red stone to strategically managing points and common ground for maximum advantage.
- **Self-Improvement:** The concept of creating an advantage for oneself while simultaneously creating one for the community ("everyone around you also get an advantage").
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker is unsure of the immediate commercial availability of the game: "I don't know yet."
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- John Kangi recommends that everyone interested in the game attend the show's conclusion to play with the presenters.
- Final appeal: The game should inspire people to document their unique patterns for potential future decoding.
## Implications & Consequences
- The underlying philosophy suggests that collaborative creation (like the game) should lead to a "much more sustainable place to live on."
## Verbatim Moments
- *"it combines the best aspects from chess Beamon and go"*
- *"neutral territories or I call the common ground"*
- *"Bam he had it right in front of him"*
- *"everything's formed around this red Central stone called beom"*
- *"if you surround your opponent you can take it out"*
- *"the space that is left over the empty space is caling ground"*
- *"If anybody would just take a picture of the pattern they create they can upload it"*
- *"We would really implement it in this Century"*