Sokoban

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GPL - implementation of classic Sokoban for Linux / KDE
( screenshot KSokoban)
KSokoban-screenshot.png
Level notation: 
   ####
 ###  ####
 #     $ #
 # #  #$ #
 # . .#@ #
 #########

Sokoban (倉庫 番Sōkoban , Japanese "warehouse manager") is a computer game that was developed by Hiroyuki Imabayashi and first published in 1982 for various computer systems.

Gameplay

In a simple game principle, it is a matter of moving all objects - mostly boxes - one after the other to the intended target fields with one playing figure , whereby there is usually no specification as to which object should be moved to which target field. The crates can only be pushed and not pulled by the pawn, it is not possible to move several crates at the same time. Usually the only possible directions of movement of the pawn are up, down, right and left, so that no diagonal moves are possible.

In addition to simply passing the levels , a further challenge is to minimize the number of steps required or to play against a time limit. In the original version it was possible to undo your last step if you made a mistake, but several steps cannot be undone. Modern implementations partially remove this restriction, so that several or even all steps can be undone. Some implementations contain additional design features, for example colored or numbered boxes and target fields.

history

Imabayashi won an ideas competition with the game and founded the company THINKING RABBIT in the Japanese city ​​of Takarazuka . The first Sokoban versions available in Europe came from Spectrum HoloByte (1984, e.g. for Apple IIe ).

Over the years numerous official versions of the game - for example Boxxle - appeared for various operating systems ( C64 , Sinclair ZX Spectrum , PC , Apple Macintosh ) and game consoles such as Game Boy and PlayStation ; Unofficial variants and implementations for graphical interfaces such as PC / GEOS followed.

There are now numerous other Sokoban reprogrammings . Some of them refrain from adopting the original copyrighted levels and instead offer their own new ideas, level editors and a large number of free levels.

Sokoban has also been integrated into other computer games. There are four Sokoban levels in NetHack , for example , and the Oxyd Clone Enigma also contains a series of landscapes in which Sokoban puzzles have to be solved.

Level notation

Many Sokoban replicas use a simple ASCII format to describe the levels , which facilitates the exchange between the various implementations. Any text editor can be used to create your own levels . The current file format is 0.08, in which an example level looks like this: 

 Microban 1
 ####
 # .#
 #  ###
 #*@  #
 #  $ #
 #  ###
 ####
 Title: Microban 1
 Author: David W Skinner

A wall is represented by the symbol  #, the playing figure (Sokoban) on the starting field by  @, a target field as ., the starting positions of the boxes as  $, a box standing on a target field as  *and the playing figure on a target field as  +.

In addition, this level format also offers the option of saving scores and specific solutions.

Web links

Commons : Sokoban  - collection of images, videos and audio files