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Vying Games : Footsteps

Footsteps is a very simple bidding game described by someone named Chris at Everything2. Beyond that, we, here at Vying Games, have no idea who may have invented Footsteps, or when, or where it's played, or if there are any interesting variations. That said, it's an intriguing, simple game that we couldn't resist adding to our lineup.

Update: Gregorio has informed us of an old commercial version of Footsteps that went by the name Quo Vadis. Interestingly enough, several other, unrelated games have also gone under the Quo Vadis moniker. Thanks for the lead, Gregorio!

How to Play

We implemented the rules as described on Everything2's Footsteps page, with one exception: We enforce a minimum bid of 1 instead of 0.

Each player tries to move a marker (in this case a disc or checker) from a center hash mark, 3 steps toward their side of a ruler. The players bid on each step from a starting allotment of 50 bidding points. After each bid is submitted the higher bidder gets to move the marker one step toward their side, and each bid is subtracted from each player's available points, respectively.

The game ends when the marker is moved all the way to one side, or when both players run out of bidding points, in which case the game is called a draw.

Strategy

This is a game of strategic bidding. Each player would like to place winning bids each time out. However, if you win by too large a margin you'll squander your bidding points, putting yourself at a disadvantage for future rounds of bidding.

The best strategy is undoubtably to correctly guess how your opponent will bid. With good anticipation, you should be able to form a bidding strategy to counter whatever your opponent does.

About the Bots

Each bot uses a different bidding strategy. We'd love to tell you something about it, but, alas, knowing their strategies makes them too easy to defeat. See if you figure them out anyway!