Gurami - the game

While Sudoku shows certain parallels to magic squares, Gurami is based on magic figures consisting of triangles.

The mathematicians Prof. Hans-Friedrich Bauch and Dr. Klaus-Peter Rudolph analyzed these figures.

This collaboration inspired K.-P. Rudolph to invent the puzzle Gurami and several games around it.



The basic rule of the Gurami puzzle

In each stripe the sum of the numbers in the white triangles equals the sum of the numbers in the gray triangles:



Like in Sudoku at the beginning of each Gurami puzzle some numbers are already filled in the figure in a way that there is exactly one correct solution.
The objective is to complete the puzzle with the numbers from the table:


The fish isn’t drawn around the figure for nothing. The lines in its fins and on its head visualize the three directions of the stripes and offer space for stripe-based notes.

Due to its help our puzzles are named after the friendly Gurami-fish. Gouramis (German: Gurami) are a family of freshwater fishes that are native to Asia. Giant gouramis are eaten in some parts of the world, while dwarf Gouramis are often kept in home aquariums.


The 3 Gurami games in this collection have different objectives, but they are all based on the summation rule in the stripes:

gleich = gewinnt

Equals = Wins is a family game in which the players lay out pieces to construct Gurami chains. Bigger Gurami chains bring about higher scores than smaller Gurami chains.

Kissing Guramis

(by Klaus-Peter Rudolph and Günter Cornett)

Kissing Guramis are a type of Gurami fish that will often spar by meeting mouths and pushing each other through the water.

Kissing Guramis is a 2 player game in which both players have their own boards. The objection is to score more points than the opponent by placing the same pieces in a more sophisticated way.

The game versions Kissing Guramis - Challenge and Kissing Guramis - Puzzle have the character of brain teasers. Hence these versions are the games most similar to the Gurami puzzles in the book.

All versions of Kissing Guramis can also be played by more than 2 players if enough gaming material is available (gaming pieces and board copies)

GOrami

GOrami is a strategy game for 2 persons.

Here both players have their own color. The objection isn't equal sums, but to conquer more stripes than the opponent by having higher sums of one's own gaming pieces.

One tactic is to take the last liberty of an opposing piece, because then the opposing piece is turned to one's own color.

(translation: Stefan Brach)