Some vocabulary. Some of these terms were in common use during the contest (“snipe”) and others I borrowed from different games or made up myself.
aggressive A bot that wants to attack enemy planets is aggressive. Compare greedy. I distinguish aggressive and daring as different ideas. #18 medrimonia is an aggressive bot. Bocsimacko is simultaneously aggressive and solid (the opposite of daring).
center The central area on the map. Different bots will define it differently, if they care at all.
centerline The map’s line of symmetry, or the planets that are placed on the line of symmetry. The centerline planets are those which are equally distant from both homeworlds.
complications Tactical events that are hard to evaluate; a part of the game where it’s hard to tell good moves from mistakes. A daring bot that takes risks to win, or a bot that is losing and wants to preserve survival chances, may provoke complications.
counter Counterattack. When you attack you send ships from your planets, which makes them weaker and susceptible to being countered.
cross attack Attacking moves (by the same player) that cross each other, especially if they are long moves. A cross attack consists of two (or more) cross moves, each of which is made in place of a shorter move to achieve the same goal, so it is almost always bad.
cross move A move to a distant destination when ships were available closer. Cross moves may be bad, but aren’t always. Compare cross attack.
cross positioning Positioning ships from A to B at the same time that you’re positioning ships from B to A, or from a planet near B to a planet near A. It rarely makes sense. A kind of cross move.
daring Willing to take risks to win. The opposite of solid. Compare aggressive. It is correct to play daringly when behind, but a truly daring bot will take risks even from a level or winning position. #77 Mistmanov is a daring bot.
desperado attack An attack from a planet which is about to be lost to the enemy. It is an alternative to trading down.
finishing attack An attack intended to finish the game by mopping up the enemy.
front line Your front line planets are those that are closest to the enemy. The definition is not precise. In a big melee battle, it’s common for the sides to get so mixed up that most planets are on the front line.
greedy A bot that wants to take neutrals is greedy. Compare aggressive. #19 smloh is a greedy bot.
hairpin move In a hairpin move, you send your ships a long distance from A to B then from B to C when the distance between A and C is short. In extreme cases, the move has the shape of a hairpin. Hairpin moves are related to cross moves and are usually bad.
homeworld Each side’s starting planet is its homeworld.
melee A battle in which planets are traded back and forth rapidly at short range. Generally the sides get mixed up so that the front line no longer looks like a line. A bot in a losing position, trying to hold on against overwhelming force, will often start a melee battle as a last-ditch measure. A melee battle that starts near even is usually confusing and hard to evaluate until the smoke clears—a melee battle counts as complications.
positioning The distribution of your ships among your planets. You can position a ship from A to B if you own both A and B. (It is unimportant whether you consider a defensive move, to prevent B from being captured, as positioning or not.) The most important positioning moves send ships to the front line, but there’s a lot more to it.
solid Tending to avoid risk. The opposite of daring. #3 Slin is a solid bot.
snipe Side A takes a neutral, spending ships. Side B then snipes it, coming along shortly after and taking it, gaining most of the benefit with no loss of ships (ships are only traded down). In general use during the contest.
tacking Gaining an advantage by switching between different targets of attack, especially targets that are far from each other. It is a way of taking advantage of the opponent’s opportunity cost of launching ships.
trading down Trading ships with the enemy without necessarily capturing any planets, or even trying to. Trading down reduces risk.
“ambitious” renamed “daring” 15 July 2014
original version May 2014