Polar

Rules

Pieces are placed on empty intersections of the board. Connections are orthogonal only.

The board is initially empty.

One of the players takes two pieces (black and white) and places them on any arbitrary adjacent spaces. The other player may now decide on which color to play.

Black starts, then players take turns placing one of their pieces on an empty space according to the following rules.

Connected pieces form a group, and same-colored connected pieces within a group are called a section. A group may never consist of more than two sections.

Player may only pass if they have no moves left. They must play again in a successive turn when moves are available again.

The game ends when both players have to pass.

Score

Groups with one or equally sized sections score zero points. For any other group, the player holding the majority section gets the triangular number section points:

T(n) = n*(n+1)/2

The player with the highest total score wins. Games can end in a draw.