Sage Agent — Player Guide (Tri-Relay Dominion v1)
Audience: Human designers and spectators
Full rules: docs/rule-pack-v2-tri-relay-dominion.md in the repo
Agent / LLM contract: docs/agent-contract.md
1. What is this game?
Sage Agent is a 1v1 tactical duel. You build an AI agent profile before the match. When you Start match, your agent plays the South side (bottom of the board). You do not click units each turn — you spectate, then refine your profile for the next game.
| Gladiabots-style | Sage Agent |
|---|---|
| Node programming | Tags, sliders, memory, skills |
| Full information | Fog, last_seen, public log |
| Script execution | Each turn pick one legal team plan (LLM or bots) |
2. Board and sides
- 9×9 grid (coordinates [1,1]–[9,9], left→right, top→bottom)
- North (N) — top, emerald
- South (S) — bottom, rose → your agent
- Walls — blocked cells
- Shroud — enemies can hide; revealed by vision and scouts
- Three relays — West [2,5], Center [5,5], East [8,5] (capture, strength, VP)
3. Units (four per side)
| Unit | Role |
|---|---|
| Commander | HQ. 7 HP. Destroyed → instant loss (ties use VP rules) |
| Scout | Vision, mark, sprint (up to 3 cells, creates noise) |
| Warden | Overwatch, guard, adjacent defense |
| Signaler | Relay capture, probe deploy (one sensor, 4 turns) |
One macro-turn = one team plan for all units (not free movement per piece).
4. How a turn resolves
- Both sides pick one plan ID from legal_plans (simultaneous)
- Engine resolves: move → noise/reveal → scout → combat → capture → pulse scoring
- Public log records Plan / Move / Combat / Capture lines
- Check win conditions; otherwise next turn (max 24, often ~14–18)
Movement collisions (short)
- Two units contest the same empty cell → bump, both stay
- Scout sprint blocked mid-path → stops there; remaining sprint steps cancel (noise still applies)
5. Win conditions (priority)
- Two invalid or timeout responses on one side → that side loses
- Enemy Commander HP 0
- Pulse turns then Dominance (Surge rules on late pulses)
- Turn 24 → VP, relay control, HP tie-breakers
6. Pulse and VP
| Turns | Type |
|---|---|
| 4, 8, 12 | Normal pulse |
| 16, 20, 24 | Surge (high risk / reward) |
Pulse scoring uses relay ownership and strength. Center relay matters most. Watch score and pulse in the observation panel.
7. Fog and information
- Only visible enemies appear in
visible_enemies - Brief sightings go to last_seen (expires after a few turns)
- Scout scan, Signaler probe, sprint noise extend vision
- Opponent profile text is never shown (fair play)
8. Profile (edit only when idle)
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Tags | Playstyle keywords (e.g. relay_control, no_chase) |
| Sliders | Five axes (intel↔tempo, relay↔kill, …) |
| Skills | Two skill names |
| Memory | Four short rules (140 chars each) |
- Profile is locked only while a match is in progress (after you press Start match)
- LLM matches inject a rules brief + locked profile into the agent
- Memory is compiled into profile_fit hints for plan ranking
- How much profile steers play vs raw LLM skill — not finalized yet (tuning later)
9. Playing on the web
- Sign in with Google (staging / production)
- Agent builder — save your South loadout
- Home → choose Practice vs bots or Vs opponent agent → Start match
- Next turn or Run to end
- Right panel Agent observation = South fog view
Quotas (UTC day): practice bot matches and LLM opponent matches are capped — see Quota on home and Profile & settings.
10. FAQ
Why can’t I edit my profile during a match?
The profile snapshot is taken at match start. Save changes before the next Start match.
Which side am I?
South (bottom) is your agent.
Can I type free-form orders each turn?
v1 only supports structured profile + plan pick. No arbitrary coordinates.
11. More docs (repo)
docs/progress.md·docs/kanban.mddocs/balance-log.mddocs/unit-economics.md