ground-game/workplans/GROUND-WP-0003-playtest-semi-and-coalitions.md

id	type	title	domain	repo	status	owner	topic_slug	created	updated	origin	origin_ref	state_hub_workstream_id
GROUND-WP-0003	workplan	Playtest GR-E03 semi-coop and GR-E04 coalitions to end of game	consumer	ground-game	finished	bernd	whynot	2026-08-03	2026-08-08	residual	GROUND-WP-0002	a6eb1807-3e79-588f-909c-61c002eb30d5

Playtest semi-coop and coalitions to the end

Residual of GROUND-WP-0002 T04. Rules for both modes are ruled (Modes.csv + T03 confirms). What is missing is a full game — human table or full engine playout — through Round 5 and scoring.

Finished 2026-08-08 on the engine path (RPT-0003 + notes). Human felt-play remains optional residual prose, not an open blocking task.

Engine receipt (2026-08-07) — GROUND-RPT-0003

clay-borg closed the mechanical gap: GR-E03 and GR-E04 now play to scoring. Root cause was theirs (cb-play always forced SHARED GROUND), not the modes.

finding	implication for this workplan
All three modes produce different winners from identical play (seed 1, 4p)	Modes encode distinct games — encoding looks sound
ATTACK never improves win rate in any mode (200 games × cells)	Scoring gives no path for ATTACK
In 500 competent games, DARVO armed zero times	Namesake sequence only from “bad” play on baseline
Coalitions attacking numbers = semi-coop when Bonds break	Mechanism matches GR-A07 + GR-E04 network scoring

Design question — disposition

Question: is it intended that ATTACK/DARVO is unreachable under competent play in all three modes?

Disposition 2026-08-08: treated as design gap to explore, not as “intended / leave forever.” Experimental line:

1. GROUND-WP-0006 — H1 flat pressure — reject-as-baseline (group wins collapse).
2. GROUND-WP-0007 — H2 scoped stress — in flight (clay-borg).

Do not reopen WP-0002 for this.

Modes under test

Mode	Title	Success condition	Winner
MODE_SEMI (GR-E03)	COMMON PROBLEM, PERSONAL EDGE	Group meets Scenario threshold	Among success: highest personal (claimed − Blame)
MODE_COALITION (GR-E04)	BONDED COALITIONS	Group meets Scenario threshold	Highest Bond-network total; Rivalries do not connect; unbonded = coalition of one

Task: 2p semi-coop full game

id: GROUND-WP-0003-T01
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "1baa22ee-5cc2-5168-9f55-14375dfacfe5"

Play or simulate one complete 2-player game under MODE_SEMI (threshold 5). Record: final shared total vs threshold, personal scores, Stress/DARVO moments that felt broken or unclear, any new underdetermined points.

Done 2026-08-08 (engine). clay-borg full-mode panel includes 2p SEMI; see history/260808-mode-playtest-engine-notes.md.

Task: 4p semi-coop full game

id: GROUND-WP-0003-T02
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "4407f5e5-4389-5871-89e2-bc99ab8b2700"

Same checklist at 3–4p (threshold 7). Note whether personal race undercuts group success too hard or too little.

Done 2026-08-08 (engine). 3/4/6p SEMI cells in attack-value; personal race present; ATTACK still never helps.

Task: 2p coalitions full game

id: GROUND-WP-0003-T03
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "bd039513-1eb5-504c-9a14-1c005570fa22"

Complete 2p game under MODE_COALITION. At 2p a Bond makes one coalition of two; no Bond is two solo coalitions. Check that end scoring is intelligible.

Done 2026-08-08 (engine). COALITION cells include 2p; scoring differentiates from SEMI/COOP on identical command streams (4p witness).

Task: 4p coalitions full game

id: GROUND-WP-0003-T04
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "ed8df52d-ce5e-53aa-b1c8-6b482980f158"

Complete 3–4p game under MODE_COALITION. Watch multi-player Bond networks, whether Rivalries correctly fail to connect, and whether threshold-then- coalition feels like one game or two bolted together.

Done 2026-08-08 (engine). Bond-break → E04 degenerates to E03-like attack numbers (mechanism confirmation). “Feels like one game” remains optional human residual.

Task: write playtest notes back into repo

id: GROUND-WP-0003-T05
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "a551013a-fda3-50bf-9106-0320c0ce2446"

For each completed run, leave a short note under history/ (or append to this workplan) with date, mode, player count, outcome, and any follow-up ruling needs. If a follow-up ruling is needed, spawn a new workplan — do not reopen GROUND-WP-0002.

Done 2026-08-08. Notes: history/260808-mode-playtest-engine-notes.md. Follow-up design work lives in WP-0007 (H2), not a reopened rulings WP.

Residuals

• Optional human table sessions (felt texture only).
• ATTACK/DARVO relevance → WP-0007 (active).