Reference: turn

The turn object configures how many moves each player gets per turn, who is active, optional stages, turn order, and automatic moves at the start of a turn. It is a top-level key in the game config (and can also appear inside a phase to override per phase).

minMoves / maxMoves

Number of moves allowed per turn.

• minMoves — Minimum moves before the turn can end (default: 1 when omitted).
• maxMoves — Maximum moves in the turn (default: 1 when omitted).

When both are 1, the player makes exactly one move then the turn advances.

Example (Connect Four, Reversi): one move per turn.

"turn": {
  "minMoves": 1,
  "maxMoves": 1
}

activePlayers

Maps who is currently acting to a stage name. Used with stages for multi-stage turns (e.g. “jump if possible” then “move” in checkers).

• Keys are typically currentPlayer (the player whose turn it is) or other player keys.
• Values are stage names that must exist in stages.

Examples:

• Checkers: current player starts in stage jumpIfPossible.
• Eights: current player in stage normalPlay.

"activePlayers": { "currentPlayer": "jumpIfPossible" }

"activePlayers": { "currentPlayer": "normalPlay" }

stages

Optional map of stage names to stage configs. Each stage can define initialMoves (run when entering the stage) and moves (the moves available in that stage). Used together with activePlayers for games where a turn has multiple phases (e.g. checkers: jump stage → move stage).

• initialMoves — Array of move rules run when the stage becomes active (e.g. SetActivePlayers to switch to another stage if no jump is possible, or PassTurn when no moves exist).
• moves — Object of move names to move definitions (same shape as top-level moves).

See Stages for more examples and patterns.

Example (Checkers): stage jumpIfPossible has initialMoves that switch to moveIfNoJump when there are no possible jumps, and defines moves like jumpChecker.

Example (Eights): stage normalPlay only defines moves (e.g. playCard).

order

Configures turn order (who goes next).

• playOrder — e.g. "RotateFirst" to rotate the starting player (first player to act changes each round).

Example (Eights): first player rotates each round.

"turn": {
  "order": {
    "playOrder": "RotateFirst"
  },
  "activePlayers": { "currentPlayer": "normalPlay" },
  ...
}

initialMoves

Array of move rules run at the start of each turn, before the player chooses a move. Use for automatic actions (e.g. pass when no moves, or restock the deck).

Example (Reversi): pass the turn automatically when the current player has no legal moves.

"turn": {
  "minMoves": 1,
  "maxMoves": 1,
  "initialMoves": [{
    "moveType": "PassTurn",
    "conditions": [{ "conditionType": "NoPossibleMoves" }]
  }]
}

Example (Eights): at turn start, move cards from discard (except top) back to stock, then shuffle stock.

"initialMoves": [
  {
    "moveType": "ForEach",
    "arguments": { "targets": { ... }, "..." },
    "move": { "moveType": "MoveEntity", "..." }
  },
  {
    "moveType": "Shuffle",
    "arguments": { "target": { ... } }
  }
]

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See Overview for where turn sits in the top-level structure.