IDIOT trusts the feet and yields to a jailbreak drop (rules rev 37)

The per-step steering recalculated greedily, ping-ponging between routes
that tie at a corner and able to wall the victim off from the cure; rev 37
retires it — the march is the player's to honor, and the automatons steer
themselves. DROP OBJECT that shakes the victim's OWN treasure out of a
thief's arms is now an aid, not an attack: while carried, that treasure
cannot even be stood upon, so the curse could be unsatisfiable. Older
ledgers replay steered and strict.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/engine/src/automaton.ts

@@ -1323,17 +1323,43 @@ export function automatonCommand(
     }
   }
 
+  // IDIOT's curse: the maze no longer forces the feet (rev 37), so the
+  // clockwork honors the march to its own gold itself — and when a thief
+  // carries that gold, DROP OBJECT (the rev-37 carve-out) shakes it onto
+  // the floor where it can finally be stood upon.
+  const cursedIdiot = view.sustained.some((e) => e.cardId === "idiot" && e.targetId === view.you);
+  if (cursedIdiot && view.deckRev >= 37 && view.turn.round > 1 && !view.turn.attackUsed) {
+    const dropper = inHand(view, "drop-object");
+    if (dropper) {
+      const sighted = sightedCellsFor(view);
+      const thiefOfGold = livingEnemies(view).find((p) =>
+        sighted.has(cellKey(p.position)) &&
+        view.treasures.some((t) => t.owner === view.you && t.carriedBy === p.id));
+      if (thiefOfGold) {
+        return {
+          type: "cast", instanceId: dropper.instanceId,
+          target: { kind: "player", playerId: thiefOfGold.id }, params: { cardId: "treasure" },
+        };
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   // March. The thief-chase outranks everything; the berserker hunts wizards
   // over gold; the worrier keeps its distance; the hunter goes to the gold.
   if (view.turn.movementUsed < view.turn.movementAllowance) {
     const gold = treasureGoals(view);
     const enemyCells = new Set(livingEnemies(view).map((p) => cellKey(p.position)));
     const canUnlock = UNLOCKS.some((id) => inHand(view, id));
-    const objectives = thief
-      ? new Set([cellKey(thief.position)])
-      : style === "berserker" && !self.carriedTreasureId
-        ? (enemyCells.size > 0 ? enemyCells : gold)
-        : gold;
+    const ownGoldCells = new Set(view.treasures
+      .filter((t) => t.owner === view.you && t.position && !t.carriedBy)
+      .map((t) => cellKey(t.position!)));
+    const objectives = cursedIdiot && ownGoldCells.size > 0
+      ? ownGoldCells
+      : thief
+        ? new Set([cellKey(thief.position)])
+        : style === "berserker" && !self.carriedTreasureId
+          ? (enemyCells.size > 0 ? enemyCells : gold)
+          : gold;
     const path =
       pathToward(view, self.position, objectives, { avoidNearEnemies: style === "worrier" && !thief, canUnlock }) ??
       pathToward(view, self.position, objectives, { canUnlock }) ??

packages/engine/src/game.ts

@@ -3790,7 +3790,11 @@ function doMove(prev: GameState, direction: Side, over = false): CommandResult {
   const events: GameEvent[] = [];
 
   // IDIOT: every move heads for the nearest of their own treasures.
-  if (sustainedOn(state, p.id, "idiot").length > 0) {
+  // Rev 37 retires the steering: a greedy per-step recalculation ping-pongs
+  // between routes that tie at a corner and can wall the victim off from
+  // the cure entirely. The march is the player's to honor (like FEAR's
+  // duty); the automatons steer themselves. Older ledgers replay steered.
+  if ((state.config.deckRev ?? 1) < 37 && sustainedOn(state, p.id, "idiot").length > 0) {
     const steered = idiotSteer(state, p);
     if (steered) direction = steered;
   }
@@ -4169,7 +4173,7 @@ const IDIOT_AIDS = new Set([
 
 function castingBlocked(
   state: GameState, playerId: PlayerId,
-  opts?: { counteraction?: boolean; cardId?: string },
+  opts?: { counteraction?: boolean; cardId?: string; targetPlayerId?: PlayerId; pickedCardId?: string },
 ): string | null {
   if (sustainedOn(state, playerId, "medusa").length > 0) return "you are paralyzed by Medusa";
   if (sustainedOn(state, playerId, "no-spell").length > 0) return "No Spell — you cannot cast";
@@ -4177,7 +4181,16 @@ function castingBlocked(
   // needed)" — and per the FAQ, spells that aid the march to the treasure.
   if (sustainedOn(state, playerId, "idiot").length > 0 &&
       !opts?.counteraction && !(opts?.cardId && IDIOT_AIDS.has(opts.cardId))) {
-    return "What am I doing here...? (you can do nothing but head for your treasure)";
+    // Rev 37: DROP OBJECT that shakes YOUR OWN treasure out of a thief's
+    // arms serves the march — while carried, that treasure cannot even be
+    // stood upon, so without this the curse can be unsatisfiable.
+    const freesOwnGold = (state.config.deckRev ?? 1) >= 37 &&
+      opts?.cardId === "drop-object" && opts.pickedCardId === "treasure" &&
+      opts.targetPlayerId != null &&
+      state.treasures.some((t) => t.owner === playerId && t.carriedBy === opts.targetPlayerId);
+    if (!freesOwnGold) {
+      return "What am I doing here...? (you can do nothing but head for your treasure)";
+    }
   }
   return null;
 }
@@ -4605,7 +4618,11 @@ function doCast(prev: GameState, cmd: Extract<Command, { type: "cast" }>): Comma
   // NO SPELL cast on you."
   const isSpell = def.cardType !== "object" && !NOT_SPELLS.has(inHand.cardId) && !isWand;
   if (isSpell) {
-    const castBlock = castingBlocked(state, caster.id, { cardId: inHand.cardId });
+    const castBlock = castingBlocked(state, caster.id, {
+      cardId: inHand.cardId,
+      targetPlayerId: cmd.target?.kind === "player" ? cmd.target.playerId : undefined,
+      pickedCardId: cmd.params?.cardId,
+    });
     if (castBlock) return err(castBlock);
   } else if (sustainedOn(state, caster.id, "medusa").length > 0) {
     return err("you are paralyzed by Medusa");