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Game Reviews by TonyQuintanilla
Chaturanga 4-84. An Updating of Chaturanga for Four Players with modern pieces and an 84-square board. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Full Double Chess. 32 pieces each, including all combinations of the basic Chess pieces, on a 16x8 square board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Interesting game. The wide board creates both tactical and strategic
situations that are 'regional'. The doubled King adds a certain element
of interest. The strong pieces promote tactics. However, they do not
overwhelm the game because the large board still allows for strategic
maneuvers.
<p>
I'm sure interesting sub-variants could be created with different setups
or different mix of pieces. One possible issue, though, is that the overall
evolution of the game may move more quickly than players are able to
develop their pieces, thus leading to a certain amount of attrition-type
of play, more tactics and less strategy. But I am not sure that this
overwhelms the game. It seems playable.
Regarding some of the debate about faerie pieces versus traditional
pieces, I personally tend to design games with traditional pieces because usually I am more interested in the game system than the pieces themselves.
However, I have played many variants with interesting faerie pieces. The movement of the pieces is an appealing element in itself. In this game they work quite well. And, actually, the mix here is not all that exotic--
as variants go. Check-out Mulligan-Stew Chess
<a href="../42.dir/mulligan-stew.html">Mulligan Stew Chess</a> for an
example of faerie pieces gone a-muck, but in a very playable and
interesting game--with double Kings, by the way!
Anti-King Chess. Each player has both a King and an Anti-King to protect; Anti-Kings are in check when not attacked. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Nice game. Getting accustomed to the Anti-King's role takes a little unlearning. Its much easier to keep thinking about checkmating or protecting the King. Isolating or keeping one's Anti-King under 'attack' takes more thought. At the begining of the game, one can get lulled into complacency. The end game certainly gets interesting as it gets harder to keep one's Anti-King under attack. The very effort to checkmate the opposing King works against one's Anti-King. Which will happen first? In a way, its a race to the finish.
Chess with Different Armies. Betza's classic variant where white and black play with different sets of pieces. (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Chess with Different Armies is certainly a very enjoyable set of games. I particularly liked playing the Remarkable Rookies, perhaps because of their mutually supportive and jumping capabilities. On the other hand, I had a much more difficult time with the Colorbound Clobberers. Before I knew it, I had trapped myself in an off-balance position. The overall idea of CWDA is very clever. The idea of balanced, yet different, armies should see more use in Chess variants development. But, as remarked by Ralph, this is not so simple and takes quite a bit of work. On the other hand, it has endless possibilities with a simple theme. One thought, would it be possible for players to 'assemble' an army from 'equivalent' sets? Something else, there is a playful character to the armies, which is a nice touch.
Feeble Chess to Weakest Chess. Some Chess variants with weaker pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Very interesting game. I hope to try it out soon. The idea that assuming a capturing posture is in effect part of the movement of a piece is fascinating. A suggestion for a table-set: for a capturing posture, place the piece slightly over the edge of the square towards which it is oriented. For orientation of a piece, locate the piece just within the edge of the square towards which it is oriented. Regarding Ralph's aspirations to create a Chess variant that feels like Go, one that is primarily intuitive, that would be great--although I cannot claim to understand master level Chess thought. Kids play intuitively, until they get 'spoiled' by reading Chess books! Intuitive play is definitely more fun. I read that Capablanca played intuitively (I guess he could get away with it because he was so brilliant), but that was part of his downfall when he encountered players that studied a great deal. In fact, part of the appeal of Chess variants is that they keep us guessing. I have to say, though, that Zillions spoils the fun a little by making it quite easy to study new games.
Separate Realms. Pieces capture like normal FIDE pieces, but have limited moves that only take them to part of the board when not capturing. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Nice game. One minor thought: the King is substantially weakened by the restriction against moving orthogonally without capture--in cases where it is threatened this can be fatal. Note that the capturing moves of all the pieces are standard, so the King is at a net disadvantage relative to FIDE chess.
Legler's Chess. Modest 1926 variant using an Archbishop and a Chancellor. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Zillions file added, thanks to Peter Aronson.
Eurasian Chess. Synthesis of European and Asian forms of Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Fergus, this certainly sounds like an interesting game. I like the fact that many of the Chaturanga pieces are retained. This game has a unique feel to it, both ancient and modern, western and eastern. The piece mix should work well. As usual, the graphics are great. I'm looking forward to trying it. Very nice!
Lilliputian Monochromatic Alice Chess. All pieces are colorbound, and switch boards rather than switching color. (2x(6x7), Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]What makes it unique, the double board, the pieces being color-bound on each board, the board switching, take a little getting used to. However, the rules are very clear and once the logic starts to become more intuitive, the game is very playable. The piece strength compared to the board size appears well suited to the game. Very nice game.
Secret Agent Chess. Each player chooses one opposing minor piece to be a secret agent. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I like the idea of the Secret Agent. I got to thinking that if one wants to play Secret Agent Chess by e-mail a workable means of identifying the Secret Agent if a moderator is not available would be to send a text file with the identity of the Secret Agent along with the first move. The text file is left unopened until the Secret Agent is revealed. If using Zillions to play by e-mail by trading ZSG files, its easy to play Secret Agent Chess. One would just replace the designated piece with a right-click selection in your own color to reveal the Secret Agent.
Pocket Mutation Chess. Take one of your pieces off the board, maybe change it, keep it in reserve, and drop it on the board later. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is a great game. I am playing a game with the author. So far, I've only made 'standard' chess moves, waiting for the right time to put a piece in the pocket. Once the board starts to clear up, the gain in position will outweigh the loss in time. There will be a lot of drops in the end game. The simplicity of the idea of the Pocket and the possibilities it provides make for a very nice game. There is a whole new dimention to piece development. Its almost like a 2-turn teleport move. I agree with the author that this 'game system' could be used with other piece arrays. It could even be used in hexagonal Chess--why not? The details of what piece can promote where, to what can be modified as needed for playability.
Parachess. Chess on a rhombus-tiled board. (Cells: 72) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Great use of geometry to create a new and interesting grid, but one that is also visually intuitive and should be quite playable, adding new dimensions for movement.
Motorotor. Variant where two platforms slowly orbit a central board. (11x11, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I like this game. The rotating platform is certainly innovative and interesting. Some of the pitfalls that are mentioned could be worked out with a little playtesting (outside the contest, to be sure). The game concept, though, is not without merit.
Chestria. Each player has 11 randomly selected pieces in this game of placement and flipping. (3x(5x5), Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Ode to ZOG: Zillions of zee-are-effs and zee-es-gees, how can they be wrong?! The game by any other name would be as zweet!! No -effs or -gees about it!!! Touche' little 'Z' man!!!!
<p>Jared, seriously, this is quite a nice game. </p> <p>I really like the idea of static pieces. Although you did not mention it, obviously this is a kind of Chess-Go blend.</p> <p>Apparently the players' boards are a kind of holding area. Would it be possible to expand the battlefield to 41 squares and just drop the randomly pieces directly on the Battlefield each turn? (Although your method would be much more implementable in ZOG (there's that again!)). You could just keep the one special square for the special replacement move. This would give you more room. You could even add more pieces to the setup</p> <p>The tactics of placement on the battlefield could be very interesting. The idea of flipping the ownership of the captured pieces I really like. That will certainly add another layer of complexity to the game, which is useful when you are playing on a small board. In fact, this creates a kind of movement if not of pieces then of piece-structures.</p> <p>I assume that you have considered that the random setup may/will probably create unequal armies. But, the idea of randomness in Chess is interesting in itself as long as it does not overwhelm the pure-strategy aspect of the game.</p> <p>A question: its not immediately clear to me why a Fodder piece should be obligatory on the first move.</p> <p>Final comment, someone please ZFRolize this game!</p>
Maxima. Maxima is an interesting and exiting variant of Ultima, with new elements that make Maxima more clear and dynamic. (Cells: 76) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]<p>Maxima certainly seems to be a very interesting game. The powers of the pieces, board configuration and winning conditions seem to have been well considered. Particularly the use of Goal Squares in addition to checkmate seems to give the game more fluidity. <p/><p>The Ultima inspired powerful pieces are well balanced and quite interesting. They do not seem to overwhelm the relatively 'small' (actually, larger) board. For those of us brought up on 'orthochess', pieces like the Mage are consoling!<p/>
PromoChess. Everything but the king can power up. Mix of Japanese/Western/fairy pieces. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Glenn, I haven't played it, but PromoChess looks quite interesting. The piece selection is varied and interesting in its own right. I like the idea of promotion of all the pieces, while retaining the King.
Alpha Centauri. A very complex game, somewhat exotic, with some elements from Rococo. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Very interesting game. The movement and capture dynamics are unique. The win condition is goal oriented, also creating a different dynamic. The non-capturable pieces are an interesting element too, somewhat inverting the 'checkmate' rule. The Rotor is neat, juggling pieces instead of capturing them!
Maxima. The Maxima page is now available in Spanish! (Spanish Language)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent addition to the Spanish game pages. New Spanish pages don't appear in the English 'What's New', so check it out if you read Spanish!
Abstract Chess
. Pieces are represented by stacks of different heights.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Great idea. Its simple and elegant, yet add the mutability of pieces that many game designers have sought. The idea of simplifying the rules of Chess is also intriguing. It should be quite playable.
Orwell Chess. Three player variant themed on George Orwell's 1984. (7x12, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I had the opportunity to play this game with the inventor. I must say that I really enjoyed it. I found that the selection of pieces and their capabilities was quite interesting and suited for the 3-player setting. A fun, interesting, 3-player game is special in-itself. The shifting alliances is a very good way of preventing a strategy of ganging-up. Something that should also be mentioned is the random element. While this is unusual in Chess, it is definitely an interesting, playable, and fun aspect of the game. Overall, this is an excellent game. The judges have to select their picks for finalists. Often specific choices are based on minor or even subjective preferences. The final choices do not reflect negatively on otherwise very good games.
Doublewide Chess. A discussion of the variant where two complete chess sets (including two Kings per side) are set up on a doublewide board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent idea. The strategic issues regarding where to commit one's pieces will be more significant. Regional battles will be more common. Mobility will be more important. I also like Mike Howe's suggestion about different army powers depending on the board--this harmonizes nicely with the double-board theme. The doublewide idea can be applied to many Chess variants. How about double-wide Rococo, for example! Triple-wide? could be interesting, but the game might devolve into a central battle with reserves on the wings.
TamerSpiel. Modern large chess variant with elements of historic chess variants. (12x8, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I am on turn 12 of a very nice game by e-mail. I am a fan of ancient games and modern games with an ancient theme or quality. This is one of them. I really like the use of the Vizir and Firzan in such an active way. It adds a certain depth of the function of the Pawns in the opening. The opening has another dimension before the minor pieces get involved and the game goes into the middle game. The wide board also provides more room for deciding where to focus the attack, King-side or Champion-side! The Lion and the Eagle are nice additions too. The certainly fit the theme, but more importantly, they add another level to the opening and early middle game. Instead of the battle being just between Knights and Bishops, a player must decide whether to commit and risk these stronger pieces--similar to committing the Rook in Chess. I am enjoying the game. Very nice game.
Turkish Great Chess II. Gollon's large historical variant. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Besides its historical interest, this is a very interesting variant. The different central Pawns and the central Knights are intriguing. The selective use of the 3rd or forward rank bears consideration in designing other games too.
Glenn's Decimal Chess. A 10x10 blend of FIDE, Shogi, and Xiangqi influences. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game certainly looks interesting. The graphics, as always, are very nice. I like the use of the Rhino, a deserving but somewhat neglected piece.
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