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Game Reviews by ultimatecoolster

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Scirocco. On ten by ten board with over thirty different pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 2, 2009 04:13 AM EST:Good ★★★★

This looks like an interesting game. I suggest the following:

Remove the Dervish. It's very weak and its promotion isn't useful in the endgame, which you seem to have a focus on with promotions.

Switch the positions of the Stork and Goat. This makes the game more symmetric.

Make both partial moves of the Stork and Goat capturing. This balances them with the Spider and Octopus.

Make the Alfil promote to the Genie instead of the Dabbaba. This balances the game by having the weakest piece promote to the strongest piece. The Dabbaba should promote to a piece that moves without capturing as a Knight but relays to friendly pieces a Queen's move away the ability to move as a Queen. This is a modified Harpy's move that is much more useful in the endgame, and balances the game by making a weak piece have a strong promotion. Remove the Guard. It makes the only pieces of two or more per side the Scirocco and Pawns, the Sciroccos needing two by analogy with the Couriers.

Shatranj al-Sultan. Normal Chess + Alibaba , with a Sultanic flavour . (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 2, 2009 07:42 PM EST:Poor ★

There are two undefended Pawns. The Couriers are also very weak because they are restricted to 1/4 of the board. I would rate this game as Excellent if you allowed a one-time Ferz move for them.

Checkers Chess. Pieces move initially only forwards. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 3, 2009 01:48 AM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

A horizontally cylindrical or toroidal version of this would be interesting.

Xhetrast. A conservative Contrast version of Xhess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sun, Jan 4, 2009 11:06 PM EST:Good ★★★★

Interesting. It is like Korean Xhess.

XYMYX. Players make their moves at the same time. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sun, Jan 4, 2009 11:17 PM EST:Poor ★

This game seems horribly unnatural in some of its rules, with needless amounts of testimonial in the comments.

Paulowich's Chancellor Chess. A proposal to play chancellor chess with chancellors and queens in the corner on 8 by 8 board. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 9, 2009 06:43 PM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

The first variant looks good. My problem with having just a Marshall and not a Cardinal is the assymmetry between the prime pieces. This variant has the Rook as a single piece, so already has an assymmetry. The second variant is poor, however, as the Queens can attack each other as soon as he Pawns are moved, and are undefended, so White has more of an advantage.

Dai-Ryu Shogi. Large Shogi variant with new pieces. (9x16, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 9, 2009 07:33 PM EST:Poor ★

How do the Dragons move?

Great Shatranj. Great Shatranj. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 9, 2009 08:31 PM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

I actually thought of the High Priestess myself, calling it a Big Ferz. I forgot the idea, however, when I realized that a not-too-powerful Big Wazir would not be possible.

Birds and Ninjas. Strategically rich chess-like game with powerful dual range orthogonal flying pieces, and short-range diagonal leapers. (10x10, Cells: 104) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 9, 2009 08:49 PM EST:Good ★★★★

I now view this game as Good. I ask why the Ninja Guard is not the diagonal counterpart to the Flying Bomber, and comment that most of your games incorporate these now stale pieces.

Omega Chess (Maura). Players have many pieces that can only move in the direction they point at. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 12:58 AM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

Interesting! I think the reason that the 9x9 variants are so good is that their creators seek something more beautifully geometrical, and not some progression of Chess or any hodge-podge or half-bake of a game.

Pillars of Medusa. A variation of Turkish Great Chess plus two additional pieces, the Morph and the Medusa. (11x11, Cells: 121) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 11:15 PM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

The Bishops are colourbound, the board is too big, discriminating the weak pieces, White has an advantage with symmetrical Sword play, and the new pieces are ridiculously powerful, especially the Medusa.

John Smith wrote on Sun, Jan 11, 2009 12:11 AM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

I meant that the Bishops are colourbound as a pair. It doesn't matter if play can be assymmetrical. Assymmetry evens out. I don't care if some new pieces already in Turkish Great Chess, and I didn't say that the Morph was powerful. You also have an advantage because you're an excellent player.

Chess Variant. Private Taking the two most famous Fairies into Capablanca. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

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Aieirping Chess. Missing description (29x14, Cells: 406) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Mon, Jan 19, 2009 11:40 PM EST:Poor ★

This game is very uncoordinated and has very nonstandard pieces. A better attempt to use all letters of the alphabet would be Charles Gilman's Missing Ox Chess.

Burmese Traditional Chess. An article that discusses chess as it was played in Burma. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 11:15 AM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

This page is extremely informative. I did not know about the history of the game and the appearance of the pieces. I think that the flexible setup reduces White's advantage, especially when White sets up all of his pieces before Black. Perhaps by too much...

Typhoon (Revised). Missing description (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 07:44 PM EST:Good ★★★★

This game is inferior to Scirocco in that it incorporates a large number of pieces already present in the game it was inspired by. It also does not follow the principle from Scirocco that all pieces except Pawns should have symmetrical moves.

Oblong Chess 44. Variant of Oblong Chess on board with 44 squares. (4x11, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 08:30 PM EST:Good ★★★★

I nominate this game for closest resemblance to the logo of The Chess Variant Pages!

Typhoon (Revised). Missing description (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 12:47 PM EST:Poor ★

I was refering to how many Chu Shogi pieces are in here. This game is excellent once you learn to play, but the learning curve is too steep for most.

John Smith wrote on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 01:29 PM EST:Average ★★★

I've been wanting to do a collaboration. Are you up for it, Adrian?

Hitchhiker Chess. Get your Hitchhiker to the Restaurant at the other End of the Board; inspired by Douglas Adams' books. (Cells: 42) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 01:35 PM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

An unusual mix of pieces and an unusual goal; never heard of a win by kidnapping! Hopefully George will enlighten me on some previous instance.

Shatranji. A hybrid of Shatranj and Chessgi. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 12:37 AM EST:Poor ★

I am sad to say that I agree, Fergus. A better game would be Sittuyingi.

Beyond Omega. Large abstract variant with radial and oblique pieces requiring rotation. (15x15, Cells: 225) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sun, Jan 25, 2009 05:12 PM EST:Good ★★★★

Nicely geometric, as Omega, but not as minimalist and a bit harder to visualize. I don't see the difference between an Alpha and Lambda and wonder if there are opposition rules.

Grand Chess. Christian Freeling's popular large chess variant on 10 by 10 board. Rules and links. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 30, 2009 08:49 PM EST:Poor ★

Too large size, Rook connection, tired compounds and strange promotion rules make this a bad game.

Yoto. Variant with heavy Xiang Qi influences marks Year of the Ox. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sun, Feb 1, 2009 11:43 PM EST:Poor ★

Don't take the rating personally, but it is well known that a game with Buffaloes is destined to be bad. Your XQ variant also has Castling, which is not in Xiang Qi or Shogi, not because it is impossible, but because the players just didn't decide to put it in.

Ludus Magus. Missing description (2x(8x8), Cells: 145) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

John Smith wrote on Sun, Feb 22, 2009 10:37 PM EST:Poor ★

This might be a good game, but it's too complex to understand. Reminds me of Rithmomachia...

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