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Game Reviews by ultimatecoolster

Later Reverse Order Earlier
Revenge of the King. http://xn--perlebr-bxa.de/2010/02/Vergeltung-des-K%C3%B6nigs. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Feb 13, 2010 06:54 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
I'm not sure how much of a 'revenge' the Mounted King is. The King as Knight is more difficult to maneuver for players used to the regular move. On the other hand, the King is more difficult to checkmate when it is now a Knight, though Chess variantists generally consider the Knight to be slightly weaker than the Commoner which moves like a King. Also, players may not want their King to become a Mounted King if the regular move is more strategically viable for them.

Despite the fact that new variants often do not fulfill their intentions, I think this King transformation is something to be considered for other games and as a fun rule variant on boring old Chess.

Monkey King Chess. Monkey King fights Goblin King on 44 squares board in game with oriental influences. (5x8, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Jan 1, 2010 09:51 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Excellent page for this game. I like how it goes in depth about the design influences and has notes on play. The hand-painted pieces are a nice touch as well, where the chart is an easy reference during play.

Trampoline Chess. Each player has a Trampoline that allows friendly pieces to make a second move. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Dec 10, 2009 05:45 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Could the Trampoline be perceived as a piece that allows bifurcation? What other possibilities of pieces are there that allow pieces to bifurcate by them? Excellent piece idea.

Huntsman Chess. Missing description (9x9, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 15, 2009 05:26 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
In the rules, there is a 'Mirror Rhino' that should be a 'King'. Also, does the Lion let Stones capture without moving, or do they have to move to capture? The reason I ask is because there is a Lion in Chu Shogi that can capture without moving.

Mathewson's Hexagonal ChessA game information page
. Glinski Hexagonal chess, but with different layout.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, May 12, 2009 11:04 PM UTC:BelowAverage ★★
What is the advantage of this setup?

Ganeshan Chess. Introducing a new Elephant piece known as (the) Ganapati. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, May 12, 2009 02:26 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Oh, you are correct. It is quite confusing having two games played on a 10x10 board with pieces called Elephants.

Chaturanga. The first known variant of chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 06:02 AM UTC:Poor ★
I agree that it is strange that an unscrupulous variant be recognized. What game exactly is this? We should recognize also 'Chootooroonkoo', which is the truly original form of Chess from ancient Goobleland, which is played on a board with squares and with pieces that move, other details unknown.

Ludus Magus. Missing description (2x(8x8), Cells: 145) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 07:20 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Nevermind; I understand now. I had a terrible headache last night, and the octagonal thing (why not diagonal?) threw me off. I don't understand the purpose of summoning, it just moving a piece around its Magus. Question: Does Aether negate friendlies and enemies or only enemies?

John Smith wrote on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 03:37 AM UTC:Poor ★
This might be a good game, but it's too complex to understand. Reminds me of Rithmomachia...

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 Mon, Feb 2, 2009 04:43 AM UTC: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.

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 Sat, Jan 31, 2009 01:49 AM UTC:Poor ★
Too large size, Rook connection, tired compounds and strange promotion rules make this a bad game.

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 10:12 PM UTC: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.

Shatranji. A hybrid of Shatranj and Chessgi. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 05:37 AM UTC:Poor ★
I am sad to say that I agree, Fergus. A better game would be Sittuyingi.

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 06:35 PM UTC: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.

Typhoon (Revised). Missing description (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 06:29 PM UTC:Average ★★★
I've been wanting to do a collaboration. Are you up for it, Adrian?

John Smith wrote on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 05:47 PM UTC: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.

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 Wed, Jan 21, 2009 01:30 AM UTC: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 12:44 AM UTC: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.

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 04:15 PM UTC: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...

Aieirping Chess. Missing description (29x14, Cells: 406) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 04:40 AM UTC: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.

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

Since this comment is for a page that has not been published yet, you must be signed in to read it.

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 Sun, Jan 11, 2009 05:11 AM UTC: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.

John Smith wrote on Sun, Jan 11, 2009 04:15 AM UTC: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.

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 05:58 AM UTC: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.

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 Sat, Jan 10, 2009 01:49 AM UTC: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.

Great Shatranj. Great Shatranj. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 01:31 AM UTC: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.

Dai-Ryu Shogi. Large Shogi variant with new pieces. (9x16, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 12:33 AM UTC:Poor ★
How do the Dragons move?

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 11:43 PM UTC: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.

XYMYX. Players make their moves at the same time. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Jan 5, 2009 04:17 AM UTC:Poor ★
This game seems horribly unnatural in some of its rules, with needless amounts of testimonial in the comments.

Xhetrast. A conservative Contrast version of Xhess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Jan 5, 2009 04:06 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Interesting. It is like Korean Xhess.

Checkers Chess. Pieces move initially only forwards. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 3, 2009 06:48 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A horizontally cylindrical or toroidal version of this would be interesting.

Shatranj al-Sultan. Normal Chess + Alibaba , with a Sultanic flavour . (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Jan 3, 2009 12:42 AM UTC: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.

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 09:13 AM UTC: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.

Modern Chess. Variant on a 9 by 9 board with piece that combines bishop and knight moves. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Jan 1, 2009 11:19 PM UTC:Poor ★
White has the advantage of a more quickly promoting centre Pawn but it is balanced somewhat by the reverse symmetry. The imbalance between the colours, both in terms of the board and the armies, makes the game ugly, as does the Bishop Adjustment Rule. This is one of the reasons I created Modern Makruk. The most obvious solution would be to include a Marshall, but that would just be another Carrera variant, which may be one of the reasons for the creation of this. I, however, consider the Marshall the lesser of the two evils. Shogi does not suffer from either of these flaws because symmetrical centre Pawn play is disadvantageous for the first player and the Bishops are naturally unbound both by promotion and drops.

HiveQueen. Missing description (Cells: 61) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Dec 31, 2008 12:05 AM UTC:Poor ★
Please explain the movement of the pieces better. Of what I understand, this seems like more of a Go or Reversi type game than a Chess type game.

Unidirectional arrays on standard boards. Both players in the same direction, as Viking Chess, but on boards of correspondiyng face-to-face variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, Dec 30, 2008 10:22 PM UTC:Poor ★
You accidentally made one of the Kings a Rook in the Shogi variant. The Shogi variant is terrible, also, because Shogi pieces are meant to go forward, toward the enemy, or they're useless.

Checker-capture Chess. Pieces can capture as in checkers game. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, Dec 30, 2008 07:46 AM UTC:Poor ★
Arr! There be many draws!

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]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Dec 29, 2008 06:27 PM UTC:Poor ★
There's too much promotion!

Mêlée. Variant on 9 by 9 board with 9 different pieces and castle square that must be occupied. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Dec 28, 2008 05:47 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Actually, the Pawns are, excluding the General, the strongest pieces in the game. The Prince is royal, the Bishop cannot access the Castle, and the Horses, Camels, and Elephants are more awkward than them. One suggestion to this game would be to lessen the General's power, somehow, to fit with the rest of the pieces, and to have the Bows on the right of the Swords, making more of them able to access the Castle.

Courier Chess Moderno. A modern variant of the historical variant Courier Chess. (12x8, Cells: 96) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Dec 28, 2008 04:41 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Despite the improvement of the game via the Pawns and Elephants (and, of course, the modern rules), there are still two ridiculously weak pieces in the game: namely, the Queen and Schleich. I would recommend combining them into another Man, and using the Bishop Adjustment Rule.

Ki Shogi. Variant of Shogi played without a board, and pieces are cubes.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 26, 2008 10:10 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
How interesting! I wonder why you implemented it in Zillions, however, as it is has a very high branching factor.

Proselyte Chess. Missing description (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Dec 24, 2008 12:41 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
omg this is so cool its likke benidict ultima!!!!

Five-Minute Poppy Shogi. Small shogi variant on a 4 by 5 board. (4x5, Cells: 20) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Dec 22, 2008 05:45 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Note that there is no need for much backward movement as the pieces can be captured and repositioned. There is always at least one piece that can move backward. This game is different than simply a miniature version of Shogi, because the promotion is not as monotonous.

3FewShogi Chess. Like Chess but 3 Shogi per side. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Dec 21, 2008 05:41 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
This is like Chess without those drawish endgames! The koma are a wee iffy, though. Why did you choose them?

Citadel chess. A variant of Shatranj, played on a ten by ten board with four extra citadels. (10x10, Cells: 104) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 08:43 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Interestingly, checkmate can be done with any piece, with imperfect play, and many pieces, with perfect play. I would prefer if Citadel occupation were a win, however.

Shatranji. A hybrid of Shatranj and Chessgi. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 05:34 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Can a player win by stalemating their opponent? Funny thing!; I actually created this variant before I read about it. I guess it's a good idea, then, right?

Mortal Shogi. A Shogi variant in which pieces aren't all immortal. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 05:27 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
A related game would be Zzo38 A. Black's Decay Shogi.

Geometric sequence of Chess Games. Chess variants as large as you want.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 05:07 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Your 4-player 16x16 Chess is a good idea.

Hexagonal Iss Jetan. Missing description (7x13, Cells: 127) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 08:42 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I helped, no? ;) One question: Why can a Panthan move obliquely orthogonally backward? Is this to preserve it's 'except this space' nature?

8x8 Reversible Stairs-Chess. Chessboard looks like stairs.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Dec 19, 2008 08:39 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
This is an interesting way of looking at Chess!

Bishogi. An attempt to take the FIDE army further towards Shogi than Chessgi does. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 09:56 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
You can play with Pawns promoting to Princes instead of Queens, as they lie on the second rank, as the Shogi Bishop and Shogi Rook do. You can even play with a naive promotion of Bishops to Primates, Rooks to Chatelaines, and Pawns and Knights to Queens. Of course, the Draughts variant is not playable. In Draughts, you must move forward, so there is no opportunity to permanently block. Rithe with capture, the board clears up and the pieces that can move backward cannot cower behind a wall. What defense there is is solved by zugzwang. Your variant fails in that one can move a King into an opponent's corner and blockade him with dropped Men and another King, providing only enough space for tempo moves, with the Men blocking any mandatory capture.

Chessopoly. Board with a hole in the middle where pawns move clockwise. (12x12, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 09:14 AM UTC:Poor ★
Hmm. The problem to me does not seem to be the assymmetry, but, rather, the clockwise nature. The rear Pawns merely serve as a block for their own pieces, aiding in their attack.

Patt-schach (Stalemate chess). Players start with an illegal move from a stalemated position. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Dec 13, 2008 08:06 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I think it would be interesting if you lose if all of your pieces can make a legal move.

Cannonless Xiang Qi variants. A look at stronger variations of pre-cannon Xiangqi. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Dec 13, 2008 05:09 AM UTC:Average ★★★
The Ferry variant is OK, actually, though a bit unnatural.

John Smith wrote on Wed, Dec 3, 2008 05:55 AM UTC:Poor ★
You might as well call this game Ultimate Xiang Qi. The Ferry variant is a tiny bit more aggressive, however, which makes it OK, balanced by the awkwardness of the Ferry.

Minixiang. Xiang Qi's short-range pieces come into their own on a small board. (5x6, Cells: 30) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Dec 3, 2008 05:42 AM UTC:BelowAverage ★★
I don't like this game that much. You have strengthened the royal and defensive pieces while decreasing the amount of offensive pieces. The Point is covered by the Rook, too, which is unlike Minishogi where it defends against the opponent's.

Ultimate Battle Chess. Pawns, kings, queens, and knights move differently. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Tue, Dec 2, 2008 07:10 AM UTC:Poor ★
The pieces in this game don't coincide very well, and the King is too complex.

Parachess. Chess on a rhombus-tiled board. (Cells: 72) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 05:43 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
This is a creative game. I have a suggestion: Have the holes in the opening setup filled with a Marshall and Cardinal.

Spartan Chess 28. Missing description (4x7, Cells: 28) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 05:27 PM UTC:BelowAverage ★★
This game suffers from 3 weak Pawns. There is also an early pin with the Rook and early checkmate with a Pawn and Rook. This isn't a terrible game, and I understand you were taking a break, but I still think it could be better.

Penturanga. Chaturanga on a board with 46 pentagonal cells. (8x5, Cells: 46) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 05:11 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
This game is great. I have 2 complaints, however. 1 is that there is a bias for the medium tan for the Elephant's boundness. Perhaps you could change the setup and have 3 Elephants per side. 2 is that the board is too cramped, just as in your other game, Step and Circle Trig Chess.

Makruk (Thai chess). Rules and information. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 05:11 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
This game is similar to Senterej, Ethiopian Chess, in that you should not bare your opponent's King. In Senterej, however, there are no actual rules concerning bare King; it is merely etiquette.

Yagbap. A decimal Chess/Amazons hybrid. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Nov 27, 2008 10:28 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
This is a nice twist on Amazons. The values of the pieces are hard to figure out.

Camel and Rhino Chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board with new pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Nov 27, 2008 10:18 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Hmm...If it were not for the 'Grand' Rooks, this game would favor White. This is why I do not like mirror symmetry.

Jikaida. A large variant, taken from A Sword for Kregen by Kenneth Bulmer. (12x18, Cells: 361) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Thu, Nov 27, 2008 06:22 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
This is an interesting game. Though different, it reminds me of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jetan.

Classic Average. Missing description (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Nov 26, 2008 01:15 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
For the Machines, you could have them move without capturing as a Rook and capture as an orthogonal Grasshopper. This is the average of a Cannon, Flying Chariot, Angle Mover, and Grasshopper, which is a piece that starts betwen the Pawns and other pieces, just as the Cannon, Flying Chariot, and Angle Mover do, in Grasshopper Chess, a commonly known variant, and is a hopper like a Cannon.

Dimension X. Chess on two planes - one with the usual chess pieces, the other with spooky trans-dimensional pieces with strange interactions. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 23, 2008 10:12 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
This page needs a rewrite. I also keep seeing these:

.--.
|FF|
|FD|
.--.

Save the Standard. A Tafl inspired game, with equal forces and the addition of a Cavalry piece. (15x7, Cells: 101) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 23, 2008 07:36 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Cavalry occupying a Hill or Haven square may also be captured by a Standard using the normal Chess method of capture by replacement.

Why?

Kings and Pawns. Proprietary game on 8 by 7 board with two types of pieces and no capturing. (7x8, Cells: 56) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Nov 22, 2008 05:43 PM UTC:Poor ★
This game is terrible. One can easily draw by moving pieces back and forth along the first and second rank, and if there they are blocked, it is draw by stalemate. The only way to win this game would be if stalemate were a loss.

Trophy Hunt. Squirrels and Elephants instead of Kings, Queens and Bishops. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Nov 22, 2008 05:29 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
It looks a bit difficult to capture the Squirrel, with only the Crow and Pawn uncovered by its capture range.

Triumvirate Chess. Uses three Knights. The last remaining opposing Knight must be checkmated as the King. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Nov 22, 2008 05:22 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
I agree with Peter Aronson, regarding the power of a royal Knight. Does Joe Joyce have anything to say?

Eurasian Chess. Synthesis of European and Asian forms of Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Nov 22, 2008 03:04 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I hate Grand Chess. It's like having Rook connection spoon-fed to you and the Pawn promotion is terrible. It's called promotion for a reason. It's not called rescuing. And if you do have that rule, why make the Pawns able to check? They cannot consummate the capture. I understand that modifying you setup's Rooks will give an undefended Pawn, but please understand.

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

Since this comment is for a page that has not been published yet, you must be signed in to read it.

Lions and Dragons Chess. Hexagonal variant. Dragons carry a ball to the goal while Wizards avoid capture. (Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 12:43 AM UTC:Poor ★
This isn't very Chess-like at all, and the Lions are an extreme kludge for holes in the board.

Xiang Hex. Missing description (9x7, Cells: 79) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 12:17 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Doesn't the board need to be one rank longer?

Stations. Missing description (9x5, Cells: 61) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Nov 19, 2008 03:34 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
This game is remarkably similar to my own Complete Permutation Hexagonal Chess.

Prison Break. Starring the sliding pawns, the Ninja Guards, the Knight, the Bird, the King and introducing the captivating Ice Queen! (6x8, Cells: 46) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Wed, Nov 19, 2008 03:32 PM UTC:Average ★★★
While the Ice Queen is somewhat creative, the other pieces I think you overuse in your variants.

Storm the Ivory Tower. A Smess adaptation of Chinese Chess. (9x10, Cells: 90) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Nov 10, 2008 05:45 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
How about instead of having the Ninnies capture two squares, you give them the ability to move 90 degrees to the arrows on their current square? It would prevent them from getting trapped in the Fortresses. Other than the additional moves for the Ninnies and Fuddy-Duddies, this is an excellent Xiang Qi-like variant.

Star Pool Chess. Large variant of Makruk, with a center non-square that acts as a bridge. (Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Mon, Nov 10, 2008 05:12 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
'This game is played on an 84-hex board.' Copying and pasting, eh? ;)

Seachess. Chess with a marine war theme. (Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 9, 2008 04:39 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Where can a Cruiser plant mines? Also, your diagram for the Cruiser's movement is incorrect. The C needs to be shifted to the left or the m's to the right.

Hex Shogi. A new family of hexagonal Shogi variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 9, 2008 04:27 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
You are incorrect that the Gold General is the Japanese version of the Wazir and the Silver General is the Japanese version of the Ferz. The Gold General is the Japanese version of the Ferz and the Silver General is the Japanese version of the Alfil.

Elephant Hunt. Ituri Forest Pygmi traditional game with chess-like elements. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sat, Nov 8, 2008 10:16 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I'm thinking of making a 3-player variant with a piece called a Roc, which is a giant mythical bird thought to eat elephants.

Ziggurat. Mesopotamian-themed variant on a 43-square board. (13x5, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Nov 2, 2008 02:04 AM UTC:Average ★★★
It is strange that the Horse is more powerful than the Chariot, and that there is only one of them, which would imbalance the game if you thought is was worth less. What are your justifications?

Indistinguishable Chess. Player pieces indistinguishable from each other. Board squares are indistinguishable. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Sun, Oct 26, 2008 07:31 PM UTC:Average ★★★
This could be played Apocalypse-style, also, where the squares don't have an outline either.

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