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Game Reviews by ultimatecoolster
Great Shatranj. Great Shatranj. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]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] 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]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]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] Checkers Chess. Pieces move initially only forwards. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]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]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]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]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]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]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] 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] 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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]Your 4-player 16x16 Chess is a good idea.
Hexagonal Iss Jetan. Missing description (7x13, Cells: 127) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]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]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]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]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]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]The Ferry variant is OK, actually, though a bit unnatural.
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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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] Cavalry occupying a Hill or Haven square may also be captured by a Standard using the normal Chess method of capture by replacement.
Why?
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]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]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]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]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]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]Doesn't the board need to be one rank longer?
Stations. Missing description (9x5, Cells: 61) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]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]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]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]'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]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]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]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]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]This could be played Apocalypse-style, also, where the squares don't have an outline either.
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