Single Comment

George Duke wrote:

One senses that the designer is sensitive so I for one rarely rate a Duniho. Gross Chess is new combination of pre-existing elements with no particular novelty. That is this designer's style and it usually works for solid performance. Duniho's total body of work does not rise to Betza's or Gifford's or Gilman's but does reach the very next ledge, maybe even nicking into the top 10 among prolificists. Eurasian is new combination too, it works very well, and so is nominee NextChess. Congratulations Fergus on reasonable regarded Eurasian, one of the 21 thus far at NextChesses. Gross here however falls only within unnecessary proliferation that I can tell serving to complexify the broth. It's about as worthwhile as the author's Grotesque, being just another Carrera-Capablanca. One can make these things, but why share them publicly?

I didn't create this game to show off my creativity or to win your praise, George. I made it because this combination of pieces interests me, and I want to play a game that includes all of them. Also, I wanted a solid entry-level 12x12 variant. Most 12x12 variants are too forbidding, because they introduce several new pieces while also increasing the board size beyond what I usually play on. This game is very easy to learn, because it doesn't introduce any pieces that would be new to someone familiar with the most popular Chess variants. So, it may fill the entry-level 12x12 niche better than any preceding 12x12 Chess variant. When creating a game, my main goals are to make it playable and enjoyable. This game is both. I have played it against Zillions a few times and found it to work well. My main goal in sharing it publicly is to find opponents for playing it. I think that's a much better reason than showing off how creative I can be.