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PiRaTeKnIcS. Pirates on ships fight each other in 44-squares chess variant. (6x8, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

Michael Nelson wrote on Tue, May 4, 2004 05:15 PM EDT:Excellent ★★★★★

A most fascinating game concept. A world of interesting variants can be
developed from this idea. A large board variant with powerful but
short-range pieces comes to mind. Perhaps an 11x11 board with some empty
ships in the center.

dtj wrote on Wed, May 5, 2004 05:40 PM EDT:

Mike, Thanks for your kind comment. I must also thank Hans for his incredible effort in htmling such an an unwieldy writeup - and for managing to get that sample game down to 130K! - dave j

Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, May 6, 2004 03:02 AM EDT:Excellent ★★★★★

The dual-names-with-same-initials idea is well thought out. The duplication of the minor pieces has historic precedent in the large variant of John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland, and they are evenly deployed in combination with the major pieces on the back rank. Perhaps in 2008 you should enter a version in which the 'missing' squares become 'land' squares accessible to crewmen without ships (should that be singly or up to three?) but not to ships themselves.

Dave J wrote on Thu, May 6, 2004 07:59 AM EDT:

Charles, Yes, I like the idea (which had never occurred to me) of having those missing spaces becoming ports or islands where crewmen might disembark - should one allow internal fighting on them? - some interesting possibilities perhaps for further piratical brawls! Thanks for your comments - cheers, dave j

dtj wrote on Wed, May 12, 2004 12:57 PM EDT:

For anyone interested here is a link to my yahoo group...
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/vishangroschessvariants/
where the original writeup, graphics and sample game gifs for PiRaTeKnIcS
(and Chogo and Cascudo)now reside.

dtj wrote on Sat, May 15, 2004 05:45 AM EDT:

I'd like to thank Peter Aronson for the magnificent job he has done on creating a Game Courier preset for PiRaTeKniCs - I had wondered if it was in fact possible. Many thanks, dtj

dtj wrote on Sun, May 16, 2004 05:43 AM EDT:

Possible extensions:- Just thinking further on the land and empty ships ideas (on a bigger e.g 11x11 board), one could maybe start with single cell corner ports/islands and 2 or 3 others across the centre at which a few crewless ships could be moored. Neutral tokens such as Treasure T, and Hostages H, could be introduced and perhaps other different kinds of cargo. Cargo elements might initially be situated on the central islands or crewless boats, and part of the game could involve bringing a specific value of cargo to home docking cells.

Jeff Rients wrote on Mon, Aug 23, 2004 12:45 PM EDT:Excellent ★★★★★

Every time I come back to this game I like it more and more. I like pirates as much as the next guy, but I think the theme actually detracts from the game. 'Triadic Chess' is a super variant that brings a great idea to the table. 'PiRaTeKnIcS' seems too gimmicky.

dtj wrote on Mon, Sep 6, 2004 05:18 PM EDT:

jeff, many thanks for your review and rating. I guess the pirates theme was always debatable - but I just was never particularly comfortable with knights on shipboard, so i applied the piratical veneer - dtj

carlos carlos wrote on Wed, Oct 13, 2004 12:18 PM EDT:Excellent ★★★★★

cool game.  

as far as i can see, the rules don't clarify whether either a ship or a
crewman/crewmen can move through annoying empty ships.  what's the go?

dtj wrote on Mon, Oct 18, 2004 03:38 PM EDT:

Thanks, Carlos, for the positive feedback - much appreciated. Regarding
your query, can I refer you to 3.n in the writeup which states:-

n. An empty ship, though it remains on the gameboard, presents no
hindrance to any movement of ships or crew across the cell it occupies,
behaving just like a completely empty cell in this respect, until it is
once again crewed. 

Hope this covers everything. All the best, Dave J.

carlos carlos wrote on Tue, Jun 28, 2005 08:46 AM EDT:

'A player's move of a ship is prohibited if it immediately undoes the
effect of his opponent's last move (done with the same ship).'

let's say we have a rook each on a ship.  if my opponent moves that ship
a3-a8, does that mean i can make any legal move except for back to a3?  or
can i not move it at all?  i favor the first option i think.  what does
'undoes the effect' mean here?  thanks for your help, dtj or anyone
else.

dave jagger wrote on Sun, Jul 3, 2005 06:15 PM EDT:

Carlos, The answer is the first option you described - i.e you cannot just undo the last move your opponent made (so the result would be like neither of you had moved at all). Yes, you can move the same ship as your opponent has just moved, but only if you move it to any position other than the one it has just moved from. Thanks for your continuing interest in the game. Regards, dtj

Joe Joyce wrote on Thu, Mar 30, 2006 03:28 PM EST:Excellent ★★★★★

A fine game, capable of being played on two levels, a simpler one of pushing whole ships around, and a more difficult one of getting the right pieces into the right ships. Beautifully overcoming the limitations of a small board, it is a big game in a small package. This game is well worth playing. I wish there were an easy way to play it face-to-face. The rules could probably be better written, but they are adequate for the game. I find the idea and the way it plays excellent.

Andy Thomas wrote on Fri, Mar 31, 2006 03:45 PM EST:

if you get a zillions implementation i would certainly play it... sounds
like an incredible game

danielmacduff wrote on Sun, Jul 21, 2013 01:48 PM EDT:

I cannot reach the animated file.  The link 404's.

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