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Game Reviews by GeorgeDuke
Novo Chess. War game chess variant from the Netherlands, 1937. (12x8, Cells: 96) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]In 1937 Novo Chess became the first design to utilize all four modern fundamental game pieces Rook, Knight, Bishop and Falcon. On its ninety-six(96) squares (8x12), Novo's fourteen (14)piece types, each within certain special features, correspond to these more familiar game pieces: General,General Staff = King; Mil. Eng. Unit, Red Cross, Artillery, Tank = Rook; Airship, Bicycle Unit(up to 2 sqs)= Bishop; Ship, Submarine = Queen; Airplane = Knight; Motor Unit = Falcon; Infantry = Pawn; [Spy: all seven possible]. Great write-up of a game that actually achieved some popularity for a time.
Quintessential chess. Large chess variants, with some pieces moving with a sequence of knight moves in a zigzag line. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I rated Quintessential Chess as excellent in my group's voting toward finalists in 84-space contest. Jorg Knappen's previous article 'Nachtmahr' establishes Quintessence as probably the best of nightrider species. (The camel square being also next logical one after rook-knight-bishop coverage) Bishop-like pieces (Janus, Dragon Horse) are correct complements to challenging Quintessence maneuvers; only Leeloo can move rookwise. Seven piece types make long-term strategy manageable not whimsical. Pawn's bockspringen likely being new idea, Squirrel/Centurion completes the mix so as to cover all pawns initially. Great game.
Rococo. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The edge squares are essential for all the pieces since each can be swapped there, or end there in capturing, if only from another edge square. The Long Leaper is a more natural piece than say a Cannon, and in Rococo exceeded in value by two other pieces. My estimates: Immobilizer 10, Advancer 8, LL 7, Swapper 5, Chameleon 4, Withdrawer 3, Cannon Pawn 2. A Triangulator, as described, or Coordinator for that matter would not fit in well with this mix of pieces. CVP has about 2000 games the last time I checked, somewhat fewer than David Pritchard's Encyclopedia. Of course, there is substantial overlap, such as Ultima.
Pocket Polypiece Chess 43. Game with off-board pocket where all pieces of a type change when one piece of a type is moved normally. (7x6, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent for Jacks & Witches, having played one of the Courier J&W games by the same inventor. I tried Polypiece 43 too, and I think lack of clarity, the lately popular criterion for CVP's ratings, applies. However, Mark Thompson suggests in 'Defining the Abstract' that Clarity trades off with Depth, and PP43 is deep for under 64 squares, I would say; and its originality is high. The other tension Thompson sees is between Drama and Decisiveness, exchanging or played off one against the other to great extent; these third and fourth criteria for a well-designed game would come into play at the 73(72+Pocket) squares, well worth trying. Of course, Polypiece inventions go back to Ralph Betza (as all wisdom does), and Betza says in Polyp. article that there are 'hundreds of thousands of variants,' yet all Polypiece at root, meaning not just pieces but games. So, it can help to have standards besides popularity and polls. I prefer Cannon/Canon's flip at option in Jacks & Witches (and Ch. Larger Bd.), because clarity is not a problem where other pieces are not flipping, and J&W shows drama, decisiveness, and depth too.
Slide-shuffle. Variation of Shuffle Chess with special castling. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]A serious, reasonable suggestion in the randomizing back rank theme for Orthodox Chess. However-- allowing for some license to re-direct the subject matter to CVP entries-- Fischer-random, Shuffle-, or Slide-shuffle as methods for determining initial set-ups, can be adapted to most (90%+) of the 2000 chess variations listed in CVP. It would not be applicable to only one. And each starting array, being able to generate its own data base of specific games, could stand as a unique Game in itself. (Similar to Gothic Chess' considered switch of two pieces warranting its patents) Taking the mentioned 2880 starting positions as near the average, or rounding to 3000, there are now 6 million distinct variants available. Insofar as sheer numbers are the usual goal here, Ralph Betza's Polypiece concept of fluctuating piece powers generates at the very least 1000 cases per chess variant. Overlaying these makes 6 billion separate Sets of Rules. Further, coordinate pieces, hardly used at all to date beyond the time-worn King-Coordinator rank-file standard, could easily contribute another 10*3 factor: 6+ trillion game-play methods-- each capable of having own actual scores. If Orthodox Chess is up to 3 or 4 million of those, then such unique sets of rules (6x10*12), as attainable methods of play (the coequality of all forms ever being sacrosanct), may someday translate into near 25 quintillion games of Chess. [Or, supported by proposed novelties, factor in comparable quantities, mostly on order of 10*3, for Pawns, King moves, Castling rules, time controls, move-turn order, immobilization and reduction, and any twenty(20) other important parameters; then the Googol is in reach: a Googol chess variants and still more games...]
I do not think Michael Howe's comment entails 'sillyness' (sic), as he puts it. That is in fact what Howe offers the chess-playing public in Nova, up to 3x10*16 (quadrillions) versions of chess, none more recommended than another. No doubt there are many interesting,excellent games in there in Nova's programming enterprise. In contrasting approach, Grand, Omega, Gothic, Falcon, naming a few convenient examples, each seriously offer one well-considered variant. Intermediately, this Slide-Shuffle proposes 2880 unique set-ups--inevitably each one eventually developing its own theory-- as solution to the computer and opening theory problems facing Orthodox. However, such randomizing flies in the face of centuries of tradition of equal and constantly-initial-positioned forces.
Gridlock. Large, wargame inspired variant. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]When using 'a Thief in the Knight', does it transfer the Field of Influence on all levels, or only take pieces out of Medusa's range? Is Armour pushed through Wall or Jump Gate? Thirdly, can Tonk's Chamber be pivoted without flanking Crystal?
Cagliostro's Chess. Variant on 12 by 8 board with combination pieces. (12x8, Cells: 96) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Re Chas. Gilman's comment, Cagliostro's is fairly interesting mix of standard compound pieces. When there becomes a predominant mainstream replacement for 64-sq. Orthodox--versus CVP's Googol (10^100) and more possibilities [See recent comments under random chesses, Deployment and Slide Shuffle]--most likely it will have time-honoured, paired R, B, and N, as Orthodox, and such as Capablanca's, Grand, Omega, Falcon and Gothic, on expanded board. Here in Cagliostro's, the idea extends the pairing to Archbishop (B, N) and includes one General (=Amazon = R,N,B). Its fully twelve files, however, as realistic sequel and serious study, may belong to distant future, despite precedent in regional, long-lived Courier Chess.
Fugue. Based on Ultima and Rococo this game has pieces that capture in unusual ways. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]A general criticism of Fugue is the high number of piece types (nine) for its sixty-four squares, ratio 9/64. A much-commented game lately is Maxima with ratio piece types to squares 9/76, still (too) high, compared to Orthodox (Mad-Queen, FIDE) 6/64, RNBKQP. (Somewhat afield, at one time on CVP there were discussions of initial piece density where Orthodox shows 50%, as Fugue.) As further ex., in 84-square contest judging, my main critique of Tamerspiel is this same Piece-type Density, 20/84 there, twenty different types of pieces, confusing strategy. There is a point at which game piece differentiation distracts and detracts, players having to dwell on interpretations of rules before even considering actual moves; any chess-like game on 64 sqs. with say 16 different ways of moving surely fails. At some point, criteria like Drama, Decisiveness, Clarity and Depth, as in Mark Thompson's 'Defining the Abstract', need be used more systemically and justified than 'variantists' do today. Games developers justify choices with only 'I like this' or 'That works' without explanation. On what basis? By what other criteria than the five mentioned above?--I have five more to name for measure in another comment. Now Fugue is neat adaptation to 64-sqs.,worthy of its 'Excellents', retaining Cannon Pawns, Imm. and Swapper, the crux of Rococo, but the nine game piece forms may confound tactics, sort of leveling play where often one move is about good as another.
RLavieri cites '23/47' as if some irrelevant, random number out of the blue. Far from it. Actually, recognizing that more than any other number, 23 squares precisely are reachable by Orthodox Queen unobstructed on 64-square board [Or better, 22.8=23 is the average for Q, varying among 21,23,25,27]; and finding that 47 spaces exactly are reached by Winged Amazon [Q+N+Falcon] on average from the twelve centermost squares[((51x4)+(45x8))/12]-- this 23/47, in fact, by chance expresses important measure of relative strengths of two basic compounds, whilst Falcon-Amazon situates centrally on 64 squares, as good strategy dictates. Immediately, particular ratio's relevance to 80- and 100-square boards remains obscure.
Magna Carta Chess. Black has the FIDE array, White has a Marshal and an Archbishop instead of a Queen and King. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]One of first Chess-Unequal-Armies games is described by Martin Gardner in Scientific American column in mid-20th century. It has Maharajah (same as Amazon) alone versus standard side of sixteen pieces. Then come Ralph Betzaยดs CUA games. Here is a logical CUA try with standard compounds; its creativity lies in having, in effect, two Kings per side: a K-Q pair as such vs. Ma-C pair as such, their different movements the 'Unequality,' not so mind-boggling as when all pieces unequal. Worthwhile elementary idea.
Fugue. Based on Ultima and Rococo this game has pieces that capture in unusual ways. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]At request here is a Poor--because CVP has no 'Fair' or 'Average',my real estimation, so to balance previous 'Good'. Game was just backdrop for brief exchange about whether there can be absolute standards to judge games, not methods to create sets of rules. I shall certainly use other pages to comment further on the topic of interest should RLavieri respond, because Fugue itself is irrelevant to the subject raised, and to avoid hypersensitivity. I submit the criterion Piece-type Density, when high, can be overcome, depending on the game. I have argued that Jacks and Witches' 9/84, nine pieces on 84 squares, works well, though exceeding (admittedly arbitrary) 10%, perhaps partly because Jack is in hand. Out of courtesy, (the developer seems to have guessed) I overstated regard for present game when it is really typically Average convolution, benefiting in ratings from the collaborative effort that went into decision of Bowman's power, sort of replay of the 2003 Chess-form by committee.
Isis and Cam. Two variants based on ancient English universities and the rivers near them. (6x8, Cells: 48) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Interesting literary and cinematic themes. Micro-regional CVs for each college-university town in USA by extension would make 700 more CVs--just the ticket. With liberty to relate to recent 'Game Design,' comment follows there just using Isis as example.
Horus. Game with Royal Falcons where all pieces start off board and most captures return pieces to owner's hand. (7x7, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]'Horus', in conjunction with Chess, is not original to this game, far from being Peter Aronson's idea. The game description's first line, 'Horus named for the Egyptian God who bears the title Falcon of the Horizon and who was sometimes depicted as having a Falcon head,' figures recurrently in my Chess poetry since year 2000. In 'Castle Early' I write about 'Falcon-headed Horus.' In 'Chess Morality IV Promotion': 'From chimeral horizon unto zenith'--referring to Horus. In 'CM IX Sacrifice': 'Falcon head.' In 'CM X': 'Above the Pyramid, the Eye of Horus, the Falcon god.' In 'CM XI': 'Falcon and ankh'(of Horus). And so on, the Falcon-Horus image still being developed to support Falcon Chess. (US Patent 5690334)Fiction like poetry is unusual for CVP, but takes a lot more work I have found than mere write-ups of game rules. I object to this game's being called Horus, albeit for a small chess, as a matter of courtesy. It usurps the name Horus just as disrespectfully as taking the name of an existing game for one's own--not up to Chess Variant Page's usual standards. The 'Good' simply reflects that 44-sq. Falcon ZRF is reasonable trainer in what is the first of the four fundamental Western game pieces. And three of them even may interact with Bishop and Knight. (N.B., not fully amplified in Complete Permutation Chess, Falcon is first of the four R-N-B-F in that they are implicit in F, not vice versa.)
Bad enough that CVP editor no less lifts 'Horus' from major theme of 600 lines of Falcon Chess poetry since 2000. Peter Aronson also puts out misleading description of Falcon move beginning, 'Falcon moves like a Bison.' Hardly correct. Falcon is a Rider with one or two 45-degree turns. 'Bison' appears nowhere in 2000 Pritchard's 'Encyclopedia of CV' games or 2000 more games in CVP (4000 total games so far). Fitting into no false, preconceived template, Falcon does not jump like Knight (1,2), or Camel (1,3) or Zebra (2,3). Whereas, theoretical Bison is a (1,3)(2,3)Leaper defined in very rare couple of problems. My Patent Disclosure in January 1995 cites three(3)Pritchard ECV games with (Z+N) compound and three others with (C+N). 'Actual Bison' (as Zebra plus Camel), even if it appeared in any game, would not particularly elucidate Falcon move, since they are from wholly different families of pieces, Leapers and Riders. Aronson goes on that Falcon (US Patent 5690334) has greater piece value than 'lame Bison.' What is that? He never defines it. What to make of describing a fundamental Chess piece (Falcon, with R, N, B the other three such) in terms of what it is not? It's like playing a game of twenty(20) Questions: is it this, or is it that, until what is left out of everything possible is what it is.
US Patent 5690334 for Falcon Chess is about seven years past the challenge stage, so patent's claims are solid having been unchallenged. Games patents go back over 100 years, including Scrabble, Monopoly; Peter Aronson mentions under Complete Permutation, Ed Trice's Gothic Chess Patent 6481716. Lost on Aronson is that 'Horus', while perfectly obvious, is already used extensively in Falcon Chess poetry for the same patented novelty. Having searched for just the right wording for Falcon-Horus images, I think of it as expropriation for this miniature chess: no commercial consequence would be issue, just common courtesy for those who may not be singlemindedly obsessed with churning out new sets of game rules. Patenting is wholly different sphere than mere names of games: about five US Patents for Chess issue per year, down from a peak of ten a decade ago. As stated in Complete Permutation Chess comment, because well-schooled in variants myself, I deliberately excluded 8x8 from my claims, so CVist may experiment and welcome to use Falcon there without infringement. [One could] relate these ideas to Fergus Duniho's Enneagram under Game Design.
Patt-schach (Stalemate chess). Players start with an illegal move from a stalemated position. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I maintain the starting arrays within Passed Pawns Chess and Passed Pawns, Scorpions and Dragon are improvements over this 'advanced pawns' concept. I did not find Patt-schach and Upside-Down Chess right away(although I knew I had seen them about 1996), as references for those two variant pages from 2003, designed equally to highlight Falcon move.
Quinquereme Chess. Large variant with a new piece, the Quinquereme. (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Is 144-board the largest size that lends itself to coherent strategy? Turkish Great Chess V at 13x13 being played now at Courier seems to have passed that point. (Jupiter has 16x16.) And there is a photograph of Charles Fort from the 1930s playing on what is clearly a 1000-square board for a joke. Here Quintessence as improved Nightrider establishes with R-N-B all the standard compounds, but 12x12 squares must be upper limit for reasonable play.
Switching Chess. In addition to normal moves, switch with an adjacent friendly piece. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Switching Chess is a natural idea and surprisingly not in Pritchard, though I prefer its embodiment in one piece (Swapper) with unfriendly units too. Also, another pathway to an infinitude of Chess variants, as I first describe under Slide-Shuffle, utilizes this position-Shifting Chess idea. Take the 2000 games in CVP. Suppose each has average of ten piece types(approx). Let just one type of piece initiate 'Switch,' and add that sub-rule to each different game-rules set: 20,000 distinct games emerge. Let any two piece-types do so: close to 200,000 sets of rules. Allow Switching from only a subset of 8 or 10 squares: about 2 million separate ways of playing. Continuing with these factors in combinations -- switching only coordinated by squares across various diagonals (of rectangles),odd, even, prime, etc.: that one is good for 1000 per game anyway, giving 2 billion now. Randomized baseline and Pawn positioning added: 2 quadrillion, and so on, a switch-trade after capture, before check, on Move 5 or on Move 11, adjacent to Pawn, before King, the ideas are endless; somewhere between quadrillion and Googol (10*100)--as commented Slide-Shuffle-- is a practical infinity for Earth-bound minds.
Swap Chess. A move can consist of a series of pieces swapping places. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Swap Chess and Switching Chess are neither in Pritchard's ECV(1994). Switching Ch's now requiring adjacency should avoid passive positions on 8x8. This Swap Ch. would be the better implementation on larger boards 8x10 and 10x10--further improved probably without the serial swaps. This one's Swap along range of attack of P1 calls for full-sized boards enabling exotic pieces: some pairing of Marshall, Cardinal, Falcon, Nightrider/Quintessence, or Cannon/Canon. Quintanilla's basic Switching Chess originally has switch over one straight or diagonal step between same-coloured units and plays better than say Fischer's Random, even with still prosaic piece mix.
Ecumenical Chess. Set of Variants incorporating Camels and Camel compound pieces. (8x10, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Overby's Beastmaster Chess has Pegasus(=Zebra+Giraffe(1,4)) and Roc (=Camel+Alfil); probably R-C and B-C are unused before. Notice the groupings in Beastmaster not following Leap Length. Both Gilman's and Overby's approaches could be factored into hundreds of new CVs by different piece mixes and board sizes, as Charles suggests preparing for more drastic leapers, surely using his established nomenclature. I disagree 'The bigger the board, the weaker Ns and Cs'. Not necessarily, relative to other simple (8-sq) leapers; Ns and the lesser Cs may become inherently more defensive.
Sissa. Variant on 9 by 9 board with Sissa's. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Of course Sissa has two pathways to each square on any rectangular board, and either or both may be blocked. 225- and 315-degree angles throw one for a second, but Sissa is a two-path piece, like Eric Greenwood's Cavalier and Duke (both used before in Pritchard ECV games) and like Betza's Rose. I guess 'multiple-path' applies to two possibilities.
Article does not discuss multiple pathways. In fact, Sissa moves to squares of Rook plus those of Nightrider. What is name, as 'Unicorn' is B + NN? However, Sissa does not leap like NN or slide like Rook. Actually it moves to each 'N-Rider square' by two unique paths and 'Rook square' by four(4) routes. Four pathways may be cut to two only by proximity to edge. Still, intervening pieces may reduce any 4-fold way to 3-, 2-, or one, or prohibit move altogether; and any 2-fold way to 1 or 0. More interesting innovation than most CV games that come from new combinations or small change of old elements.
Coherent Chess. Variant on 9 by 9 board with special knights. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]First used Cetina's Sissa is the 'Knight', actually moving to Nightrider and Rook squares, but not like they do. In Second Board above, 'Sissa', or 'Knight', on c3 may capture Rook on c5 by Four-Fold pathways: c3-d3-e3-d4-c5, or c3-d4-c5-d5-c5, or c3-b3-a3-b4-c5, or c3-b4-a5 b5-c5. No pieces intervene, but if they did, any one pathway would be sufficient to move and capture c5 from c3. Sissa's 'N-Rider' squares are reachable by two-fold pathways. No Bishops' conversion rule like in Sissa Chess.
Sissa. Variant on 9 by 9 board with Sissa's. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]In second drawing above, Sissa at c3 captures Queen at e7 by its 'modified Nightrider route' c3-d4-e5-e6-e7. The other pathway c3-c4-c5-e6-d7 is blocked by Rook at c5, but for two-fold-pathway square, one path is sufficient to complete move (and capture). Sissa goes to N-Rider squares by two-fold way, and Rook squares by four-fold way. Also making same distinction is the angled change of direction. When it turns 45 degrees, Sissa goes to N-Rider square; when 135 degrees, Rook square. It is not necessary, as in article, to think in terms of 225- or 315-degree changes of direction--a '315 turn' is just a 45-degree one the other way for Chess purposes.
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