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Bob Greenwade wrote on Sat, Feb 3, 2024 06:48 PM UTC:

200. Grandmaster Mage and 201. Mann. Since this weekend's pair includes #200, instead of featuring a rotary or reflective pair, I'm presenting two that are opposites in another way.

The Grandmaster Mage, at its most basic, moves like a Thaumaturge: stepping one space in any direction, or leaping (1,3) like a Camel or (2,3) like a Zebra. However, it treats the edges of the board like a torus; a move off one edge brings the Grandmaster Mage back to the other edge as if the two edges were attached to each other. It can also use its move to switch places with any other piece, whether friendly or enemy; or relay its move to a friendly piece.

Also, any enemy piece in an adjacent space is immobilized and cannot move. (ooKooCooZooudcKooudcCooudcZooxKooxCooxZ, spell=freeze)

Taking a strict interpretation of the XBetza code (which computers are prone to do), the move induction only gives the type of move that is used to give it. (I'd actually prefer it if all of the moves could be shared, but that's a bit much right now).

This was a case of the model driving the piece: I started with the Thaumaturge piece (which includes the crescent moon), then added bits signifying move relay (the butterfly wings), swapping places (the star), toroidal moves (the arrows), and immobilizing (the octagon around the head).

I would've loved to have included the move of the Lev Grigoriev's Magician; made rifle captures of the Camel and Zebra leaps; and possibly given it other abilities. The XBetza was already pretty long, and I wasn't sure how I'd indicate them on the model.

At the opposite end of the complexity spectrum is the Mann (also known as the Commoner, Guard, Fool, Sage, or Hey You*), which moves one square in any direction -- no diagram required. (K)

It's one of my simplest pieces, consisting only of a spherical head on a basic shaft.

*Just kidding about that last one. (Probably.)


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