Jianying Ji wrote on Sun, Aug 4, 2002 12:29 AM UTC:
I think part of the trouble with this variant, and the reason that people
hesitate to try it is the lack of a coherent theme, by theme I include
abstract themes such as all pieces have abstract quality X.
this game have various categories of pieces:
King : royal
Squire, Viceroy, Pawn, Crowned Knight, left/right schzzhi: normal,
i.e. no special powers but can be effected by others
Bobber: extending powers (to itself)
dazzler, hyenna : immobilizer
archer, zednick : confabulators
yanzee : invulnerable
extentialist : morph
teleporter: transports self.
I feel there's a excess of categories and overlap between the powers
between the pieces. this game would be better I think if no two pieces
have the same higher power. for example having had the dazzler both
hyenna and yanzee is somewhat superflous.
similarly archer is a more coherent piece than zednick which has 4
unrelated powers, so it would be a better games without zednick.
A compromise would to give the power of the zednick to the bobber
which creates the stretegic tension of whether to keep the bobber
around or to confabulate it with some other piece to increase that
piece's power.
I think the more constrained variant below might be easier to start
with:
all the normal pieces and the king.
King : royal
Squire, Viceroy, Pawn, Crowned Knight, left/right schzzhi: normal
Dazzler: as the immobilizer and giver of invulnerability
archer: as the confabulator
bobber/zednick: moves as bobber or can confabulate as a zednick
teleporter: transports itself
extentialist: cycles through all the non-royal pieces, on 11th move it
sleeps, than another cycle, then explode.
I think I have preserved all the ideas in your game and simplified it
a bit. hope you find it interesting.
I think part of the trouble with this variant, and the reason that people hesitate to try it is the lack of a coherent theme, by theme I include abstract themes such as all pieces have abstract quality X. this game have various categories of pieces: King : royal Squire, Viceroy, Pawn, Crowned Knight, left/right schzzhi: normal, i.e. no special powers but can be effected by others Bobber: extending powers (to itself) dazzler, hyenna : immobilizer archer, zednick : confabulators yanzee : invulnerable extentialist : morph teleporter: transports self. I feel there's a excess of categories and overlap between the powers between the pieces. this game would be better I think if no two pieces have the same higher power. for example having had the dazzler both hyenna and yanzee is somewhat superflous. similarly archer is a more coherent piece than zednick which has 4 unrelated powers, so it would be a better games without zednick. A compromise would to give the power of the zednick to the bobber which creates the stretegic tension of whether to keep the bobber around or to confabulate it with some other piece to increase that piece's power. I think the more constrained variant below might be easier to start with: all the normal pieces and the king. King : royal Squire, Viceroy, Pawn, Crowned Knight, left/right schzzhi: normal Dazzler: as the immobilizer and giver of invulnerability archer: as the confabulator bobber/zednick: moves as bobber or can confabulate as a zednick teleporter: transports itself extentialist: cycles through all the non-royal pieces, on 11th move it sleeps, than another cycle, then explode. I think I have preserved all the ideas in your game and simplified it a bit. hope you find it interesting.