Gary Gifford wrote on Sat, Aug 5, 2006 01:25 PM UTC:
Joe: I truly enjoy the Chieftain piece-control, 4 move per-player-per-turn
aspects of this new big game of yours. So far our game is enjoyable and is
about to become a super battle at the great divide. This should be a
fantastic battle and I can hardly imagine what the board will look like
when the smoke clears. However, I need help with the rules before we
reach the epic battle. I am suffering from piece movement confusion after
reading the rules, your comment to Christine, and our having our Messenger
conversation.
You write in the rules: H - the hero. This is a 2-step unequal rider. The
two parts of its move are a 1 square orthogonal slide and a 2 square
orthogonal leap. When activated, it may slide 1; or jump 2; or slide 1 and
jump 2; or jump 2 and slide 1.
Q: (a) You state: This piece {Hero} probably should be a linear rider;
turns would give it the knight move, making them redundant, or at least
requiring Ns to be augmented..... You say 'should be' but are they? If
not, and they should be, why aren't they? By 'rider,' do you mean
'leaper'? I thought riders kept going...
(b) The rules say: S - shaman - another unequal 2-step rider. This is the
diagonal analog of the Hero. It slides 1 and/or jumps 2 in a diagonal
line.
The slightly improved model allows a 1 square move orthogonally backward.
The ultra model allows the shaman the 'Man' move also. This is likely
too powerful, but if used, allow the hero to move in an 'L', similar to
a knight. You might also want to let 2 N's gain the F move and the other
2 the W move.
Q: Which version of Shanman piece are we using in our game? Regular,
Slightly Improved, or Ultra? I prefer Regular.
Q: You say we might want to let the 2 N's gain the F move and the other 2
the W move. I would be happy with just standard Knights. It would be less
confusing. And your Hero can move linear in addition to an L shape.
Simple. Easy to remember.
(c) The rules say: N - the standard chess knight. At least so far. [?] It
may be augmented with either the ferz or wazir move as an alternative
move. It is not ever a rider. It moves either as a ferz or a wazir, then
may complete the knight move as an option to staying on its first square
moved to.
Q: In the pre-set we have no Nw or Nf distinction in our game. So are we
using Knights as fw/wf / wf/fw movers as discussed with Christine? The
pre-set just shows a standard N image. Can this Knight leap? Can we just
use standard Knights to keep things simple?
Joe: I truly enjoy the Chieftain piece-control, 4 move per-player-per-turn aspects of this new big game of yours. So far our game is enjoyable and is about to become a super battle at the great divide. This should be a fantastic battle and I can hardly imagine what the board will look like when the smoke clears. However, I need help with the rules before we reach the epic battle. I am suffering from piece movement confusion after reading the rules, your comment to Christine, and our having our Messenger conversation. You write in the rules: H - the hero. This is a 2-step unequal rider. The two parts of its move are a 1 square orthogonal slide and a 2 square orthogonal leap. When activated, it may slide 1; or jump 2; or slide 1 and jump 2; or jump 2 and slide 1. Q: (a) You state: This piece {Hero} probably should be a linear rider; turns would give it the knight move, making them redundant, or at least requiring Ns to be augmented..... You say 'should be' but are they? If not, and they should be, why aren't they? By 'rider,' do you mean 'leaper'? I thought riders kept going... (b) The rules say: S - shaman - another unequal 2-step rider. This is the diagonal analog of the Hero. It slides 1 and/or jumps 2 in a diagonal line. The slightly improved model allows a 1 square move orthogonally backward. The ultra model allows the shaman the 'Man' move also. This is likely too powerful, but if used, allow the hero to move in an 'L', similar to a knight. You might also want to let 2 N's gain the F move and the other 2 the W move. Q: Which version of Shanman piece are we using in our game? Regular, Slightly Improved, or Ultra? I prefer Regular. Q: You say we might want to let the 2 N's gain the F move and the other 2 the W move. I would be happy with just standard Knights. It would be less confusing. And your Hero can move linear in addition to an L shape. Simple. Easy to remember. (c) The rules say: N - the standard chess knight. At least so far. [?] It may be augmented with either the ferz or wazir move as an alternative move. It is not ever a rider. It moves either as a ferz or a wazir, then may complete the knight move as an option to staying on its first square moved to. Q: In the pre-set we have no Nw or Nf distinction in our game. So are we using Knights as fw/wf / wf/fw movers as discussed with Christine? The pre-set just shows a standard N image. Can this Knight leap? Can we just use standard Knights to keep things simple?