ArchMage Chess

ArchMage Chess

Designed by Cyrus Arturas

You may download a PDF copy of the official rule book here.

Introduction

This is a Chess variant with 20 different pieces on a 10x10 board. There are 100 squares and 30 pieces per side.

The theme of ArchMage Chess takes place in a mythological fantasy setting inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and Lord of the Rings. The ArchMage unit has magical powers and abilities that are beyond what traditional chess pieces are capable of performing. This makes them a very powerful unit. The ArchMage can jump a few spaces away suggesting the ability of teleportation, they can switch positions with another ally unit as a form of trickery and illusion, and they also have the ability to summon Dragons wherever they are positioned on the board. The Dragon Summoning rule is inspired by the drop rule in Shogi. The difference in this variation is that only Dragons can be dropped and they can only be dropped adjacent to a summoner unit. The ArchMage adds a whole new layer of depth and complexity to an already profound strategy board game.

The creation of ArchMage Chess was inspired from studying different chess variations on ChessVariants.com especially Terachess II and its predecessors designed by Jean-Louis Cazaux who is the author of A World of Chess.

Setup

ArchMage Chess is played on a 10x10 board and has 3 rows of units in each army. Each player starts with 30 units in their army containing 14 different unique units plus 4 special units acquired thru promotion and 2 special units acquired thru summoning.

Front Row : Pawns (row 3, row 8)

Mid Row : Manticore (a2,j2,a9,j9), Bishop (b2,i2,b9,i9), Centaur (c2,h2,c9,h9), Phoenix (d2,g2,d9,g9), Amazon (e2,e9), Prince (f2,f9)

Back Row : Griffon (a1,j1,a10,j10), Rook (b1,i1,b10,i10), Buffalo (c1,h1,c10,h10), Sorceress (d1,d10), Queen (e1,e10), King (f1,f10), Mage (g1,g10)

Initial Setup :

Pieces

Pawn : It moves 1 square forward without capturing exactly as in European Chess, including en passant capture. It may move 2 squares forward without capturing on its first initial move from starting position. It captures 1 square diagonally forward but cannot move diagonally forward without capturing.

The Pawn is the least powerful unit in the game.

The Pawn promotes to an ArchMage when it reaches the last row.

Phoenix : It moves 1 square in any direction orthogonally, or may jump to a position 2 squares diagonally. When moving 2 squares diagonally, it may jump and it does not matter what unit intermediate squares contain.

The Phoenix promotes to a Lion when it reaches the last row.

Lion : He moves as a King (1 square in any direction), or may jump to a position 2 squares away, jumping in any orthogonal or diagonal direction, or he can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess and it does not matter what unit intermediate squares contain. (Unlike in Chu Shogi, the Lion cannot move 2 times in 1 turn.)

Sorceress : She moves as a King (1 square in any direction). When moving 2 or 3 squares orthogonally or diagonally, she may jump and it does not matter what unit intermediate squares contain.

The Sorceress promotes to an ArchMage when she reaches the last row.

Mage : He moves as a King (1 square in any direction), or may jump to a position 2 squares away, jumping in any orthogonal or diagonal direction, or he can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess and it does not matter what unit intermediate squares contain.

The Mage promotes to an ArchMage when he reaches the last row.

ArchMage : It moves as a Queen (indefinitely to any square orthogonally or diagonally) and can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess. When moving 2 or 3 squares, it may jump and it does not matter what unit intermediate squares contain.

The ArchMage is the most powerful unit in the game.

The ArchMage may only be acquired through the promotion of other units.

The Mage, Sorceress, and Pawns may all promote to an ArchMage upon reaching the last row on the opposite side of the board.

Dragon King : He moves indefinitely to any square orthogonally or 1 square diagonally.

Dragon Horse : She moves indefinitely to any square diagonally or 1 square orthogonally.

King : He moves 1 square in any orthogonal or diagonal direction to an unattacked square.

Queen : She moves indefinitely to any square orthogonally or diagonally.

Prince : He moves and captures 1 square in any orthogonal or diagonal direction. He moves without capturing 2 squares in any orthogonal direction.

The Prince promotes to an Amazon, Lion, Manticore, or Griffon when he reaches the last row.

Amazon : She moves as a Queen or she can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess.

Bishop : He moves indefinitely to any square diagonally.

The Bishop promotes to an Archbishop when he reaches the last row.

Archbishop : He moves as a Bishop or he can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess.

Rook : He moves indefinitely to any square orthogonally.

The Rook promotes to a Chancellor when he reaches the last row.

Chancellor : He moves as a Rook or he can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess.

Centaur : It moves as a King or it can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess.

The Centaur promotes to a Lion when it reaches the last row.

Buffalo : It can (2,1) jump as a Knight in European Chess.
It can also (3,1) jump or (3,2) jump.

Manticore : It moves 1 square orthogonally and then slides away an indefinite number of squares diagonally. It is authorized to go only 1 square orthogonally. It cannot jump, and the unobstructed path must start with the orthogonal movement.

Griffon : It moves 1 square diagonally and then slides away an indefinite number of squares orthogonally. It is authorized to go only 1 square diagonally. It cannot jump, and the unobstructed path must start with the diagonal movement.

Rules

The rules for En Passant Capture, Castling, Check, Checkmate, Stalemate, and Draw are the same as in European Chess.

Positional Switch

The ArchMage, Mage, and Sorceress have the ability to switch positions with any ally unit except for the King in a 3 square radius. If a pawn is switched into the 3rd row or before the 3rd row it may move 1 or 2 spaces forward until it passes the 3rd row. En Passant capture of the pawn still works in any of these positions

Promotion

Pieces can promote moving into the last row and switching into the last row. Promotion is mandatory.

• A Pawn is promoted to an ArchMage
• A Mage is promoted to an ArchMage
• A Sorceress is promoted to an ArchMage
• A Prince is promoted to an Amazon, Lion, Manticore, or Griffon
• A Phoenix is promoted to a Lion
• A Centaur is promoted to a Lion
• A Bishop is promoted to an Archbishop
• A Rook is promoted to a Chancellor

Dragon Summoning

Each player starts the game with 1 Dragon King and 1 Dragon Horse unit in their hand. The ArchMage, Mage, and Sorceress unit may summon a Dragon King unit or a Dragon Horse unit on any square adjacent to itself in a 1 square radius which is not already occupied by another unit. Summoning a unit counts as 1 move on your turn therefore ending your turn. If a Dragon unit gets captured by an opponent then that piece goes to the opponent’s hand. The captured Dragon unit may be summoned by the capturing player as long as they have a summoner unit in play. There may only be 2 Dragon Kings and 2 Dragon Horses in play at a time on either side.

Last revised by Cyrus Arturas.