Dealer's Chess
This was inspired somewhat by Hans Bodlaender's Pick-the-Team Chess, where several disparate pieces are brought together and the two players take turns choosing one to add to their team.
I thought, "What if the teams weren't chosen, but distributed randomly? How would that work?"
When some of my online shopping took me to a product on Amazon called Faerie Chess, which included reference cards for how each piece moved, I had my answer: each piece would have its own reference card with a picture and diagram, and the armies would be chosen that way.
Setup
This game (at least, if it's going to be played in person with physical pieces) requires some at-home creation before anything can start.
Advance Preparation
For each available piece, there should be a white version, and black version, and a reference card.
It stands to reason that the pieces themselves will have to be available, and you may use whatever means you prefer for making them. Some people prefer modifying existing pieces; others like to buy from specialty shops; others prefer to 3D-print theirs. Fairy chess fans have been doing this for years.
Printing out your own cards, on the other hand, is probably a new experience for most. Perforated cardstock is available from Amazon and most office-supply stores. I recommend using those that divide into 2 x 4 cards, measuring 2¾ x 4¼ inches (from Imperial 8½x11" letter-sized paper); this is the assumption on the sample PDFs I provide below.
The Game Proper
The cards come in three groups: Royal cards, Piece cards, and Pawn cards.
To keep the Royals interesting, there should be at least three different Royal pieces available (the sample cards below number six). Each player takes one card at random, and the corresponding piece is placed in the center of the back row, on the opposing color.
There must be a minimum of 14 Piece cards; the sample cards number 40, so the players may either agree on 14 to choose from, use the entire selection, or anything in between. Then each player is dealt seven of the cards, and takes the corresponding pieces. These pieces fill out the back row.
Generally speaking, the back-row pieces may be put into whatever order the player wishes, though a few guidelines are recommended:
- The tallest of these pieces should go in the center space next to the Royal.
- The other pieces should be arranged with the taller pieces on the inside.
- Where two (or more) pieces are the same height, the one with the more rooklike move should go on the outside.
Then the Pawn cards are dealt out, eight per player, and each player takes the eight corresponding Pawns and arranges them on the second row in any order desired.
Alternate: 10 x 10
This could also be played on a 10x10 board, with each player getting 9 back-row Pieces and 10 Pawns.
Pieces
As a sample "starter kit" of sorts, here are some sample Royal pieces:
- King -
- Pharaoh -
- Pope -
- President -
- Rex -
- Shogun -
To be continued...
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By Bob Greenwade.
Last revised by Bob Greenwade.
Web page created: 2023-08-31. Web page last updated: 2023-08-31