Man and Beast 07: When Beasts Collide

The acknowledgments, overview, and glossary to the series can be found here. Established pieces have a link to their Piececlopedia page. The images used in this series, and indeed in most of my pages, can be found here.

Pieces

As Knightwise NC leapers have coordinates among MAB 03's ungulate-named pieces such as the Giraffe, Antelope, Satyr, and Ox I term the 4:2 leaper CHAROLAIS after a cattle breed, and the 6:3 leaper CHAMOIS after an ungulate intermediate between antelope and goat sharing the MAB 05 Chipmunk's Square Of Leap Length (SOLL) of 45. Extrapolations include a 6:4 ZHEROLAIS, 8:2 GHIROLAIS, 8:6 NHAROLAIS, 9:6 ZHEMOIS, 10:4 SHAROLAIS, and 10:8 RHEROLAIS in 2d, and a 4:4:2 NHIROLAIS, 6:4:4 FHEROLAIS, 6:6:3 NHIMOIS, 8:4:2 VHOROLAIS, and 8:6:4 RHYROLAIS in 3d. The Nharolais is notable as an "oblique square" of the Camel as the Antelope is of the Knight and the Zoetrope of the Zebra. Its leap is, as well as two Namel ones at right angles, two Epoletna leaps at right angles, with the 5 coordinates cancelling out and the 4 and 3 ones adding together. The severe bindings of the 8:4 and 10:5 leapers suit the names CALTRAP, a device for laming horses in warfare, and CHAINMAIL, which weighs mediaeval fighters down and whose first syllable is a restraining device. The second fits in with sharing the MAB 03 Quail's SOLL of 125. For the 12:6 leaper I resort to BICHAMOIS, by analogy to MAB 06's Bitrebuchet, Bitripper, and Bizombie. As Camelwise NC leapers have coordinates alongside MAB 03's "big bird" cluster of Flamingo, Stork, Bittern, Albatross, Macaw, Lyrebird, and Quail I term the 6:2 and 9:3 leapers CRANE and CASSOWARY. The latter's flightlessness again reflects a severe binding, while for the 12:4 leaper's still severe one CATCHPOLE means one who captures and restrains birds. Extrapolations include a 10:2 ZRENE, 10:6 GRINE, 4:2:2 SRENE, 6:3:3 SESSOWARY, 6:4:2 FRONE, 6:6:4 LRENE, 8:2:2 NRINE, 8:4:4 SETCHPOLE, 8:6:2 RRANE, and 8:6:6 FRENE. The Elfwise 6:2:2 leaper's comparable range to the Fieldmouse and Chipmunk at the shorter-range end of MAB 05's "mousehole cavalry" suggests LEMMING, extrapolating to a 6:6:2 NUMMING. The 9:3:3 leaper is worth naming mainly to extrapolate to hex geometries. LETDOWN conveys the piece's weakness adequately. For the 12:4:4 I resort to LEGIRON as another impediment to progress like Caltrap.

For the triangulating compound Charolais+Crane CATAMARAN, a kind of ship, derives from Ken Franklin's choice of image in Leap Chess for its nearest radial equivalent the Alibaba. This extends to other dual directions - Zherolais+Zrene=ZETAMARAN, Ghirolais+Grine=GITAMARAN, Nharolais+NRANE=NATAMARAN, Nhirolais+Nrine=NITAMARAN - and semi-dual directions - Lemming+Lrene=LETAMARAN, Fherolais+Frene=FETAMARAN. Extrapolations giving real words are the 14:4:2 PRONE, 14:6:6 GUMMING, 12:10:6 DRONE, and 16:6:2 CRONE.

On a 2d board pieces ending -rolais or -tamaran have the Dabbaba's 1 in 4 binding, -ne the Elephant's 1 in 8, -mois the Trebuchet's 1 in 9, -ltrap the Cobbler's 1 in 16, -ssowary the Tripper's 1 in 18, -inmail the Quibbler's 1 in 25, and -tchpole the Commuter's 1 on 32. Each piece can be standard-leap (unblocked by intervening pieces, oblique analogues to the Alfil or leaping Elephant) or short-leap (requiring empty cells at fractions of the move, e.g. just b3 for a1-c5, oblique analogues to the Xiang or stepping Elephant). Their riders (should you use a large enough board) inherit these leaps for each stage of their move, or can be long-leap in which case no move can be blocked. Long-leap versions of coprime linepieces are also possible: Various games by Claudio Martins Jaguaribe use a long-leap Nightrider under the name GRANDMASTER.

These add to the MAB 05 and 06 examples of hypotenuse pieces of pairs of semi-dual pieces, that is, pieces whose leaps are equal to leaps of coordinates m:m:n and 2m:n:n at right angles. Among MAB 05 pieces the Expounder is a Nimel-Nhirolais hypotenuse, Loremaster and Wiremaster Lecturer-Lemming ones, Skimmer an Effarig-Fherolais one, Worrier and Tinkerer Nurturer-Numming ones, and Lumel an Expounder-Xemming one. Among this article's own pieces the Sessowary is another Nimel-Nhirolais hypotenuse, Nhimois an Exorcist-Expounder one, Letdown a Longplayer-Loremaster and Wideplayer-Wiremaster one, 9:6:6 FHEMOIS a Slimmer-Skimmer one, and 9:9:6 LESSOWARY a Loremaster-Lhorolais and Wiremaster-Whirolais one. Several moves thrice the length of coprime ones can be formed from moves in Ninja directions at right angles. These include the Chamois as 2[2:2:1]+[2:-1:-2], Sessowary as 2[1:2:2]+[2:1:-2]+[2:-2:1], Nhimois as 2[1:2:2]+2[2:1:-2]+[2:-2:1] (making it another "Ninja squared"), Letdown as 3[2:2:1]+[2:-1:-2]+[1:-2:2], Fhemois as 4[2:2:1]+[1:-2:2] - but not the Cassowary or Zhemois as their zero coordinate cannot be formed by adding two numbers of which exactly one is a multiple of 3.

Hopping versions (requiring an occupied cell halfway, for some or all kinds of move) follow the same weapon-name convention as radial Hoppers: hopping versions of Charolais, Crane, Catamaran, and Lemming are CARBINE, a kind of firearm; KATANA, an oriental sword; CARAVEL, a kind of ship; and LEWISGUN. All inherit the leaping piece's binding. I disregard ranges beyond twice the coprime for Hopping and forward-only (FO) pieces. For the latter I considered using the single initials of dual pairs of coprime FO pieces, but this excludes most 3d pieces. Therefore I settled on the previously symmetric-only consonant-and-vowel system, suggesting for FO versions of Charolais, Carbine, Crane, Katana, Catamaran, Caravel, Lemming, and Lewisgun: the self-explanatory CALF (plural CALVES) and CARTRIDGE; CANARD, French for a duck, a smaller aquatic bird; CARVING, which show-offs can do with bladed weapons; CABIN, a unit of accommodation on a ship; CAPSTAN, a winch often found on a ship; LEYLINE, as Lemmings' reputation suggests they could be mistakenly following; and LEVERAGE, which being armed gives one! Extrapolations include ZERBINE+ZETANA=ZERAVEL, ZELF+ZENARD=ZEBIN, ZERTRIDGE+ZERVING=ZEPSTAN, GIRBINE+GITANA=GIRAVEL, GILF+GINARD=GIBIN, GIRTRIDGE+GIRVING=GIPSTAN, NARBINE+NATANA=NARAVEL, NALF+NANARD=NABIN, NARTRIDGE+NARVING=NAPSTAN, NIRBINE+NITANA=NIRAVEL, NILF+NINARD=NIBIN, NIRTRIDGE+NIRVING=NIPSTAN, Lewisgun+LETANA=LERAVEL, Leyline+LENARD=LEBIN, Leverage+LERVING=LEPSTAN, FERBINE+FETANA=FERAVEL, FELF+FENARD=FEBIN, and FERTRIDGE+FERVING=FEPSTAN. The FONARD has no dual or semi-dual. Calf extrapolations inherit the plural - ZELVES, GILVES, NALVES, NILVES, et cetera. The FO form of the 12:2 FARBINE I make an exception of and contract to the previously-unused real word FRIDGE to avoid bad language. The FO form of the 10:8 PARBINE is notable for being a PARTRIDGE.

Wherever the first vowel of such a name is an I it is short, and where a Y long, to distinguish the two.

Pieces with two components in the same oblique directions with a leap-length ratio of 2 follows my practice for all-non-coprime radial pieces with the suffixes -POTENTATE and -SUBJECT. Thus Knight+Charolais=NIGHTPOTENTATE, Sexton+Srene=SEXTOPOTENTATE, Ninja+Nhirolais=NINJAPOTENTATE, Camel+Crane=CAMELPOTENTATE, Zebra+Zherolais=ZEBRAPOTENTATE, Elf+Lemming=ELFPOTENTATE, Gnu+Catamaran=GNUPOTENTATE, Helm+Calf=NIGHTSUBJECT, Shovel+Senard=SEXTOSUBJECT, et cetera.

Each leaper has its rider, a linepiece repeating the leap in the same direction. For those I continue with the leapers' first five letters followed by the word rider - CHARORIDER, CHAMORIDER, CRANERIDER, ZHERORIDER, SRENERIDER, NHIRORIDER, LEMMIRIDER, CATAMRIDER, CALFRIDER, CANARRIDER, LEYLIRIDER, and CABINRIDER. For those making any number of coprime leaps not less than that of the non-coprime leaper itself I extrapolate from, for example, MAB 06's Infanon and Trebuon to give CHAROON, CHAMOON, CRANEON, ZHEROON, SRENEON, NHIROON, LEMMION, CATARON, CALFON, CANARON, LEYLION, and CABINON. These last are no more bound than the piece making the disallowed coprime leap.

As the above pieces make only moves equating to even numbers of coprime leaps, so oblique analogues to the Panda, Bear, et cetera make only odd ones. For these the simple suffix -SWITCHER gives the likes of NIGHTSWITCHER, CAMELSWITCHER, ZEBRASWITCHER, GIRAFSWITCHER, SEXTOSWITCHER, and NINJASWITCHER. Of their compounds the GAZELSWITCHER, LOOKOSWITCHER, and SAMURSWITCHER are actually colourswitching but the GNUSWITCHER, BISONSWITCHER, CHURCSWITCHER, and OBEROSWITCHER are non-switching. Depending on what they can leap over at intermediate cells they can be qualified as short-leap, standard-leap, long-leap, even-leap (a coprime leap followed by none or more double leaps, the default), or odd-leap (none or more double leaps followed by a coprime leap).

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Triple oblique compounds include the Knight+Camel+Zebra compound in Jean-Louis Cazaux' Gigachess, termed BUFFALO after an animal similar to the Bison (Camel+Zebra only) but distinct as regards Old World animals; the names are used interchangeably for the nearest American equivalent to either. Lewis Carroll's Gardener's Song features a "Buffalo that climbed the chimney piece". Here is the movement diagram for the Buffalo:

The simple SOLL ratios of Sexton+Ninja+Nimel and Ninja+Nimel+Exorcist inspire the names SHOGUN and MIKADO as oblique versions of the imperial Constitutional Characters. The colourbound Multi-angle leapers defined by two diagonal "coordinates" regardless of whether the angle between them is 60°, 90°, or 120° yield a SOLL per angle at equal intervals, the middle one a 2d piece with twice the corresponding orthogonal-coordinate piece's SOLL and both others equilateral triangulators. Thus the Knight-derived one combines Camel (SOLL 10), Sexton (SOLL 6, 4 less than 10), and Fortnight (SOLL 14, 4 more than 10). The Camel-derived one is Charolais+Fortnight+Arbez (20, 14, 26). A distinct pair of names for these strong though colourbound pieces would be CASCADE and CATARACT. The 6-way compound Cascade+Cataract I term CALDERA, a volcanic crater. Extrapolations include Zemel+Fortnight+Nurturer=ZESCADE (26, 14, 38), Gimel+Arbez+Votary=GISCADE (34, 26, 42), Namel+Arbez+Ognimalf=NASCADE (50, 26, 74), Zherolais+Votary+Endower=ZETARACT (52, 42, 62), Zescade+Zetaract=ZELDERA.

Compounds of four oblique leapers are rare, but an obvious grouping is a colourswitcher, its square, and both duals. I start off with Knight+Camel+Antelope+Namel=HELICOPTER as one up - literally up - from the Hovercraft that's just Knight+Antelope. The Helicopter can be expressed as Gnu+Anu, Hovercraft+Cohovercraft, or Hajj+Cohajj. Extrapolations include Ninja+Nimel+Ultimatum+Lumel=DELICOPTER, Zebra+Zemel+Zoetrope+Zomel=SELICOPTER, Giraffe+Gimel+Gyroscope+Gymel=BELICOPTER. As MAB 06 documents many compounds of multiple pairs of radial duals - Prince+Alibaba=Pasha, Prince+Trilby=Pitcher, Prince+Alibaba+Trilby=Liondog - I add a few one-off compounds of multiple pairs of oblique ones. The names of the compounds of the colourswitching influence the names: the GALLOP can be expressed as Gnu+Zebu or Gazelle+Cogazelle or Bison+Cobison, the LOWDOWN as Gnu+Guru or Lookout+Colookout or Muezzin+Comuezzin, and the GALUMPH (a Lewis Carroll coinage) Zebu+Guru or Gamewarden+Cogamewarden or Mixture+Comixture.

The Bison and Buffalo can be seen as "formula" compounds, 3:n and m:n leapers for n in {1, 2} and m in {n+1..3}. 3d "formula" compounds include triples with the coordinates m:n:0, m:n:n, m:m:n. Notice that all such pieces (with m and n coprime) mix odd- and even-SOLL components. The most widely used is Knight+Sexton+Ninja, but there has been no consensus on its name. After much thinking I settled on CANOE, a double allusion to Gnu and Catamaran, as it can triangulate by either two Knight moves and a Sexton move, or one each of all component moves. Camel+Elf+Underscore I term CAIQUE, after a vessel specific to the Near East. The similarity in sound to cake alludes to MAB 03's Gateau. Extrapolations inclde Zebra+Fencer+Lecturer=ZENOE, Giraffe+Nimel+Wideplayer=GINOE, Antelope+Effarig+Rotcer=NANOE, Zemel+Exorcist+Featser=ZEIQUE, Satyr+Longplayer+Expounder=SANOE, Gimel+Fieldmouse+Broadwayman=GIIQUE, Flamingo+Nurturer+Hamster=FANOE, Rector+Numbat+Loremaster=RENOE, and Namel+Slimmer+Loner=NAIQUE.

3d versions of the Bison and Buffalo can readily be found: Caique+Zenoe+Fortnight, which I term TRISON, and Canoe+Trison, which I term TRUFFALO. 2d components can then be subtracted from these to give Elf+Fortnight+Fencer+Underscore+Lecturer=UNISON (not to be confused with Unicorn but conveniently a real word), and Oberon+Unison=UNUFFALO. The Bison may be extrapolated to larger maximum coordinates - Giraffe+Antelope(=Giselle)+Charolais=GLEANER (a kind of farm worker) and Zemel+Gimel(=Cogamewarden)+Rector+Satyr=CORSAIR (a kind of pirate). Note the precedent of distinguishing leaping Bison from stepping Falcon for using different names from corresponding multipath steppers in a George Duke Passed Pawns variant. Antelope+Satyr+Flamingo is a diagonal formula piece, an m:7-m leaper, colourswitching because all its components are. For this the name SWAN combines the Sa of Satyr, elegance of the other two, and birdiness of Flamingo.

Many of these are short-range enough to also consider their riders: BUFFARIDER, SHOGURIDER, MIKADRIDER, TRISORIDER, TRUFFRIDER, UNISORIDER, UNUFFRIDER, CANOERIDER, CAIQURIDER. However some more complex leapers are extremely powerful pieces in their own right, possibly too powerful to be playable. The n:1 leaper where n>1 (Knight+Camel+Giraffe+Zemel+Flamingo+...) is a leaping form of the GRYPHON, and n:n-1 by the same definition (Knight+Zebra+Antelope+Rector+Parson+...) a leaping form of the ANCHORITE. This extends to the cubic board as the n:1:1 leaping SIMURGH (Sexton+Elf+Nimel+Exorcist+Wordsmith+...), n:n:1 leaping CELEBRANT (Ninja+Underscore+Wideplayer+Feaster+Hamster+...), n:n-1:n-1 leaping FARRIER (Sexton+Fencer+Effarig+Numbat+Flittermouse+...), and n:n:n-1 leaping NAG (Ninja+Lecturer+Rotcer+Wiremaster+...). If n is even the first two give a leaping NIGHINGALE and ATCHDEACON, and if odd a leaping ANGEL and RECEIVER. MAB 09: Mighty Like a Rose lists non-leaping forms of all these pieces with the square-cell ones' movement diagrams..

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Compounds of two different-range oblique pieces are a huge collection, requiring easy-to-assemble modular names. The simplest example is adding one leaper's forwardmost moves to another, which on a square-cell board gives a ten-way leaper. I considered prefixing the FO compound's name with Gold and Silver, oblique versions of Shogi generals, but only compounds based on dual directions would have all that the names imply in terms of e.g. move-losing. 3d components would mean still less appropriate names. How would other directional prefixes from MAB 02: Generalised Generals fit in? It would also give riders cumbersome names, for if a Goldrider is Rook+Mitre it cannot be any other piece of similar kind, let alone several others!

Another way to see their enhancement from the FO compounds is e.g. Knight+Hump as a "Knighted Handyman", which can be abbreviated to NITAN. Following this through gives Knight+Stripe=Knighted Visor=NITOR, Knight+Blotch=Knighted Gorget=NITET, and so on, pronouncing the start as in "Nitrate". For other symmetric elements I start with the first three letters, of which the vowel is usually short. The ending is defined as the leters from the last non-silent vowel (including Y) onward. Camel+Helm=CAMAN is not pronounced cayman - although my choice of image for it puns on this word and my Nitan image complements it - but rather rhyming with shaman, and the pronunciation of Caman's coincidental pre-existing meaning of the stick used in the sport of Shinty. Likewise Satyr+Vump is spelled SATAN but sounds more like Saturn (as pronounced in eastern Britain and Australasia) - a case of Saturn=Chronos=Time=the Enemy=Satan, perhaps! Camel+Stripe=CAMACE, Camel+Blotch=CAMAL, Camel+Sump CAMOR, Zebra+Hump=ZEBACE, and so on. The notes on my Year of the Pig variants suggest the Nitor and Camor as possible shorter-range alternatives to the Nightpig and Camelpig. Here are the movement diagrams for the Nitan and Caman:

Going into 3d Knight+Shovel=NITAR, Ninja+Helm=NINEST, Ninja+Shovel=NINACE. Only 2d ones ending in -an but not -man (e.g. Nitan, ZEBAN=Zebra+Sump, GIRAN=Giraffe+Bump, Satan), plus the 3d NINAN=Ninja+Dump, can triangulate, in a forward colourbound move and two backward colourswitching ones. A few other familiar-sounding names are Gimel+Blotch=GIMAN, one letter short of a certain surname; Samel+Vine, the fishy-sounding SAMAN; and Humel+Tray=HUMAN. The naming scheme for simpler oblique compounds in my previous articles ensures that names are unique. They are also mostly five characters for ease of adding -rider for such long-range pieces as the NITANRIDER, NITORRIDER, CAMANRIDER, CAMACRIDER, NITARRIDER, NINACRIDER, and ANTILRIDER. These are one reason for not simply calling MAB 03's Bat and Priestess a Rootsixtyfiveleaper and Rooteightyfiveleaper, as the shorter names allow Ox+Pond=OXUP, Bittern+Labour=BITUP, Curate+Float=CURAD, Albatross+Egg=ALBAD. Likewise for root-square compounds: Knight+Haste=NITUR, Antelope+Helm=ANTUR, Camel+Haste=CAMIP, et cetera.

Mixing long- and short-range moves, in oblique versions of Shogi's promoted linepieces, uses a similar rule. Nightrider+Camel is a "Nightriding Gnu", abbreviated to NIGHTRU. Whether the suffix is from the symmetric or FO short-range compound is determined by the short-range element. Thus Nightrider+Hump=NIGHTRAN, Helmrider+Hump=HELMRAN, Helmrider+Camel=HELMRU. The last is slightly odd as it does not actually have all the Gnu moves, but it seems the name best completing that quartet. A few other examples include Nightrider+Zebra=NIGHTRELLE, Camelrider+Knight=CAMELRU, Camelrider+Helm=CAMELRAN, Camelrider+Stripe=CAMELRON, Zebrarider+Knight=ZEBRARELLE, Zebrarider+Camel=ZEBRARON, Zebrarider+Sump=ZEBRARAN, Zebrarider+Giraffe=ZEBRAREN, Nightrider+Sexton=NIGHTREN. Several sound like unlikely sporting events as Nightrider+Stripe, Camelrider+Sump, Zebrarider+Helm, Girafrider+Hardness, and Ninjarider+Shovel all extend the R of -rider to -RACE. More timely Nightriding pieces than the NIGHTRACE are the NIGHTREST (with Disguise) and, if you cannot get it, NIGHTRAGE (with Dump). CAMELRAGE (Camelrider+Disguise) presumably happens on Middle Eastern roads! Note the loss of the first vowel of a diphthong: Nightrider+Giraffe, Girafrider+Knight, Camelrider+Epoletna, Epolerider+Camel, Nightrider+Ninja, and Ninjarider+Knight are NIGHTRUT, GIRAFRUT, CAMELRUM, ANTELRUM, NIGHTRI, and NINJARI. Switcher+leaper compounds substitute -sw- for the -r- of the rider+leaper ones to give the likes of Nightswitcher+Camel=NIGHTSWU, Camelswitcher+Zebra=CAMELSWON, Zebraswitcher+Knight=ZEBRASWELLE. Likewise for root-square compounds: Nightrider+Antelope=NIGHTRAFT, Antelrider+Knight=ANTELRAFT, Camelrider+Antelope=CAMELRAJJ, et cetera.

Names of three- or four-piece compounds have carefuly been chosen to allow similar names for their partial riders: Nightru+Anu=NIGHTRER, Camel+Anu=CAMELRER, Gnurider+Anu=GNURER, Hoverrider+Cohovcercraft=HOVERRER, Anurider+Gnu=ANURER, Nightru+Zebu=NIGHTROP, Gazelrider+Cogazelle=GAZELROP, et cetera.

The result of names identical save for ending -an and -en answers another question. How should the -an prefix be pluralised? It would certainly be less confusing for it to be -ans, especially as the previous letter is over 4 times as likely to be r as m. Thus the back rows of Goldchess and Silverchess have "a King, a Goldrider, two Goldmitres, two Nitans, and two Goldrooks" and "a King, a Silverider, two Silverbishops, two Camans, and two Silverwings" respectively. Camans is also the plural of caman in its pre-existing sense.

Notes

Along with MAB 06's Enabler and Emitter, the Bichamois means that Man and Beast now covers every leaper out to the 12th perimeter except the 12:1, 12:7, and 12:11 ones.

Last revised by Ben Reiniger.

Revisions of MSman-and-beast-07-when-beasts-collide

Man and Beast 07: When Beasts Collide #14623 by Charles Gilman on 2024-01-15 10:53:17 as HTML
Man and Beast 07: When Beasts Collide #14624 by Ben Reiniger on 2024-01-15 10:53:17 as HTML
Man and Beast 07: When Beasts Collide #14625 by Ben Reiniger on 2024-01-15 10:54:08 as HTML