Exotic Chess

If you had a Java-capable browser, you could play Fantasy Pieces Chess here.
No save/back keys for this applet yet.

Still undergoing much-needed repairs. Sorry for the inconvenience. Crabs and Rutland Rooks should be working (6/23).

	King	Royal piece, 1 square in any direction, orthogonally or diagonally
	Royal Knight	Checkmating this knight wins the game.
	Scorpion King	Royal piece, king plus grasshopper
	Flag	Non-moving royal piece.
	Eagle King	1,0 or 2,2 jumper. Royal piece.
	Royal Castle	Royal piece, moves as rook, non-capturing, may not castle, cannot cross check
	Priest-King	Royal piece, moves as bishop, non-capturing, may castle, cannot cross check
	Pawn	Moves one square forward, or two when starting on the second rank. Captures one square diagonally. May capture another pawn that has just moved two squares en passant. Promotes on eighth rank to any non-royal piece.
	Guard	As king, but not royal
	Fish	Like ordinary pawn, but can move (not capture) one backwards.
	Berolina Pawn	Like ordinary pawn, but captures forward and moves diagonally
	Chinese Pawn	Moves and caputures straight ahead.
	Foot Soldier	Omnidirectional pawn, does not promote
	Defender Pawn	Can move any distance backward
	Recruit	One square forward, straight or diagonal. Promotes to Guard.
	Crab	Moves and captures one diagonal square forward, promotes as pawn.
	Gold General	From Shogi
	Silver General	From Shogi, promotes to Gold General on far side here
	Grunt Pawn	May also move but not capture sideways
	Chinese Fish Pawn	Forward to move or capture, or one backwards without capturing
	Stone Pawn	One forward or backward to move or capture, does not promote or take en passant
	Knight	2,1 jumper
	Rider	Unlimited 2,1 jumps in one direction
	Chinese Knight	Cannot jump.
	Chinese Rider	Like an ordinary rider, but cannot jump.
	Rose	Makes up to a circle of knight moves.
	Duke	Combines moves of king and knight. Also called centaur. Non-royal, good for defense.
	Vizier Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 1,0.
	Ferz Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 1,1.
	Dabbabah Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 2,0.
	Alfil Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 2,2.
	Gerbil Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 3,0.
	Lark Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 3,3.
	Zebra Knight	Jumper 1,2 and 2,3.
	Paladin	As knight, and can move a second time in the same direction.
	Dabbabah	2,0 jumper
	Alfil	2,2 jumper
	Camel	1,3 jumper
	Giraffe	1,4 jumper
	Zebra	2,3 jumper
	Antelope	3,4 jumper
	Flamingo	1,6 jumper
	Gnu	1,2 and 1,3 jumper
	Buffalo	1,3 and 2,3 jumper
	Squirrel	2,0 and 2,1 and 2,2 jumper. This uage follows Hans Bodlaender. I think that some people call this a mover a "bear", use the term "squirrel" for what I've called a "daffy".
	Frog	1,1 or 3,0 jumper
	Grasshopper	Hops to the square (empty, or capturing an enemy) just beyond the first piece along any diagonal or orthogonal line.
	Wizard	1,1 or 1,3 jumper, from Omega Chess
	Champion	1,0 or 2,0 or 2,2 jumper, from Omega Chess
	Camel Rider	1,3 repeat jumper in one direction
	Eagle	1,0 or 2,2 jumper
	Page	2,2 or 1,1 jumper
	Daffy	2,2 or 2,0 jumper
	Root Fifty	5,5 or 1,7 jumper
	Root Twenty-Five	3,4 or 5,0 jumper
	Cub Scout	Zigzag, first straight then diagonal
	Long Knight	Runner, first orthogonal, than same # diagonal changing angle 45 degrees
	Sissa	Runner, equal distance orthogonal and diagonal, no further limits
	Elephant	Queen + Rider. Probably too strong.
	Unicorn	As bishop or rider. From David Paulowich's Unicorn Chess.
	Bishop	Unlimited diagonal movement while unobstructed
	Pegasus	Bishop + Knight
	Ferz	One square diagonally
	Archbishop	Like a bishop, but bounces off edges
	Dragon	Moves along accessable adjacent diagonals
	Two-Square Bishop	Limited range
	Three-Square Bishop	Limited range
	Four-Square Bishop	Limited range
	Vao	Diagonal Chinese Cannon, jumps when and only when it captures
	Archdeacon	Bishop + Vizier
	Abbott	As bishop or 2,0 jumper
	Wooden Bishop	1,1 or 2,2 jumper
	Korean Vao	One-jump bishop
	Rook	Unlimited orthogonal movement while unobstructed
	Marshall	Rook + Knight
	Vizier	One square orthogonally
	Gryphon	Moves along accessable adjacent ranks and files. From Grand Acedrex
	Lance	From Shogi, promotes to Gold General on far side here
	Rutland Rook	Rook + Ferz
	Two-Square Rook	Limited range
	Three-Square Rook	Limited range
	Four-Square Rook	Limited range
	Pao	Orthogonal Chinese Cannon, jumps when and only when it captures
	Wooden Rook	1,0 or 2,0 jumper
	Palace	Rook, or two-square bishop
	Korean Pao	One-jump rook
	Queen	Unlimited orthogonal or diagonal movement while unobstructed
	Amazon	Rook + Bishop + Knight
	Godzilla	Dragon plus Gryphon
	Two-Square Queen	Limited range
	Three-Square Queen	Limited range
	Four-Square Queen	Limited range
	Panther	Moves one or two squares in any direction, non-jumper
	Lion	Jumps any 2,2 or closer
	Boy Scout	Diagonal zig-zag
	Girl Scout	Orthogonal zig-zag
	Murray Lion	2,2 or 2,0 jumper, or captures as king
	Korean Lion	One-jump queen. As the lion (2) from the Piececlopedia.
	Leo	Pao plus Vao. I decided to use cannons rather than yet another lion face, but the "leo" name is very fortunate. More about the leo from the Piececlopedia.
	No Passing	Impassable square for both sides
	Bulldozer	Pusher.
	Rhinoceros	As Queen, but pushes
	Bomb	Click on "Bang!" and the bomb and all pieces 1 square away are destroyed.
	Atomic Bomb	Click on "Bang!" and the bomb and all pieces 1-2 squares away are destroyed.
	Tank	Pushes or shoots.
	Falcon	1,3 or 2,3 along empty squares; three possible ways for each move
	Fortress	Moves to any empty square, cannot capture
	Iron Pawn	Cannot be captured
	Iron Soldier	Moves as ferz, cannot be captured
	Iron Knight	Cannot be captured

More fantasy pieces are under development. Trying to castle can produce some weird results.

Thanks to my cyberfriend Andy Maxson for help with the debugging (Feb. 2007).

Suggested setups

• Alternate turns choosing your armies
• One side places eight additional pawns on its side of the board, and removes its queen.
• One or both sides takes a Marshall in place of the queen.
• Switch bishops and knights.
• Use various augmented knights.

Piececlopedia

Hans Bodlaender's Chess Variants
Hans Bodlaender's Chess Applet

Ed's Chess Variants

These are simple illustrations rather than strong opponents.

Bug Reports -- Thank you! Keep them coming!

Written by Ed Friedlander