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Lions and Dragons Chess. Hexagonal variant. Dragons carry a ball to the goal while Wizards avoid capture. (Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
John Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 12:43 AM UTC:Poor ★
This isn't very Chess-like at all, and the Lions are an extreme kludge for holes in the board.

Michael Nelson wrote on Tue, May 25, 2004 11:14 PM UTC:
The web page isn't clear, but the examination of the Zillions file indicates that a Roc cannot capture a Drogon-with-Ball so this cannot happen. Roc can only capture normal Dragons and other Rocs--they also cannot capture Proto-dragons.

Anonymous wrote on Tue, May 25, 2004 08:32 PM UTC:
What happens if there are no Balls left?
This might happen if a Dragon with Ball captures all the remaining balls,
but is then itself captured by a Roc.

💡📝Tony Quintanilla wrote on Sat, Dec 14, 2002 02:52 AM UTC:
Phil, thanks for your questions:

1. What are the rules for creating/dropping Proto-dragons? Is there a
limit to the number that a player can create during the game, or can be
on
the board at one time? A: That's an omission. Proto-Dragons are dropped on
any empty hex during a player's turn. Up to 20 can be dropped per side.

2. What effect do the 'Lion' spaces (holes in the board) have on the
movement of Rocs? Are they allowed to pass over them? I would imagine,
given the very limited movement of the Rocs, that they could be severly
restricted if not allowed to 'fly' over them. A: The non-hexes may not be
landed upon, but otherwise do not affect movement.

3. Should the outer movement of the Dragon, out 2 spaces then 1 left or
right, be considered a jumping move? That is, the intervening spaces can
be occupied and not block movement? The diagram seems to indicate this. A:
Yes, its a jumping move.

4. According to the description, a Fireball can move up to 4 spaces
before
the opponent gets their move. ('Upon being shot off it moves two hexes.'
and 'If the Fireball is not removed for one of the above reasons, it is
moved in the direction it started two hexes between the White and Black
turns.') Is this correct? Also, 'Shot off by the Wizard' means it starts
in the Wizard's hex? Is there a limit to the number of Fireballs on the
board or created by a Wizard during the game? A: Yes, the Fireball starts
in the Wizard's hex, then moves 2 hexes. Then it moves one hex between the
White/Black moves and another hex between the Black/White moves. So
actually it only moves 2 hexes before the opponent gets their move upon
being shot off. After that, it only moves 1 hex before the opponent gets
their move. The Wizard can shoot an unlimited number of Fireballs during a
game.

Using the non-hexes as a handicapping factor is an interesting idea.
Thanks. Regarding how Chess-like the game is, that's for you to decide!

Phil Brady wrote on Thu, Dec 12, 2002 08:31 PM UTC:
I'm not clear on a few things:

1. What are the rules for creating/dropping Proto-dragons? Is there a
limit to the number that a player can create during the game, or can be on
the board at one time?

2. What effect do the 'Lion' spaces (holes in the board) have on the
movement of Rocs? Are they allowed to pass over them? I would imagine,
given the very limited movement of the Rocs, that they could be severly
restricted if not allowed to 'fly' over them.

3. Should the outer movement of the Dragon, out 2 spaces then 1 left or
right, be considered a jumping move? That is, the intervening spaces can
be occupied and not block movement? The diagram seems to indicate this.

4. According to the description, a Fireball can move up to 4 spaces before
the opponent gets their move. ('Upon being shot off it moves two hexes.'
and 'If the Fireball is not removed for one of the above reasons, it is
moved in the direction it started two hexes between the White and Black
turns.') Is this correct? Also, 'Shot off by the Wizard' means it starts
in the Wizard's hex? Is there a limit to the number of Fireballs on the
board or created by a Wizard during the game?


Also, have you considered using the Lion pieces as a handicapping factor?
Instead of random placement, the players could drop them one at a time
before the start of the game, the odd piece going to the weaker player.

This looks like quite the interesting game. I do wonder how close to Chess
it really is--the description makes me think more of other abstract
strategy games than Chess.

Mike Nelson wrote on Sun, Dec 8, 2002 04:10 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I am playing this game by email with the inventor. When Tony first showed me the design, I thought 'This will be a fun game to play, but not as deep as a lot of the games in the contest.' I was quite <u>wrong</u> about that--the game has simple mechanics but the strategy and tactics will pleasantly surprise you. Lions and Dragons is very good game and a very worthy entrant in the 84 Squares contest.

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