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Game Reviews by RobertoLavieri
Panal: a hexagonal chess. A double-royal piece variant on a 61-hex board. (Cells: 61) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It seems to be a very interesting game. I have not played PANAL yet, but I´m going to realize some tests of playability, although my first impression is hightly positive!
PromoChess. Everything but the king can power up. Mix of Japanese/Western/fairy pieces. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent, great playability, the game play is really nice. For me, one of the best 'western chess with oriental flavour'
Ready Chess. Pieces cannot capture right after capturing, they have to be restored first. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Good!.What about this idea inserted on little board Shogi variants?...
Hex Shogi. A new family of hexagonal Shogi variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Dr.Duniho: I have had some fun playing Hex Shogi, but my impression is that Zillions game play (actually modest skill) can be improved, (as you did with your Shogi version). Why don't update Hex Shogi using the same ideas?. Yours, Dr. (it doesn't matter a lot, you may say 'Mr.' also) Roberto Lavieri
Rook Mania. Game where all pieces have different sorts of Rook-like moves. (7x7, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have briefly play-tested the game, it is interesting and should be ranked as 'good', nevertheless, there is an observation: Basilisk seems to be extremely powerful on a board of 43 squares. Playability must be better on a longer board.
Mortal Chessgi. A Chessgi game in which captures reduce material. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]What a nice idea for like-Shogi games!. I have play-tested Mortal Chessgi, playability is really good and decisions and the emerging situations are usually very interesting. Zillions plays Mortal Chessgi with a medium-good level. Why not MORTAL SHOGI?. I think that MORTAL SHOGI should be a great game...
Heroes Hexagonal Chess. Hexagonal variant with special Hero piece which enhances other pieces. (Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Beautiful game. The concept of HEROES is nice, and adds a new dimension to the game. Dynamic is a bit slow, but this fact correspond to the 'on purpose' characteristics of the game, with reminiscences of ancient variants. It is one of the most clear Hex Chess games I have played. Enjoyable.
Ryu Shogi. Large modern shogi variant. (7x12, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I like this game and the mobility of pieces depending on the ZONE they are on. It has some elements of historic variants, but it is a modern like-Shogi game with a really good game play. Excellent.
Voidrider Chess. A 43 square variant with movable spaces. (7x9, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent playability. The game play is surprisingly more interesting than it appears at first.
Hippodrome. Solitaire game using a small board. (4x4, Cells: 16) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Outback Chess. New pieces on plus-shaped board. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I like this game, I have playtested it, and it is interesting enough for make a comment. About Platypus movement, I should prefer limit the three forward only to its first movement, or perhaps only from the first rank. It is a promoting piece, and it can promote to a powerful piece in this game, but it can reach the last rank in three steps. The argument that it is not easy is partially valid, but not at all, it depends on the instance of game you are playing. No more details, it is a very good game.
Yesterday night I have made some tests, And I must admit Michael Nelson is right, if the forward Platypus movement is reduced to one with exception of movement from first rank, the game slows too much. Perhaps if the range is equal for the horizontal and vertical, say range two except from first rank, the result is better, but the game has its own idiosincracy as is, and now I accept that, but first I have to try for being convinced. Platypus is a clever piece in the game, it can promote to a piece more powerful that any other piece in the game, but the promotion is not a necessary win for the team of the promoted Platypus, it depends on position. I like this 'Australian' game, but the duck faced Platypus made me take some minutes of atemption
Glenn's Decimal Chess. A 10x10 blend of FIDE, Shogi, and Xiangqi influences. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have not downloaded the game yet, Perhaps I'm going to test it early tomorrow morning, but it appears to be a very good game. If I were the author of the game, perhaps I should try a 4x4 fortress, because of size of board and power of some pieces, but It is only an idea not yet tested. The game looks at first well balanced and undoubtely well thought, it is not merely a collage of ideas from some cultures's games. When tested, I'll provide you my impressions. As first commentary, I'm greatly impressed with the ellegance used to take advantage of the castling rule without really castling, and without loss the essence of Xiang Qi Fortress.
Game dynamic is interesting in this game, it is faster than I thought at first. A 4x4 Fortress should be an alternative to be considered, but I have not tested it yet. The power of pieces is well balanced. I would prefer a change in initial setup, change positions of Pegasus and Gryphon, to allow more stable openings. Early direct attacks against the enemy king aren't usually desiderable, because defense is normally enough to contrarrest the attempt, and the attacking team may fall to inferior positions after attack if it is not well analyzed about positional consequences, so the game must be fundamentally positional and strategic until cleared enough. The game is faster than some others DECIMAL chess games, I have tried a few games against Zillions, with an average number of about 80 moves to finish the game, with a little standard deviation. It is a game very playable and enjoyable. I like it.
Take Over Chess. Jump across pieces to take them over from your opponent. (7x7, Cells: 41) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is a very, very nice game, I don´t know how would be the game play and dynamics in a bigger board, but it may be even better in someones, worst in others, depending on board size. It is a good project to think about a bigger board version of Take Over Chess, it has merits enough to try.
Maxima. Maxima is an interesting and exiting variant of Ultima, with new elements that make Maxima more clear and dynamic. (Cells: 76) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The Rating 'excellent' is for Antoine, once in a while I can hear brilliant observations, I haven`t tested the game with Guards that don´t freeze, but my intuition says to me that this idea is really interesting to be considered. My decision of select the Mage as the piece immune to Immobilizer was because the different and long movement of Mage (Gryphon movement), making the work of the immobilizer less effective many moves. One of the problems with ULTIMA is the overpower of immobilizer, many times a game of ULTIMA is almost-blocked by the effect of immobilizers, because the lot of pawns in the game are a strong defense against the other pieces, unable to attack the injuring immobilizer. But the dynamics of a game of MAXIMA with immune GUARDS would be really interesting. Actually, Guards are surprisingly strong in this game when they act in conjunction with other pieces, the effect is that the game tendence is to be more open, due the danger of action of Guards in closed positions. If they are immune to immobilizers, the effect should be higher. Guards are dangerous in the ends when they survive, if a Guard acts at least in conjunction with Coordinator, a Chameleon or a Mage, because the danger of construction of a checkmate net against the enemy King, a King that is not in fact easy to be put in checkmate!. Thanks for the suggestion, it is not other random idea, it is a very good idea to be considered.(a variant?). I`ll test it for MAXIMA v1.4...
Jacks and Witches 84. Variant on 84 squares with special pieces and special squares. (12x8, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I wrote the last comment. Antoine, have you tried this game without the hole in the middle of the board?. (It is not Bilateral Chess, I mean Jacks and Witches without the killed squares)
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Insane?. May be, but as my first impression, I think that this game is playable. It is a good candidate to be in the PBM system, and it is possible that there are candidates to play a well-thought test game of Nemoroth. Perhaps, I am one of them.
Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. Also called Baroque. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Robert Abbott has to officially say what are the definitive changes. I have ever been interested in ULTIMA, and I have played it enough for feel myself some of the problems with the game play, but it is necessary to say that regadless of its problems, ULTIMA is a great game. When cleared the new rules officially, perhaps I can try an implementation on Zillions, and in every case, the game can be played NOW with the new rules (if desired) using the PBM system...
Magna Carta Chess. Black has the FIDE array, White has a Marshal and an Archbishop instead of a Queen and King. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The game play is strange. I have tried the game last night twice against Zillions. I could win with black with kamikaze attack, in a game full of 'taking back' from my part, trying to analize it. My impression is that white´s advantage is difficult to use completely, because the possibility of mad attacks from black against the objective pieces, without being careful on material. I think that, surprisingly, black has an advantage in this unusual game.
Anti-King Chess. Each player has both a King and an Anti-King to protect; Anti-Kings are in check when not attacked. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anti-King Chess II is a very good game. It is nice, deep, interesting and the anti-king adds a new dimension to the game. As almost everybody, I prefer Anti-King II over the other variant, I suggest change the name of Anti-King Chess II to Anti-King Chess, and let the other as the variant II
Magna Carta Chess. Black has the FIDE array, White has a Marshal and an Archbishop instead of a Queen and King. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating](RN, BN) vs. (rb,kn) seems to be a good alternative. The game must be balanced in this way.
Amazons. Queens fire arrows to make squares unpassable. Last player that moves wins. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]'El Juego de las Amazonas', from Walter Zamkaukas, is one of the best territorial games I have seen, it is interesting, deep, nice, and with an impressive simplicity of ideas involved. But it is a complex game, it is not an easy matter the construction of a good computer player (Try with Zillions and see how it plays!). Strictly speaking, Amazons is not a Chess game, but it is a very good abstract game that appears in TCVP as guest, I think because it has some elements of Chess. I like this game. Maybe I´ll prepare a Courier Preset for this game (or a variant...) Variants?: It is easy imagine a lot of them, some of them as near to chess as you want. Any interesting Ideas?.
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]You seem to be a very good programmer using Zillions, and I think you are clearly better than me in this kind of work, so my help to you in coding may be close to inutile. But I can offer high-quality (?. Subjective opinion) graphics for pieces and boards, and certainly, a lot of work play-testing this great and unconventional game!
Time Travel Chess. Pieces can travel into the Future. Kings can also return to the Past! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Hanga Roa. A chess variant inspired by the people of Easter Island. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It seems to be a nice game. I figure it is much more complex than it looks at first view. I´m not sure if the throwing of two Stones adds too much to the game, the density grows quickly, and some tactics would be difficult to perform, so there is the need of some non-trivial planning from the beginnings. A question: Can Arikis throw only ONE stone?. Can they move without any throw?. I have not played a complete game yet, I have only moved the pieces for a while, taking an idea of the game play, but I think that it is very difficult reach the other side goal, it looks more easy the surrounding objective of the game. I spent one hour this afternoon trying to implement a primitive version of a ZRF, but I have had some troubles with it. My impression is that Zillions is going to be a poor Hanga Roa player, I don´t know if there is other person trying an implementation, but the main problem may be the incapacity of Zillions to avoid fast losing positions in this kind of games, because the objectives of it.
Leap Chess. Game with mandatory captures and other Checkers-like elements on a board of 44 squares. (6x8, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Is there a little bug in the ZRF with the one-step slide movement-?. If so, it is not difficult fixing it.
Rococo. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The game is excellent as it is -in its three variants-, and Ultima is, certainly, an extraordinary game too. These games are enterely different in the game play, and both are nice, each one with its own characteristics. No changes to any of them!.
Nova Chess. Members-Only Played on an 8x8 or 10x10 board with a wide range of pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Since this comment is for a page that has not been published yet, you must be signed in to read it.
Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. Also called Baroque. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Ultima is a great game, regardless the opinion of the author, Robert Abbot, about 'what is wrong with Ultima'. The case is that many people around the world plays Ultima, and accept the game as it is. The game play is closed almost all the time, and it is not easy win this game, and draw is the most possible result in many games between two experienced players playing more or less well. If someone wants an improvement that add richness to the game play without the loss of the philosophy and main ideas behind Ultima, perhaps the most simple way is introducing two pieces missing with Queen movement: First, the Advancer, and second, The FIDE-QUEEN!. The idea is reduce the number of Long-Leapers and Chameleons to only one each, it is not clear the need of two of them, as pointed out by Antoine Fourriere. I have pre-tested a version with this new elements, and the game play is nice, more dynamic than the original game, but you can feel the essence of Ultima regardless the new changes. But this idea, and perhaps any other, could find resistance by the relatively numerous fans of this game, that continue playing it, as originally born.
Michael, I think the Leo is a good idea, but it is the need of diminish a little its power in this game. Unfortunatelly, Leo can conduct many stages of the openings with attack of pieces and checkmate threats, with an initial advantage for White. On possibility is that it moves like Queen, but limiting its action: it need an ADJACENT intervening piece for attack the next positions. I´ll try both of them in the next days. As it can be easely noted when you try the variant, FIDE-Queen is very powerful in Ultima, surprisingly it looks much more powerful here than in FIDE-Chess, and it is certainly more powerful than the Long-Leaper. Advancer is a little weaker, but LEO would be at least as powerful than the Queen. Peter: I have dowloaded the Rococo variants. I have not tried it yet, but I have the intuitive idea that the Archer is great for this game, but I have serious doubts about the Bird. Other thing: I have my own Gallactic Graphics and board for Rococo. I´ll send a copy to David and you, although Alfaerie are very nice too.
Rococo. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Peter, I have played a few quick games against Zillions. I´m greatly surprised of the Archer, it fits perfectly in the game and it adds new nice alternatives. i like it. As suspected, Birds are much more powerful than needed for the game, for this reason I prefer undoubtely the Rococo-Archer, more than the Bird-Archer and more than the original Rococo, this piece adds a lot to the game. It was not clear why two Long-Leapers in Rococo. With the Archer, one Long-Leaper is enough, and it is not necessary answer why. About Ultima, it looks fine with the Queen and the Advancer, but due the power of Queen the game play is notoriously different than in Ultima, I like it. I have not tried the Leo or the weak Leo yet, I´ll try to make a primitive code in the next days, and see what happens.
Michael: I have had the idea of trying some Optima pieces for Ultima, too, although it seemed natural the first try with the FIDE-Queen, due the fact that all the pieces in Ultima move as the Queen. The Advancer looks fine in conjunction with the Queen (really good, you can essay), but I disagree with the presence of Withdrawer, it is a weak piece that is difficult to manage for attack (or defense!) purposes. I´m not enterely disconform with the Coordinator, it is a weak piece, but it adds some interesting possibilities to tactics. If you can suggest sustitutes to Withdrawer and Coordinator, or to the combination Queen-Advancer, I can test them in the context of the game. The idea is a game that preserves ULTIMA´s essence, but with a rich, relatively clear, nice and beautiful game play, usually the primary good ideas are not enough, one can be only convinced (perhaps never at all, due the self-criticism that acts as an impulse of human beings, looking always for better things) after some careful play-testing. We are trying to offer alternatives for a consolidated game with peculiar fans, We have did some things that I think are good, but it is ever a hard work redefining a game looking for improvements, because it is not easy stablish clearly the colective criteria, and what things are the things that the majorities really want.
Canonical Chess Variants. A family of chess variants that blends Xiang Qi and Western Chess. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Good family of games. Interesting and nice game play.
Comments on Grand Chess. Notes on Grand Chess and a variant. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Grand Chess is a game that is widely played with the stablished rules. I think that castling in any way may be rejected by the majority of players, the central position of King gives a special flavor to the game, and many times you can construct defensive structures using the power of pieces. The game seems to be always in an inflexion point, where you must decide between attack, defense or both, making the game very deep. Surprisingly, attacks are not easy to perform, regardless the position of the King. This game is excellent, and variations are more a curiosity or an attempt to explore new ideas than real improvements.
Brotherhood Chess. Pieces
cannot take pieces of the same type. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game was invented by Gianluca Vecchi in 1993, it is Chess with the rule: 'A piece can´t take another piece of the same type', more or less the same rule I adapted for Etcetera/Hexetera, although my two games have other pieces, other added rules and a clear oriental flavor. This rule enforces more positional games, and games in which sacrifices may be usual in the middle or end of games. I have noticed that this rule is particularily more interesting in games with a board of less dimensions. In 8x8 and Chess pieces, the result is that the average number of moves seems to increase significatively respect to Chess, but this is not demeriting per se, the game is really enjoyable.
Kinglet. Win by taking all the pawns of the opponent. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]We need a Preset in Courier for this extraordinary and simple variant of FIDE-Chess!
Hanga Roa. A chess variant inspired by the people of Easter Island. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The rating 'excellent' is for the beautiful set of pieces!. (the game itself is very nice too, although more complex than it appears at first. It is not easy stablish strategies, and if both bands play well, the path for a victory may be relatively long, I think, but I´m not completely sure because I don´t know how to play it really well. Some experience is needed, without doubts...)
Chogo44. Game with pawns and kings with co-enclosure capture. (7x8, Cells: 44) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Interesting and nice game. My only observation is about the mass movement, I would prefer only lines of pieces, instead of rectangular masses. And, of course, there is also the practical reason: implementation in a computer program, or coding it in Zillions, is much more easy with lines instead of rectangular masses of pieces.
This game has merits to be in the main cathegory. Is anyone trying to implement it in Zillions or making a Courier Preset?. The last thing is easy, at least a Preset that does not enforce the rules. I´m busy now and I´ll be in the next days, so I have little time to give a hand on this. I think the Zillions implementation is a lot of work, although it is clearly possible. I have thought a bit about a Zillions implementation, but I have not time enough to make the effort for a code soon, so if there is anybody trying to do it, or a Courier Preset, it should be good. Let me know.
Symmetron! 112. Large version of Symmetron!, with a third modifier. (11x10, Cells: 112) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Well, it is finally released after a lot of changes and refinements, and never-end discutions with Antoine, who has a lot of the credit in the final version, with notorious differences with my first proposal. The community is invited to try this game, Zillions is not a very strong player of this game, but if you try it with Zillions, you are going to have an idea of this game. You may be surprised, it is really good, although this afirmation should seem not too modest, it is sincere. I like it. It is a Preset too, so this game is available to play in Courier.
Eurasian Chess. Synthesis of European and Asian forms of Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is one of the best mixtures of 'Oriental' and 'Western' Chess variant I have seen, not only the setup but the rules seem to be carefully designed. The result is a very strategic and positional game in which dynamics can be explosive after some point. Material advantages seem to be much less important and decisive than in Fide-Chess, but position is definitely much more important. The density of power is perhaps a bit high, but it is correct for the concept of the game, and it is one of the reasons because little material advantages are not decisive many times. I have one OBSERVATION on the Board used in Zillions implementation and in the Courier Preset: It is beautiful, but somewhat hypnotizing, and can confuse the player in some moments (Well, this is perhaps a very personal appretiation that is influenced by my ocular limitations: I´m very close to the line that divides, speaking about visual capacity, the more or less normal people, and functionally invidents. I expect I´ll be over the line for some years, but I don´t know how much time). Regardless the beauty of the board, I´ll suggest Fergus add any other set with a new plain board, perhaps using light colors, but just squares. I´ll appretiate it, much more than many other players, you must be sure.
Switching Chess. In addition to normal moves, switch with an adjacent friendly piece. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is a very interesting game, much more deep than FIDE-Chess. Try it!.
Straights. Chess-like Naval Battle game from the end of the 19th Century. (9x11, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is an interesting game, and ends are far from trivial. The observation I can see is that a draw may be the most possible result in almost all the games, if both teams play the game more or less decently, it is not so easy a win in many ends.
Nahbi Chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board with equator, Nahbi's and Archers. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have played a test game against Zillions, and I liked it. Enjoyable, although the game was a little extense, around 120 moves. I´ll test it again soon.
Unicorn Chess. 10x10 variant with a new piece that moves as a Bishop or a Nightrider. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Unicorn Great Chess is excellent. I think the table of value conversions given by Moussambani is, gross speaking, correct. Unicorn value is a bit less than that of a Queen, and in a 10x10 Board the Queen value is more or less the same of two Rooks or three minor pieces. Lion value is approximately the same of the Bishop value, and it is higher than the Knight value.
Eurasian Chess. Synthesis of European and Asian forms of Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It is not easy stablish the value of pieces in this nice game, because it depends strongly in position and in the total amount of pieces in the game. Cannon and Vao are very powerful pieces when there are many pieces in the game, but its value diminishes a lot once the game is becoming sparse. Queens are not very powerful in the initial moves, in fact, it is an uncomfortable piece when there is a high density of pieces in the game, but its value increases progressively when the game is going to simplified stages. This is a game with an initial high density of power, because Cannons and Vaos are very powerful at the beginnings. Kings are vulnerable enough, and many pieces can be tactically attacked soon, and by this reason material advantages are not as important than positional advantages. I am not going to give a table of values for this game, I think it would be of little help as orientation, the value of pieces is a function of position and the pieces in play in any moment. This criterium applies to some other games like Chess in a Larger Board with no so Few Pieces Added and Symmetron!112, between many others.
Bifocal Chess. A game without capture : win by checkmate with a neutral piece! (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game is very interesting and certainly playable. It is not easy construct a game without captures, without promotions or demotions wich can be a good game, and this is!. Enjoyable inspiration of Antoine!. Zillions is not a strong player, if you are tempted to try the ZRF implementation.
Amazons
. Amazons and a computer version.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Amazons is a great game. I can´t say it is a Chess Variant, the game is of territorial nature, and it is perhaps more close to Go. This game is moderately popular, perhaps more in South America than in other lands, I have seen it passionately played by a few universitary students, but it is not still a very diffused game, though. It is not easy implement a good program which plays Amazons well, but I have seen a couple of free decently strong programs for this game. You can try YAMAZON (v0.48), by Hiroshi Yamashita (http://www32.ocn.ne.jp/~yss/index.html), a very good contendor and a real challenge for intermediate players, and the reasonable strong program INVADER (v 2.1), by Richard Lorentz, which plays Amazon in a board of NxM http://www.csun.edu/~lorentz/amazon.htm). If you try these programs you are going to be greatly surprised, unless you are a very high-level player.
Whale Shogi. Shogi variant. (6x6, Cells: 36) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Whale Shogi is a very good game. A ZRF would not be very difficult, I´m sorry I have not time enough to do it, for a while, but perhaps other people can be encouraged to write the code.
The average number of moves to finish a good Whale Shogi game may be not very high, perhaps around 20 moves. I think this class of game should be excellent in a 7X7 baord, but it is the need of another piece to insert coherently in the game. (well, it is easy show ideas, the interesting thing is chose the best one, without a loss of the personality of the game. I don´t think that the criterium would be uniform in this case, and accepted as the best by everybody)
Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. Also called Baroque. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Greg, I have tested three ULTIMA games using Chess V. Good effort!, I appreciate it a lot, but I have some observations. First, you can take the enemy King and the game continues without end. It happened with immobilized Kings in the three games, so I have not seen if it happens in other cases. The second observation is about the A.I. game play, it is possible that you have noted that Chess V is a weak ULTIMA player, (much more than I thought at first, surprisingly to me) and I noted a strong ingenuity with the Immobilizer power, perhaps you must augment the penalty for immobilized pieces to 50%, but it is necessary that the A.I. take also in account situations in wich the immobilizer is immobilized with a Chameleon and then be vulnerable in the future. I could capture the enemy immobilizer in this way twice. Kings can act in a better way in Coordination with the Coordinator, it is necessary augment the bonus in the position evaluation when there are more enemy pieces in line with the King after a King move. Pawn movement is ingenuous too, but it is not easy a solution, perhaps the best should be a good bonus in the position evaluation (not in the piece) for a movement that reduces the brut mobility of enemy pieces (number of squares the pieces can reach), and other bonus in the evaluation function (a bit less than the other) for a Pawn move that augments the number of potential capturing squares using the pawn moved, i.e., looking how many sandwiches can make the Pawn with own pieces, although there is or not an enemy piece between (covering potential). I know it is not easy improve a lot this game, but it should be good a revision. I´m very sorry I can´t help a lot with the code, but I´ll try to help you as I can.
Chess V, playing White, beated Zillions, 30sec. per player, in this ULTIMA test game: Zillions Save Game File Version 0.02 HC RulesFile=C:\Archivos de programa\Zillions Development\Zillions Demo\Rules\Ultima.zrf VariantName=Ultima 1. Pawn g2 - g5 1. Pawn a7 - a6 2. Pawn b2 - b5 2. Pawn f7 - f3 3. Pawn h2 - h4 3. Pawn c7 - c4 4. Pawn h4 - f4 x f3 4. Long-Leaper b8 - h2 x f4 5. Pawn c2 - c3 5. Long-Leaper h2 - e5 6. Pawn f2 - f5 6. Long-Leaper e5 - a5 x b5 7. Long-Leaper b1 - b3 7. Coordinator a8 - a7 8. Coordinator h1 - h2 8. Withdrawer d8 - c7 9. Withdrawer e1 - g3 9. Coordinator a7 - f2 x e2 10. Withdrawer g3 - h4 x f2 10. Pawn c4 - e4 11. King d1 - e1 11. Pawn e4 - a4 12. Long-Leaper g1 - g3 12. Pawn d7 - d6 13. Coordinator h2 - f2 13. Withdrawer c7 - c5 14. Withdrawer h4 - b4 14. Pawn a4 - a3 15. Long-Leaper g3 - e3 15. Pawn d6 - d4 16. Withdrawer b4 - a4 16. Long-Leaper a5 - b6 17. Withdrawer a4 - b4 17. Long-Leaper b6 - c7 18. Long-Leaper e3 - e6 18. Chameleon f8 - f7 19. Long-Leaper e6 - e4 19. Withdrawer c5 - d6 x b4 20. Pawn c3 - c4 x d4 20. Pawn b7 - a7 21. Pawn c4 - a4 x a3 21. Long-Leaper c7 - a5 22. Coordinator f2 - c5 22. Long-Leaper a5 - a3 x a4 23. Coordinator c5 - c3 23. Pawn a7 - c7 24. Pawn f5 - a5 24. Long-Leaper a3 - c5 25. Chameleon f1 - f5 25. Long-Leaper c5 - a7 26. Chameleon f5 - e5 26. Chameleon f7 - f2 27. King e1 - d1 27. Withdrawer d6 - c5 28. Pawn d2 - d5 28. Long-Leaper a7 - b8 29. Pawn a5 - b5 x c5 29. Long-Leaper b8 - b2 x b3 x b5 30. King d1 - c2 30. Pawn h7 - h5 31. Coordinator c3 - f3 x f2 31. Chameleon c8 - f5 32. Long-Leaper e4 - g6 x f5 32. Immobilizer h8 - h6 33. Chameleon e5 - f6 33. Pawn e7 - e5 34. Coordinator f3 - f5 34. Pawn c7 - c5 x d5 35. King c2 x b2 35. Long-Leaper g8 - c4 36. Pawn a2 - a3 36. Pawn h5 - h3 37. Chameleon c1 - b1 37. Pawn h3 - d3 38. Chameleon b1 - d1 38. King e8 - d7 39. King b2 - b1 39. Long-Leaper c4 - a4 40. King b1 - a2 40. Long-Leaper a4 - f4 41. Chameleon d1 - a4 41. Long-Leaper f4 - f3 42. Immobilizer a1 - d1 42. Long-Leaper f3 - h5 43. Immobilizer d1 - g4 43. Pawn a6 - a7 44. Chameleon a4 - f4 44. Pawn a7 - a8 45. Chameleon f4 - e3 45. Pawn d3 - d1 46. Chameleon e3 - d4 46. Pawn e5 - e3 47. King a2 - b3 47. Pawn c5 - e5 48. Coordinator f5 - e4 x e3 48. Pawn e5 - f5 x g5 49. Chameleon f6 - f7 49. Pawn a8 - a6 50. Coordinator e4 - e6 50. Pawn g7 - g8 51. King b3 - b4 51. Immobilizer h6 - g5 52. King b4 - c5 52. Pawn g8 - g7 x g6 53. Coordinator e6 - g6 x g5 53. Pawn d1 - d2 54. Coordinator g6 - h6 x h5 54. Pawn d2 - a2 55. Chameleon d4 - d6 55. King d7 - d8 56. Chameleon d6 - e7 56. Pawn a6 - a4 x a3 57. Chameleon e7 x d8
Comment on the game: ChessV vs. Zillions, 30 sec. per player per move. Opening was weakly played by both programs, and you can observe the that the Pawn movements are not the best in both. The game play was more tactical than positional, the pair King-Coordinator is not used in the best way, and Immobilizer potential-and-risks is not well appreciated. But Chess V 'understood' better the game philosophy, and the end was played relatively good by Chess V, although with clear deficiences by Zillions. Very interesting test game!.
Three tests more, Zillions playing White, Chess V playing Black, 10 seconds per move. Results: Chess V won 3-0 !. Chess V is still relatively weak playing against humans, but it is definitely stronger than Zillions. I have detected an important bug, as I said, that must be corrected inmediately: When Chess V King is immobilized, it appears that if you can capture it, the prgogram does not detect it is Checkmated, you capture the King and the game cam continue endless. Now I think that 50% of penalty for immobilized pieces is perhaps too much, but I suggest augment it a bit, 30%, but if your immobilizer is immobilized, the value of your immobilizer must fall at least to half. There must be an important penalty for an immobilized King, much more if the immobilizer is potentially safe, Chess V takes not a good care with its King sometimes against the enemy immobilizer. I´ll add more when I have more to add.
Well, in my fourth game against Chess V, the program beated me, playing in a good manner. I have not played bad, neither commited fatal errors or clear blunders. Analyzing the game, I have played different than in my previous three games, with a relatively open position. It seems that Chess V plays well this kind of instances.
dUchess. Chess on two levels. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]At first view, I think this game is good, and very playable. I have to test it to have a better idea.
Jetan Sarang . A large variation of Jetan.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I don´t know how good is the game, because I have not played it, but Spratt´s graphics are superb!.
Flying Chess. Some pieces can fly. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have tried this game briefly, and it is certainly playable. Game play seems to be nice, although it is not so easy play it in a good manner, it can need some expertise, if not, many moves can be blunders. I disagree a bit with the different ways of flying, particularily with respect to the difference between Rooks and Bishops. Regardless some previous comments in which the game itself is not well analysized, objectively this seems to be a moderately interesting game which can be rated as 'good', in my particular opinion.
Alice Chess. Classic Variant where pieces switch between two boards whenever they move. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent page!. In my opinion, new comments on strategy by Fourriere are of very high quality, I have learned a bit more about this nice game, but I doubt I can still play it as well as I would want, deep tactics are usually complex, and risks are much more important than in FIDE-Chess. Mastering this game needs certain amount of time, undoubtely.
Fugue. Based on Ultima and Rococo this game has pieces that capture in unusual ways. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Michael: What happened with a PRESET in Courier for this nice game?. Can anybody help?
Marseillais Chess. Move twice per turn. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game is not so easy to play in the opening!, tactics are enterely different than in FIDE-Chess, and it is very easy lose material if you try to develop fast your pieces looking for suposed 'positional advantage' that, in the majority of the cases, it is not advantage of any class, much times you fall in exposed positions, it seems better play it in a somewhat conservative way, being very careful with the support to all your major pieces in play. If you take not care, you can be checkmated very soon. The average number of moves to finish a game can be of no more than 20 moves. this game is extremely dynamic, and it must be balanced with the usual rule: in the first move, White plays only one move. If not, White advantage is notorious in the opening. Surprisingly, e2-e4 does not seem to be the best first move in this game.
Greg, you are right, all pieces have rifle capture capabilities, but much more than this, power of pieces is not only extraordinary, it is augmented by the fact that you can move not only the same piece twice, but two consecutive moves with different pieces too. On an empty board, Queen and Rooks can reach ALL the rest of the squares (63!) from any initial position. Ends are a madness, and for this reason the games finish very soon, in very rare cases you can play a game which finishes in more than 25 moves!
Warrior Chess. Game where pieces earn money so that you can buy Warriors and weapons to arm them with. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] XYMYX. Players make their moves at the same time. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Well, I`m not going to add news to the controversy about the first. This game, and Syncronous Chess are both very interesting and somewhat strange in its fundamental essence, i.e. syncrony, but some rules need to be precisely clarified. In XYMYX, castling and Pawn captures can show some bizarre situations in which it is not clear the correct move. Promotions and Checking the King too. It should be good an exhaustive explanation on the exact rules that applies in such rare cases.
Jumping Chess. Pieces capture by jumping. Board has extra edge squares making it 10x10. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Jumping Chess is not a bad game, the game play is very interesting, although it is undoubtely biased to defensive schemes if you want to have good chances of winning, but it is very strategic, perhaps much more than FIDE-Chess. If a player tries to play it using Michael Tal´s or Bobby Fischer´s styles, it is very possible it is going to be in disadvantage quickly. This game must be played a-la- Tigran Petrossian, for better possibilities.
Suffocation Chess. FIDE setup with new capture. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Nice and interesting variant!. The only observation: In 'dense' games, it is always difficult to visualize all threatened squares in a good manner, making somwhat difficult the calculations. But the game play is incredibly rich. Try it and see!.
Wildeursaian Qi. Variant on 10 by 10 board combining ideas of several existing variants. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Looks interesting, but King is e1, Gnu in f2 seems to be a better initial setup.
Odin's Rune Chess. A game inspired by Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, runes, and Nordic Mythology. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Beautiful!. I have to play a test game to take a better idea. Is it going to be a ZRF available?. If not, I can try codifying it, but I´ll need a couple of weeks, I have some other things to do at first.
Falcon Chess. Game on an 8x10 board with a new piece: The Falcon. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Be honest, this game is at least good (in my opinion, it is very good). I don´t rate it 'excellent' because there is a little detail that is not so easy to solve, and it is a relative weakness in the setup in the c-Pawn and in the h-Pawn. It is also a bit incomodious the first moves of the Bishops, because the player must take some care on the own Rooks and a possible attack by the opposite Bishops. The possible solution I thought, augmenting the power of Bishops allowing the one-step orthogonal movement for Bishops, may alter the good balance and harmony you can see in the game play, powered Bishops are much more valious than a Knight, and the game play itself may change significatively, although I don´t know, I have not tested it. On other hand, Falcon movement is nice and it seems well adapted to this game. My impression is that this is not a 'random' game, but a well thought and tested game, and possible improvements are not obvious.
Decima. Variant on 10 by 10 board where you win when you have 10 points on the 10th row. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have tested it playing a couple of games against Zillions, and the game play is very nice, strategy and tactics are -sui generis- , adapted to the rules of this excellent game.
10 Minute Melee. Score as many points during 10 minutes of time with regular chessset. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Really nice!, the only objection is about the TEN minutes rule (well, I know this is a 'ten' game for the contest), because this game should be better allowing a bit more amount of time, say 30 minutes at least. I`ll play a quick test this morning to see, I suppose it is going to be funny.
Ladder Shogi. Shogi variant on 10 by 10 board where pieces climb the social ladder by multiple promotions. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It seems to be interesting. I have a question: Can the Burakumin CAPTURE a piece ending on a square adjacent to other piece? . If not, I don`t understand well the other untouchability rule. This is the most strange piece in this game, and it is the need of some clarification about it. I wonder if the game play is better or not with this piece in scene, some tests are needed, but, by now, I like the fundamental ideas behind this game, as the promotion rules.
Well, I have tried a brief test using hand-made paper pieces in a 10x10 board. My impression is that the game is playable, although complicated and, definitely, different. There is not great clarity in the game, at least this is my impression, and it is possible there are too many pieces, I would simplify it. Instead of 1´s. 2´s, etc, I would use only one kind of 'Pawns', perhaps two, but not more, Merchant and Craftsman seeem to be sufficient. Burakumin is not a bad piece, it is interesting in the game, but it is the need of refine a bit the rules of movement, re-thinking the piece once the author make some tests until convinced about what he really wants to see and feel in the game play. This game needs some mastery to be played in a good manner, but it is not necessarily a bad characteristic, it is only a characteristic of the game, being different and relatively complex. Someone can try to code a ZRF, me included, once clarified enterely the game in base of the author´s entire satisfaction with it, but there are some complexities in the implementation, as I can see.
I haave tried another test game, and I´m understanding it better. Interesting and somewhat intriging. Burakumin is a strange piece in this game, it is more an obstacle for both bands than a piece for adding activity. The game is extremely positional, and not very easy to play in a good manner, I insist, it would be better with less piece types. Some refinements should be good, but the game, as is, is interesting enough. I encourage another people to try it. Mason: Have you played your game?. Tell us about your experieces with it. You are a good designer, go ahead!.
Whale Shogi. Shogi variant. (6x6, Cells: 36) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, it can be good in 7x7, and Grey Whale Calf is a possibility, but adding a bit more power can be tested too, by example: allowing a two-squares-sliding forward movement for this piece. Some tests are needed. In the future, if I have some free time, I´ll try a ZRF, to see.
Decima. Variant on 10 by 10 board where you win when you have 10 points on the 10th row. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game is really interesting. it should be good a Preset in Game Courier.
Kriegspiel. With help of a referee, two players move without knowing the moves of the opponent. (3x(8x8), Cells: 192) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Top Grand-Masters are playing a Kriegspel Tournament in Amber!!!. Bareev beats Anand 2-0 in first round Kriegspiel, today... He may have finished at the bottom of the table in the Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament, but Russian GM Evgeny Bareev started with a stunning 2-0 victory over Vishy Anand in the Kriegspiel section which started today in Monaco. He and Peter Leko (2-0 against Svidler) are expected to dominate. Bareev is a Kriegspel specialist, and for Anand this is his first contact with this variant. Gelfand is also playing Kriegspel at his first time, but he has shown a natural talent, he beated Topalov in the first round, but blundered in the second after consolidate a demolishing position against his rival. Almost all the rest of players have played Kriegspel at least once!.
Pocket Mutation Chess. Take one of your pieces off the board, maybe change it, keep it in reserve, and drop it on the board later. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is a very interesting game, far from easy to play in a good manner. Material advantage should be good, but it is much less important than in FIDE-Chess. Defensive schemes can be good for a team in a slight disdvantage, because the superior team, if wants a victory, must attack, and always some weaknesses can appear, because pieces used in attacks can´t defend weak positions in many cases. The superior team can´t construct easely the victory positionally step by step as in FIDE-Chess. In Chess, the main mennace is the convertibility of the advantage in Pawns which can promote to Queens, here it is not the case, promotions add a bit more power, but not enough for a victory in many cases. Openings must be played carefully, conversions to Nightriders can cause serious damages to the enemy if he plays with some ingenuity about these pieces. isolated pieces are not good, and unprotected Kings are worse. Positions must change dinamically and mantaining reasonable solid structures, don´t stay with the same structure and pieces types all the time, some structures are more sensitive to some piece types, and other structures to other pieces. Every player must try to cover his weak points before attacks, or counter-attacks can be devasting... I have launched the idea of redefining the Super Cardinal as a class 6 piece, but it seems there is not consense. This is not only the most powerful piece in its class, but its power is almost the same as the class 6 Super-Chancellor. Super-Cardinals can cause demolishing effects in many ends, due the usual sparsity of the pieces, and a Queen is not equally comparable with it, because it is not only the mobility in consideration, but the potential attacks against the enemy King, considering that this piece can be dropped. Classes 7 and 8 seems to be unnecessary, in my opinion. I know that many players are not gained with the idea of re-defining the classes, but I want hear more opinions about it.
Caïssa Britannia. British themed variant with Lions, Unicorns, Dragons, Anglican Bishops, and a royal Queen. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]'Since this game is British in theme, the Bishops are Anglican instead of Catholic. Unlike the Catholic Bishops, who took a vow to remain on one color, the Anglican Bishops didn't make this vow'. Not of good taste this description of the piece, but, as a related notice, the new Pope is the ultra-conservator Joseph Ratzinger, from Germany.
Yagbap. A decimal Chess/Amazons hybrid. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Interesting. I like it. I have not tried this game yet, so the 'Good' rating may vary to 'Excellent'. It seems to be more difficult to play well than Amazons or Chess, at least at first view.
Hexa Decimal. Larger hexagonal chess variant. (11x11, Cells: 90) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Well, this game is at least very original and it seeems really interesting at first view. I`m anxious to see the ZRF and game example, to take a better idea. Good job, Joost.
Countdown. Ten player game with sf-theme. (10x(), Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Another very original idea. I have to play it to see the game play details.
Odin's Rune Chess. A game inspired by Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, runes, and Nordic Mythology. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Is there a ZRF available for this game?. I think Mike Nelson was doing some related work, but I don`t know if it is finished.
Pocket Mutation Chess. Take one of your pieces off the board, maybe change it, keep it in reserve, and drop it on the board later. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, this game is excellent, as usual Mike Nelson´s standards as games designer. I have to make an (perhaps unexpected) appretiation: I think this game, at high level of play, is not easy for a victory. Played by 'Masters', this game may be at least as drawish than FIDE-Chess. The reason is because promotions don´t add much power, and material advantage is less decisive than in Chess. In Chess, the potential danger of material advantage is its convertibility in Pawns, which can poromote to Queens or other valious pieces if necessary. In PMC, material convertibility is not as strong, and its decisiveness is less clear or slower. But Mastering this game must be much more difficult than mastering Chess, this game is much more rich in possibilities.
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