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Of the 4 reasons given, I'd have to pick #3. I design because I enjoy
making games. But the real reason is that I have to. The ideas force
themselves out of my head, down my arm and through my fingers onto a piece
of paper. I don't have all that much choice in the matter. Chess is a
remarkably plastic medium in which to design. With a little imagination,
you can do a lot with a handful of chess pieces.

It's interesting that it's chess that spawns all these variants. Games
like Monopoly have variants, but only a few, and the common variants, like
money on Free Parking or selling hotels and houses back to the bank, are
found wherever Monopoly is played. Ditto for most other games. If there are
variants, they are few, and rather obvious. Chess has spawned thousands of
variants, and dozens that have been played by a *very* large number of
people. The only comparable board game phenomena has been the recent
wargame boom [and bust]. And the obvious reason for all those wargames is
all those wars, and their many, many battles. Chess encourages those with
the [appropriate] imagination to create new games. This flexibility and the
large numbers of variants for both gives yet another indication of the deep
connection between chess and wargames. Their structure is special, if it
encourages this.