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Jetan. Large variant from the book The Chessmen of Mars. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
George Duke wrote on Wed, Dec 8, 2004 06:09 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I somehow never work Jean-Louis Cazaux's article into text of my recent 'Multipath Chess Pieces'. Cazaux's Jetan description provides the rules I am most familiar with. Larry Smith's Jetan article is more difficult confronting as it does contradictions in interpreting the rules. However, I use a Smith version for Thoat, as non-jumping, both for being more effective implementation of the piece and for convenience to explore 'Multipath' topic. That way keeps fully six multipath piece-types from Jetan.

jess messel wrote on Sat, Jul 22, 2006 06:27 PM UTC:Poor ★

If anyone who has read this book or series of books, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and thinks that this game is a representation of a war between the yellow and black races of Mars. That is totally wrong as far as I'm concerned. This game was invented by E.R.B. so that there would be an analog to chess and i don't know why he chose black and orange for the color pieces. If you read all of the books,(at least the first five), you would have read that the yellow race disappeared thousands of years ago and the only struggle that the black race had was with the Therns who were WHITE and wore yellow wigs. Before book #3 the yellow races was a lost race just like the blacks were a lost race until book #2.

Now as to why in book#5 there is no flier, in this game is because the city has none and no contact with the outside world except for the various raids that they conduct. They are a very hidebound culture and still believe in ghosts and supernatural creatures. They don't use fliers so why would their games have them. They use a piece called an odwar. it has the same movements. I'm sure that in the modern red races' past they had the same piece but they just renamed it to reflect the ever changing culture and to reflect on the significience of the flier on their everyday lives. Please forward any remarks on my opinion to [email protected] i'd welcome any comments.


George Duke wrote on Wed, Nov 26, 2008 12:11 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Where multi-pathers really originated. Edgar Rice Burroughs may actually be the first prolificist in the following sense. Ambiguities in interpretation of the rules of Jetan mean a great number of possible sets of rules, according to conflicting fine delineations of Burroughs' wordings. Now Burroughs' mentioning Princess as three-stepping and then saying she can jump are not suitable. That is because, if she jumps, he should just mention the squares she reaches. So, we are driven to change the rules of Jetan ourselves, let alone interpret them differently. Can pieces that do not jump double back over already passed over squares or their starting square? These are subject to a century of debate already, but better is to think of Jetan as 1000 possible games in one, by taking different combinations of rational definitions of Jetan piece movements, thus multiplying the sets of rules for CVs to play and analyse.

donald henry wrote on Sun, Jun 1, 2014 02:40 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
i think the rules are pretty clear, layman and easily work without any modification and am surprised that so many people, who seem familiar with so many gaming dynamics (that i am ignorant of for the most part) are so thrown and have so many questions and misunderstandings about this profoundly simple and highly entertaining game.
 
read the appendix as written and enjoy a classic themed variant on jasoomian chess.
burroughs also explained the "historical" significance of orange and black pieces and  the moves of the odwar and princess are in no way complicated beyond their english written value. i think people are splitting hairs in the extreme.

Georg Spengler wrote on Sun, Jan 4, 2015 07:33 PM UTC:Poor ★
Worst game ever!!!!

Yes,the idea is good, but i guess, Burroughs was a bad chess player. It's just not possible to avoid a draw! The fliers will just get traded (better were the odwars of the "earlier" game) - this game is a flaw. At least with this rules it's just not playable.

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