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Tetrahedral Chess. Three dimensional variant with board in form of tetrahedron. (7x(), Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Ben Reiniger wrote on Wed, Jan 29, 2014 01:37 AM UTC:
Pritchard's CECV lists a game "Xyrixa Chess" by David Samuel c.1980 played on this same board (provided I'm reading correctly).  It's not clear at all how the pieces move or whether the inventor knew about any of the geometry facts discussed in the other comments here.

Anonymous wrote on Sun, Mar 27, 2011 05:06 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I like the creativity in creating a colorbound piece on a board that doesn't lend itself easily to non-rook moves. Very simple, yet complex enough to offer a challenge to players. I've been halfheartedly toying with the idea of tetrahedral chess myself for a few months, and this is the first version I've seen.

George Duke wrote on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 05:38 PM UTC:
Depth vs. Clarity, Drama vs. Decisiveness. ''Anthropologists from another planet who wanted to study the way humans think would do well to study our abstract strategy games.'' Written 10 years ago by inventor of Tetrahedral is classic 'Defining the Abstract'. http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DefiningtheAbstract.shtml
George Duke wrote on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 06:09 PM UTC:
Beyond question Tetrahedral is real 3-D object -- known to antiquity -- neither optical illusion nor impossible object perceived yet irreproducible. Get used to it, because 'Man&Beastsxx' generalize from cubes, hex-prism, and tetrahedral. Cubes have 26 directions and tetrahedral 12 only, easing acclimatization. Notice the one notation -- out of many possible -- has only a1-a7 in order from level VII to level I. Not so doing for b1-b7 etc. It's for convenience having each of a1, b1, c1, d1, e1, f1 and g1 ''start'' on their own level radiating severally as needed. Full notation has level and then the square dual, like 'VIIg7' for one corner cell end-level. Such as 'c4' is not full descriptor since there are all of IIc4, IVc4 and VIc4 on different levels. For example, Rook Ia7-IIa6 and Rook Ib6-IIa6 -- adjacent Rooks optionally going to the same square one away -- are both legal moves, and they would be following different planes to get there, i.e., different directions within different planes. Use edge lines, faces, as well as the four colours to see legitimacies in whatever ways work. Knight is suitable to use colours for shorter ranges. In Level 1 and Level 7 (hey there is a science fiction classic 'Level 7') one plane eviscerates to a line, simplifying. All the corners mid-levels are more intuitive reference frames. The 12 directions are those of the 6 edges. Mentally involute, if you are still able within these widespread degenerate times, as used to be standard practice during past centuries.

George Duke wrote on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 12:20 AM UTC:
How is tetrahedral different from cubes and hex-prism? Connectivity. How is it the same? Being 3-D. From player's standpoint, Rook always commands 18 squares without blocks. Check Rooks' corners' initial positions and count 6+6+6, and whereever else Rook is there are always potential 18, like 8x8 14 and 5x5x5 12. King one-steps colourswitching and there are four colours. King has to peer at the 12 directions. If King moves on own level, there is one available colour, and if he changes level, there are the other two. Knight is as if ''not King,'' going away two King steps and mandatorily colourswitching, and it means it's a jump.

💡📝Mark Thompson wrote on Sat, Jun 27, 2009 04:23 PM UTC:
Thanks! 'Defining the Abstract' is also on my own defunct website at flash.net/~markthom/html/game_thoughts.html .

George Duke wrote on Sat, Jun 27, 2009 03:44 PM UTC:
Tetrahedral is one of the four geometries Gilman's system explores within ground-breaking M&Bxx. They are squares, cubic, tetrahedral and hex-prism, three of the four being 3-D. Pioneered by Mark Thompson in 2002, Tetrahedral is tetrahedron, pyramid, turned at first in unaccustomed angle. Mark Thompson also wrote ''Defining the Abstract'' that is still easily locatable on web from defunct site Games Journal. Gilman explains to Thompson 18.January.2004 that ''Yes I did mean square of distances. The base-36 was simply a way to represent every distance as a single character.'' The squares are in fact rhombic dodecahedra, he and McComb enlighten. Gilman uses base 36, instead of 10 or 2 or 16, for convenience to get leap lengths. I had the discussion down once but have to go over it again. Oh for bygone days of quality before these degenerate times.

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