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Wizard's War. Game with piece-creating Wizards and a board divided into arena and enchanted sections. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anthony Viens wrote on Thu, Mar 26, 2020 02:29 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

Well hey, apparently I never commented on this!

I quite like it! The interplay between needing pieces on the arena/safer on the enchanted squares is quite unusual.

Creating your own army is fun, and ensures no game start will be quite the same.

This is a very cohesive & well thought out variant.


Elevator. Three-dimensional chess variant with moving elevators and walking, vaulting and flying pieces. (4x(8x8), Cells: 192) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anthony Viens wrote on Wed, Mar 11, 2020 03:14 PM UTC:Good ★★★★

Very good, well-thought out game, with pieces which compliment the board--some require elevator movement, some use the empty shafts, and the ox can use them to capture. Nicely done.

I will say the rules allowing the flying pieces to go 'up, through an elevator trapdoor' feel very unintuitive; especially if playing with a physical set. It makes more sense to me to allow flying pieces to go either up or down through the empty shafts only; this would also make it impossible to threaten an identical piece without also being in danger.

Still, a very good variant!


Xhess. Decimal variant with Nightriders and Cannons. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anthony Viens wrote on Thu, Mar 5, 2020 01:03 AM UTC:Average ★★★

This looks like a decent 10x10 variant; it has the basic Chess pieces--with more mobile Pawns-- and well-known Knightriders & XiangQi Cannons.

The King game-winning 'promotion' rule could liven up the endgames without totally changing the game.

However, I am confused as to the logic behind the apparently abitrary initial setup. The Rooks have an open rank (like Grand Chess) which is fine.  But the Horsemen (modified Pawns) are more mobile--but start very close to each other.  So close, in fact, they can't use their forward most moves initially without being captured.   Except the Horsemen on the far ends; they start one rank farther back for no discernable reason. 

The forward pawn lines leave a bunch of space to the rear; considering the vast area there aren't very many other pieces.

Also, the Knights are back a rank from the Horsemen, consequently they cannot move forward as the first move. They are protecting Horsemen, but it seems like there ought to be another way to do this.

Xhess is quite playable, but I'm left with the impression the starting setup could use an overhaul.


Deception Chess. Each piece has two identities, Cloak and concealed Base.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anthony Viens wrote on Tue, Mar 3, 2020 03:07 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

This is a really good idea, the only problem being it really needs a custom Chess set.

I'm guessing it would require similar bluffing strategy like Stratego. I can see myself thinking "hummm, that faux Pawn can't be anything valuable, it's too exposed.... unless that's what he wants me to think....or, he could be counting on me to think that's what he wants me to think...."

:-)

This actually has a decent chance of commercial success, in my opinion. It's got 'wow' factor, but close enough to normal Chess to feel familiar.

Great idea.


Rotary. On a 9 by 9 board with rotating pieces. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
KelvinFox wrote on Mon, Mar 2, 2020 12:54 PM UTC:Good ★★★★

Today played a game of Rotary with a set of pieces I made myself. It is a very nice game. The rotational element adds a nice layer of tactics. Only thing that feels weird is the promotion rule 


Euchess. Grand chess variant on 10 by 10 board. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anthony Viens wrote on Sun, Mar 1, 2020 02:52 AM UTC:Poor ★

In my opinion, this is not a very good Grand Chess variant.

Grand Chess is built upon two main ideas; getting rid of castling by freeing the Rooks in the back rank, and introducing the two 'missing' compounds to be additional high-value pieces--the Cardinal & Marshall.

Euchess moves the Rooks back and re-introduces castling, and then doubles the number of Cardinals & Marshalls--but, inconsistently, keeps one Queen.

Ignoring the lack of numerical consistency, this is really bad from a playable perspective--the sheer number of power pieces diminished the value of Knights & Bishops significantly.

Euchess is much too top-heavy, power wise, and significantly dimishes the point of the open back row. (Marshalls, with their Knight move, don't need the room to be developed.)

I think there is room for some interesting variants of Grand Chess, but this isn't one of them.


Robber-Baron. Which of the seven robbers is the robber-baron? (7x7, Cells: 39) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Daniil Frolov wrote on Mon, Feb 24, 2020 12:56 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

I have to comment it for having simple yet original rules, promising a good entertainment, perhaps even well commercially-sold.


History of the Chess Variant pages. Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Ben Reiniger wrote on Tue, Feb 4, 2020 03:41 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Happy 25th anniversary, Chess Variant Pages!


Hannibal Chess. Chess with added Modern Elephants (ferz-alfil compound) on 10x8 board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Aurelian Florea wrote on Wed, Jan 15, 2020 07:11 AM UTC:Average ★★★

Kevin!...

About game courier just ask me and I'l' do it. It is fine for me!...

I'll also teach you how!...

Yes that type of elelphant it is the lieutenenat of spartan chess. Or "the captain" I'm not sure. I like it because it is closer in value to the knight. Also the non square nature of the board helps. An alternative for another game (as you used in wide chess which we have played once) is the waffle. I think a lieutenant game and a waffle game would be more interesting than the 12x8 one! That is my opinion.


Eurasian Chess. Synthesis of European and Asian forms of Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Jean-Louis Cazaux wrote on Sun, Dec 15, 2019 09:30 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

About Vao: maybe Dawson gave that name because it was phonetically from the same family than Pao, and the V because this letter is made of diagonal strokes. Maybe it is not that, but it can be used as a mnemotecnic mean. Remark, it could have used Xao as well, that would have been looking more Chinese.

 


Amazon Grand Chess. A combination of Grand Chess and Amazon Chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Kevin Pacey wrote on Sat, Dec 14, 2019 06:06 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

Below is a link to a site apparently written by the inventor of Grand Chess (and other variants); in it's coverage of that variant, it mentions that the inventor strove for 'completeness' (by adding the Archbishop and Chancellor piece types that he felt were missing from FIDE chess) - similar to the inventor of Amazon Grand Chess, I kind of feel logical completeness might mean including an amazon piece for each side (possibly the inventor of Grand Chess rejected this simply due to having an odd number of pieces in each army as a result). Note in my 10x10 variant Sac Chess, which has had a lot of testing, having 2 amazons per side (though on a crowded board initially) doesn't seem to hurt the quality of the play in games much at all.

Anyway, for a variant idea I'm still considering, I came up with an alternative setup to that of Amazon Grand Chess (I thought reverse symmetry for the setup can be used, to make the odd number of pieces per side seem less asymmetrical, IMO). On a seperate website from the one below I saw some posters wishing that Grand Chess used normal promotion rules, as in chess (so that the board's edge is made use of for one thing), and also that it allowed a king to leap up to 3 squares once per game, to make up for the absence of castling, so I'm considering these as possible refinements, too. I'll also mention that one thing I don't quite like about the Amazon Grand Chess setup is that the amazon and queen of each side are doubled on a file (albeit behind a pawn) before play even begins... Now, here's the link I mentioned:

http://www.mindsports.nl/index.php/how-i-invented-games-and-why-not/chess-variants-are-easy

[edit: Here's a link to a discussion I alluded to, about how Grand Chess might be improved:]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AGrand_chess

[edit2: Here's a diagram of a CV idea of mine that might be called Grandiose Chess, which I'll study at leisure (pawns would promote on last rank to any piece type in the setup, except for a king, and an unmoved king that's not in check can leap up to three squares away to an unoccupied square on the first or second rank that's not under attack, regardless of any pieces or enemy attacks that may be in between):][edit3: I'm not liking this so much just now - perhaps it's a worse version of Grand Chess, or even of my own Sac Chess:]


Tori Shogi. Tori Shogi, or Bird Shogi. A variant of Japanese Chess on a 7 by 7 board. (7x7, Cells: 49) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Ed wrote on Tue, Dec 3, 2019 02:36 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

I see that a new study of historical sources on Tori Shogi has been published: https://www.amazon.co.jp/禽将棋についての研究-禽将棋の背景と系統的位置づけ-MyISBN-デザインエッグ社-松本尚也/dp/4815014205/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_ja_JP=カタカナ&keywords=禽将棋&qid=1575339500&sr=8-1

I wonder if any Japanese have read the book and can comment on what new discoveries this book reveals.


Victorian Chess. Play Victorian Chess on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Nov 12, 2019 10:41 AM UTC:BelowAverage ★★

It seems awful to have the Queen (a non-jumping piece) starting trapped in the corner; you now cannot develop it without breaking the Pawn shield, so j-side castling becomes very unattractive. Two-step castling sucks anyway, on 10-wide boards.


Which Chess Variants are Best?. Our collected resources for helping you find the best Chess variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Zied Haddad wrote on Tue, Nov 12, 2019 02:02 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

Hi all,

I'd like to share with you a project. Creating a classification of Chess Variants using "pragmatic methodology" to compare them.

 

Please share with me your thoughts here, or at the following link: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-variants/a-system-to-classify-chess-variants


FairyGen. Generator for end-game tables with fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Prussia General wrote on Tue, Nov 12, 2019 12:45 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Very handy tool! I was able to check the end games of most of my variants. 

I do have a question on King vs Royal Wazir + knight. How do I check the winning percentage for the King? It gives me an error when I attempt 3men K.WN, whereas WN.K is a sure 0% win.

Alternative pieces that I have questions with:

how could I define a unit that cannot capture at all?

how could I drfine a unit that cannot move at all?

thanks

Prussia

 


Sosarian Chess. 12x8 Game with Capablanca-type pieces plus two lions.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Kevin Pacey wrote on Fri, Nov 1, 2019 12:39 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

I've been racking my brain lately trying to come up with a good 12x8 variant (or maybe even larger) that besides having the FIDE army per side includes the Archbishop and Chancellor piece types (as Sosarian Chess does, here), with very few other piece types added as well. Eric Greenwood wrote on his ArchCourier Chess rules page that he couldn't make these criteria work together for him (on 12x8), to his satisfaction.

I've noticed that there are 3(!) presets for Sosarian Chess, each with slightly different setups. The one I prefer (as apparently does Greg, based on a comment in a game of his with Jeremy Good) is the setup with White: Q on a1, A on f1 and C on l1, with Black placed similarly; this particular preset is called 'SosarianChess' (no space between the two words).

There's also a setup that was unintended to be used (again based on a comment by Greg in said game with Jeremy Good), a preset that has 2 A's and a C (no Q) per side; this particular preset is called 'Sosarian'.

Finally, there is a preset with White: A on a1, Q on f1 and C on l1, with Black placed similarly; this particular preset is called 'Standard'.

The reason I prefer the same setup as Greg (to the 'standard' one) is, in addition to his one, in a comment to Jeremy (that the Q helps guard an edge pawn again, in the setup), I like that an A on f1 can discourage the Black C (on l8) from developing to k6, since White can push the pawn in front of his king, as soon as move one, if he wishes to. Thus the setup helps keep the Chancellors from always developing to the k-file by a knight leap, followed by an unfortunate exchange of these pieces on said file, which could be a waste of their presence in the setup.

So, aside from agreeing that the SosarianChess preset has the best setup, and should be preferred, I found the choice of Lions as the added piece type (compared to 10x8 Capablanca Chess, etc) interesting. I'd quickly estimate the piece type to be worth about 4.75 on 12x8. Its ability to leap 2 squares orthogonally (besides 3) comes in handy, as it can go to the third rank and still be protected by a pawn. Since it also moves like a ferz, it usefully guards pawns in the setup.

One thing I've been undecided on is whether to have some sort of fast castling rules (as in my earlier 12x8 Wide Chess) for any board that's wide - no one has recently commented on whether they like such a rule, but for my 12x8 variants so far people seem to have voted with their feet (unless some other features were unattractive, alternatively). Anyway, Sosarian Chess deals with this issue by having the rooks each one file closer to the centre, and then retaining Capablanca Chess style castling rules (I observed this from a comment by Greg to Jeremy, when I was seeking confirmation). Based on Greg's (longer) game with Jeremy, the latter was on the verge of actually castling at one point, and so it seems Greg's way of handling the castling issue may be fully feasible.

No one has played this variant in a long time, maybe partly because of confusion about what the setup position should be (a tidying up of the presets at some point would clear that up, unless there was meant to be a choice offered if players preferred). It looks like it could be a very fun game, albeit one with a lot of powerful pieces and kings that may feel insecure often at the start. That's in spite of the queen(s) possibly being a little buried for a while at the start of a given game, with my favourite setup being used.

[edit: Here's a link that currently includes the 3 presets I mentioned above for this variant (Sosarian Chess):]

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/settings.php?author=mageofmaple

[edit: Here's a link that gives all finished games of Sosarian Chess (regardless of preset used in a given game):]

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/logs.php?game=Sosarian+Chess&age=0&stat=finished


Veteran Chess. Most pieces can or must irreversibly promote when they capture.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Fri, Oct 18, 2019 01:57 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

A very interesting game.  And you have the interactive diagram using our signature Alfaerie pieces and colors!  I love it :)


Musketeer Chess. Adding 2 newly designed extra pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
💡📝Zied Haddad wrote on Tue, Aug 27, 2019 09:57 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

Hi, it's always good to hear criticism. And i think you've got it right.

Personally i give you the pieces i much like when playing Musketeer Chess: Hawk, Unicorn +++ and my favorite is the Archbishop combining Bishop and Knight abilities. I much like sacrificing my Queen for an Archbishop !!

 

Musketeer Chess idea was to get rid of the big amount of draws and also opening learning (long theoretical lines). The idea is also to give black a more important role by deciding the final combination of pieces, adapting his strategy to white's choice which will lower for sure the importance of white's advantage as the side who begins the game; But this needs for sure a precise play.

 

You pointed out the fact that the Board is overcrowded. Of course it becomes a problem if you choose to gate you r pieces whithout a prior clear strategy and this will hamper you from exploiting the huge potential of the new pieces.

 

The newly added pieces are strong and they bring so much excitment and tactics from the first move ! So the slightest lack of attention can be punished (more spectacular wins) but also if you lower your attention even with a huge material advantage on the board, your opponent can surprise you and mate you using the newest pieces whom some can mate alone.

 

Yes, Musketeer Chess is not a perfect game, but Classic Chess became mostly a game of "knowledge" and opening learning and is for sure less attractive for average kids and players that want to improve their level but are frustrated by this learning.

Elite tournaments are less spectacular and games most usually finish with draws.


Wildebeast9. A Variant of Wildebeast Chess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Chris Chradle wrote on Thu, Aug 22, 2019 09:45 PM UTC:Good ★★★★

I think it's a fusion between Wildbeast and Xhess not XChess. XChess is a variation with an hourglass.

 

Chris


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]
Erik Lerouge wrote on Sat, Aug 10, 2019 08:31 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

I am currently playing a game of Odin's Rune Chess, and I really like it, as much the rules and gameplay, as the runic theme. The Forest Ox is a terrific piece, maybe too powerful... I like the rather strong Pawns. I generally appreciate modern variants that use non-conventional Pawns, it effectively renews the dynamics of a chess game. And their initial colorboundness isn't a default at all, for me.

I was wondering if Pawn promotion could be integrated in this game - even if it is not necessary since Pawns can go back and the need for new material is less crucial, since the vulnerabiliy of the Kings without moving possibilities makes situations of insufficent material less likely. Promotion possibilities should be limited, since Pawns can reach the last rank in only four moves; for example, they could only promote to previously captured pieces of his own colour; or there could be limitations to the maximum number of pieces of each type present on the board (4 Valkyries, and 4 Forest Oxen, for example - which is already a lot). One can also think of the opportunity to permit the promotion to King (here too, the maximum number must be limited or promotion be only to previously captured Kings). But the game plays already well, I don't think it needs a promotion rule. I was just wondering how promotion could affect the gameplay, and if it could be interessant as a variant.

Edit: my comment about the possibility of promotion wasn't very pertinent. Promotion doesn't make much sense in this game.


Hidden Random Chess. This is a two-player game that incorporates the element of chance in chess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
💡📝Prussia General wrote on Sat, Jul 13, 2019 05:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Just played this very interesting game. A single Knight won the game when White was at a larrge disadvantage being down a bishop and a rook. 

(note b2=P means b2 is flipped and a Pawn is revealed. Pawns are desginated P and there is no short-form notation)

1. c2=P   c7=C
2. Pe2-e3   ....

Otherwise Cc7xc1 #

2. ...       Cc7xc1 (xB)
3. Ke1-e2 Cc1xa1 (xP)
4. g2=N    b7=B
5. Ng2-f4  Bb7xh1 (xR)
6. Nf4-e6

After a careless capture at h1, which yielded a rook advantage (rook is the strongest unit on board at the start), Black resigns at this point, since Nxg7 or Nc7 are both checkmates and no possible move could defend both squares. The King could not move as its only revealed piece, the e7 pawn, is blocked by the white Knight. Other unrevealed p


Tai Shogi pictures. Photos of a commercially available Tai Shogi set.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Emily Taylor wrote on Tue, Jun 18, 2019 07:25 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Very good stuff. I have seen one of these before in person while in Japan and was amazed. Beautiful and fun to play variant. I really like the Taikyoku shogi. I wonder if that george guy makes those too, or even makes these still. 


Cylindrical Chess. Sides of the board are supposed to be connected. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Sun, May 26, 2019 01:59 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

The page for this game was very old and the content wasn't really appropriate as a formal description of this historic game, so I have completely rewritten it.  The original version can still be found here.


FairyGen. Generator for end-game tables with fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Thu, May 23, 2019 04:26 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Nice.  Thank you for making a page for this awesome utility!  I have moved the comments about this from the CwDA page here.


Home page of The Chess Variant Pages. Homepage of The Chess Variant Pages.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
wody wrote on Wed, Apr 3, 2019 05:22 AM UTC:Average ★★★

Please add random piece link in this website.


Shako_Balbo. Game with Diamond Shape Board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Kevin Pacey wrote on Mon, Feb 11, 2019 06:24 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

This game makes for a fine blend of two already interesting games.

At first when playing I felt like I was starting out missing an important pawn, but then I remembered that in chess, the Exchange Variation of the French Defence can produce plenty of interesting and decisive games, even between strong players.


Balbo's chess. Board with a strange shape designed to make Bishops stronger in relation to Rooks. (Cells: 68) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Kevin Pacey wrote on Mon, Feb 11, 2019 06:20 PM UTC:Good ★★★★

Interesting board shape. I'm currently not absolutely sure that bishops are quite as strong as rooks, on average.


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