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This page is written by the game's inventor, Charles Gilman.

AltOrth with Further Piece Types

This page continues the interpretation of the hex geometry introduced in AltOrth Hex Chess, extending it to analogues of variants using non-FIDE pieces. The Puppeteer terminology of my first AltOrth offshoot, Ringworld Chess, is much in evidence.

I fast-tracked this page slightly. Normally I would leave a 2-week gap between variants, but I posted this on the first day of the 202nd Decade as I would be busy afterwards uploading my Man and Beast makeover with references to the changes of 2009-10 stripped out and pentagonal-cell geometries added. Since this page I have added a page of still more complex variants with Hopping and/or Crooked ones.

Setup

It took a while to choose a full set of images to use to replace the old Ascii Art diagrams, even with this set, but I eventually managed it by interpreting "Crab" as "incomplete" (the Crab being an incomplete Knight) in conjunction with orthogonal-piece images for Forepieces and their diagonal duals for Hindpieces. I have also reordered the variants in the order that I settled on images for their pieces.

AltOrth Frontofhouse uses ordinary AltOrth arrays, but with different promotion and reintroduction rules.

AltOrth Hex Courier is an analogue to somewhere between Courier and my offshoot Courier Kamil. It has one aside of (a) two-step pieces in each of the two odd-file Dabbaba bindings and (b) one-step ones for the entire board. Even files have no array two-step pieces.

AltOrth Hexgi is an analogue to Shogi using Hexgi officers. Contrast the more conventional hex analogue Hex Shogi. It echoes Shogi's near-empty second rank.

Wingregi is an analogue to Mitregi using Hexgi officers. Contrast the more conventional hex analogue Hex Horngi. The name Wingregi uses the first 6 letters of Wingreservist to echo the name Mitregi.

Wingreservist Rimmed is an analogue to my Mitred Framing, with the basic AltOrth camp pushed forward and forward-only pieces stuck in behind it. It can be played in the simple, Frontofhouse, or Wingregi style. Contrast with the more conventional hex analogue Horn Rimmed Hex, from which it takes its name, although both skew some colourbound pieces to avoid six pieces aside in the centre rank.

Grand AltOrth Chess is an analogue to Knighted-piece variants. It adds two each aside of the Rook, Forevicereine, and Hindvicereine as not enough pieces are suited to replace Migrants and once two or more piece types are added to an already full 4x4 hex camp it may as well go to 5x5.

Amazonesque AltOrth follows similar logic.

Tutti-Frutti AltOrth is an analogue to Tutti-Frutti Chess, which has a Bishop for only one binding. This quirk gets transferred to the Viceroy as Knight analogue, but as it is so weak a piece I double it up to fill out the camp.

AltOrth Hex Overkill is an analogue to my Overkill Chess, substituting two aside of the "compound" pieces - including Rooks in this case - with none of the "simple" ones.

AltOrth Hex Manners is an analogue to Modern Manners, my offshoot of Duke of Rutland's Chess. There are two aside of each Crowned-, and one aside of each Knighted-, -piece analogue.

Pieces

Wellisch pieces:
The GENERAL moves one step along any orthogonal, like a Wazir, but unlike the latter piece and like the FIDE and Shogi King - whose Wellisch analogue it is - it must be kept out of check.
The VICEREINE is the compound of the next two. It is this page's Ace/Amazon analogue.
The ROOK moves any distance through empty intermediate cells along any orthogonal. It is actually this variant's analogue of the Queen - or in terms of the Hunter and Hawker their own compound the Queenranker.
The VICEROY moves one step along any of the 6 hex (or on a cubic board, 8 3d) diagonals. It is the Wellisch Knight analogue, although in the Glinski/McCooey interpretation it would be a Ferz analogue.

Pieces introduced in AltOrth:

The FOREROOK moves like the Rook but only in the straight forward and both half backward directions. It is this page's analogue to the square-board Rook.
The HINDROOK moves like the Rook but only in the straight backward and both half forward directions. It is this page's Bishop analogue, but is not colourbound.>
The MIGRANT moves one step at a time. It moves along the straight forward orthogonal expect when capturing, which it does along the two half-forward orthogonals. See also my piece article Man and Beast 16: Diverging Further. It is an even better analogue for a Pawn in a variant using alternative orthogonals in the way of this variant than it is in McGlinwell, a variant combining the Wellisch analogy with elements of the other variants.

Forward-only pieces:

The SUPERWING (dropped piece only) moves like the Rook but only along the straight forward and half-forward orthogonals. It is this page's Princess analogue.
The WING moves like the Rook but only along the straight forward orthogonal. On a G/McC board it is exactly the same piece as in Shogi.
The WINGRESERVIST moves like the Rook but only along the half-forward orthogonals. It is this page's Mitre analogue.
The POINT moves like the Wazir but only along the straight forward orthogonal. On a G/McC board it is exactly the same piece as in Shogi.
The POINTRESERVIST moves like the Wazir but only along the half-forward orthogonals. It is this page's Cross analogue.
The SALTIRE moves one step along the forward hex diagonals. It is this page's Helm analogue.

Short-range pieces:

The WAZIR (promotee only) moves like the General but is capturable. It is this page's Prince analogue.
The BRIGADIER moves like the Wazir but not in the straight backward direction. It is this page's Goldgeneral analogue.
The COLONEL moves like the Wazir but not in either half-backward direction. It is this page's Silvergeneral analogue.
The FOREWAZIR moves like the Wazir but only in the straight forward and both half backward directions. It is this page's analogue to the square-board Wazir.
The HINDWAZIR moves like the Wazir but only in the straight backward and both half forward directions. It is this page's Ferz analogue, but is not colourbound.
The MINION (promotee only) has the Forewazir's noncapturing move and the Hindwazir's capturing move. It is this page's Steward analogue.
The VICERRANKER (promotee only) moves like the Viceroy but not in the straight sideways direction. It is this page's nearest approximation to a Crab.
The DABBABA (promotee only) leaps two cells along any orthogonal, and in AltOrth Hex Courier cannot be blocked on the intervening cell. It is this page's Alibaba analogue.
The FOREDABBABA moves like the Dabbaba but only in the straight forward and both half backward directions. It is this page's analogue to the square-board Dabbaba.
The HINDDABBABA moves like the Dabbaba but only in the straight backward and both half forward directions. It is this page's Elephant analogue, but like the Dabbaba and Foredabbaba is bound to one in just 4, rather than 8, cells.
The Forewazir, Hindwazir, Foredabbaba, and Hinddabbaba have a "Switching cycle" of 3. That is to say, from each Viceroy binding they always move to a specific other Viceroy binding, their next move takes them to the remaining Viceroy binding, and the third move takes them back to the original binding. This means that they can return to a given cell only in a multiple of 3 moves.

Knighted- and Crowned-piece analogues, additional to the Vicereine:

The FOREVICEREINE is the compound of the Forerook and Viceroy. It is this page's Marshal analogue.
The HINDVICEREINE is the compound of the Hindrook and Viceroy. It is this page's Cardinal analogue.
The ROOK-WAZIR PUPPETEER is the compound of the Forerook and Hindwazir. It is this page's Chatelaine analogue.
The WAZIR-ROOK PUPPETEER is the compound of the Hindrook and Forewazir. It is this page's Primate analogue.

Rules

In the 2-player subvariants play alternates between the two players. In the 3-player one it progresses anticlockwise.

A Migrant on any Migrant starting cell of its camp may make a double-step noncapturing move, regardless of whether it has already made one or more moves to get there. It may however be immediately captured En Passant by an enemy Migrant poised to capture it had it moved only a single step.

There is no Castling.

Promotion and return from capture are as follows:

Variant(s)promotion zonepromotionsReturn from capture
Frontofhouse and Frontofhouse-style Wingreservist Rimmedenemy camp plus adjacent cornersSuperwing to Rook, Wing to Forerook, Wingreservist to Hindrook, Saltire to Viceroy, Migrant to MinionRook as Superwing, Forerook as Wing, Hindrook as Wingreservist, Viceroy as Saltire, Minion as Migrant
Courierboth far edgesMigrant to Rook, Wazir, Dabbaba, or Viceroynone
Mannersboth far edgesMigrant to Rook, Fore-/Hind-vicereine, Puppeteersnone
Hexgienemy camp plus adjacent cornersForerook to R-W puppeteer, Hindrook to W-R puppeteer, rest to Brigadierall in unpromoted form
Wingregi and Wingregi-style Wingreservist Rimmedenemy camp plus adjacent cornersForerook to R-W puppeteer, Hindrook to W-R puppeteer, Wing/Point to Brigadier, Reservists to Colonel, Migrant to Minion, Saltire to Viceroyall in unpromoted form
simple-style Wingreservist Rimmedenemy camp plus adjacent cornersWing to Brigadier, Wingreservist to Colonel, Migrant to Minion, Saltire to VicerrankerFO and promotee pieces in unpromoted form
Loonybirdboth far edgesMigrant to any other capturable array piecelong-range pieces as themselves
otherboth far edgesMigrant to any other capturable array piecenone

In 2-player subvariants Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate are as usual. In 3-player ones a player is Checkmated when their General is threatened by the player about to move. That player's pieces are removed from the game and the remaining players then alternate moves starting with the Checkmating one.


This 'user submitted' page is a collaboration between the posting user and the Chess Variant Pages. Registered contributors to the Chess Variant Pages have the ability to post their own works, subject to review and editing by the Chess Variant Pages Editorial Staff.


By Charles Gilman.

Last revised by Ben Reiniger.


Web page created: 2010-12-28. Web page last updated: 2024-01-22