Howl's moving castle
February 12, 2021 4:15 PM Subscribe
A Twitter thread collecting a whole bunch of awesome chess variants
Someone's gonna choke to death playing Chubby Bunny chess. They are awaited in Valhalla.
posted by nestor_makhno at 4:49 PM on February 12, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by nestor_makhno at 4:49 PM on February 12, 2021 [3 favorites]
Anyone remember playing Tic Tac Chec?
4x4 board. Each player gets 4 pieces: pawn, rook, bishop, knight.
Opening moves are to place pieces anywhere on the board; once a player has three pieces on the board (and later, only when a player has three pieces on the board), they can move and capture pieces on their turn.
Captured pieces are handed back to the other player, for them to put back in play on their turn, in lieu of moving a piece already on the board.
First player to get their four pieces in a row, horizontal vertical or diagonal, wins.
posted by bartleby at 5:12 PM on February 12, 2021 [3 favorites]
4x4 board. Each player gets 4 pieces: pawn, rook, bishop, knight.
Opening moves are to place pieces anywhere on the board; once a player has three pieces on the board (and later, only when a player has three pieces on the board), they can move and capture pieces on their turn.
Captured pieces are handed back to the other player, for them to put back in play on their turn, in lieu of moving a piece already on the board.
First player to get their four pieces in a row, horizontal vertical or diagonal, wins.
posted by bartleby at 5:12 PM on February 12, 2021 [3 favorites]
One of the variants ("THE PIECES HAVE GUNS") is actually a quite old one.
posted by jackbishop at 5:18 PM on February 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jackbishop at 5:18 PM on February 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
I got a lot of enjoyment out of Chess Evolved Online before my browser decided no more flash. It's a kitchen sink of made-up pieces that do weird nonsense, and you can throw together pretty much any 16 pieces and see how they fare against someone else's setup.
It is monetised free-to-play, but at least when I was playing it it was pretty generous about distributing the in-game currency to people who solved the daily puzzle (which was fun in itself).
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 6:03 PM on February 12, 2021
It is monetised free-to-play, but at least when I was playing it it was pretty generous about distributing the in-game currency to people who solved the daily puzzle (which was fun in itself).
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 6:03 PM on February 12, 2021
I came up with a chess variant while watching The Queen's Gambit that I need to workshop called DIAMOND CHESS:
1. Rotate the board 45 degrees so one of the corners is pointing at you and the opposite corner is pointing at your opponent. This makes every square on the board into a diamond
2. The closest diamond (i.e. the corner square pointing at you) is the diamond the other player must reach to promote a piece
3. The next row of two diamonds are where you place your king and queen
4. The next row of three diamonds: Put a bishop on the left diamond, a knight on the right diamond, leave the middle diamond empty
5. The next row of four diamonds: Rooks on the leftmost and rightmost diamonds, a knight and a bishop on the middle two
6. The next row: Five pawns. You only get five
7. Every piece moves and captures just as they do in regular chess, except for the pawns, who can choose to move left-forward or right-forward as they wish on each turn (but on their first move cannot split, it has to be two to the left forward or two to the right-forward), but still capture the same way (by moving through the front point of the diamond to the diamond directly ahead)
8. Tranquilizers and liquor optional but recommended
posted by ejs at 7:18 PM on February 12, 2021 [8 favorites]
1. Rotate the board 45 degrees so one of the corners is pointing at you and the opposite corner is pointing at your opponent. This makes every square on the board into a diamond
2. The closest diamond (i.e. the corner square pointing at you) is the diamond the other player must reach to promote a piece
3. The next row of two diamonds are where you place your king and queen
4. The next row of three diamonds: Put a bishop on the left diamond, a knight on the right diamond, leave the middle diamond empty
5. The next row of four diamonds: Rooks on the leftmost and rightmost diamonds, a knight and a bishop on the middle two
6. The next row: Five pawns. You only get five
7. Every piece moves and captures just as they do in regular chess, except for the pawns, who can choose to move left-forward or right-forward as they wish on each turn (but on their first move cannot split, it has to be two to the left forward or two to the right-forward), but still capture the same way (by moving through the front point of the diamond to the diamond directly ahead)
8. Tranquilizers and liquor optional but recommended
posted by ejs at 7:18 PM on February 12, 2021 [8 favorites]
There are so many great games out now. Never got the appeal of "Variants" of ages old classic games. ESPECIALLY those trying to actually sell them. Chess is Chess. Go is Go. Spare me the CCG tie-ins and random variants. Come up with something new and interesting. (Takes off gamer nerd hat). (Wants you to get off my lawn)
posted by Windopaene at 9:29 PM on February 12, 2021
posted by Windopaene at 9:29 PM on February 12, 2021
Can you castle in Suicide Kings?
posted by ckape at 10:04 PM on February 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ckape at 10:04 PM on February 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seems legit to castle the other king. Why not?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:14 PM on February 12, 2021
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:14 PM on February 12, 2021
I saw this the other day and I'm still thinking about Suicide Kings
That's probably my favorite tweak of the bunch.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:15 PM on February 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
That's probably my favorite tweak of the bunch.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:15 PM on February 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
Noted in the Twitter feed is Pippin Barr's playable variations, Chesses. There is also chesses2 and Chesses3. (Posted to MetaFilter here. Lots more Pippin Barr projects blued previously.
posted by chavenet at 3:21 AM on February 13, 2021
posted by chavenet at 3:21 AM on February 13, 2021
Off topic, but the title of this thread reminds me how much I wish someone would make a series of faithful adaptions of some of Diana Wynne Jones's books.
posted by unreason at 4:29 AM on February 13, 2021
posted by unreason at 4:29 AM on February 13, 2021
Free-for-all chess: any piece can teleport to any square at any time. You don't even have to wait for your turn.
posted by mokey at 4:57 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mokey at 4:57 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
CHESS WITHOUT BORDERS: pieces can move off the left or right sides of the board and appear on the opposite side.
posted by Foosnark at 5:47 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Foosnark at 5:47 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Chess without restraint: captured pieces can be hurled at any other player, adjudicator or spectator in the playing hall. In professional tournaments, this rule is extended to boards upon which a checkmate has been achieved.
Also, the player with the lowest score at the end of a tournament is permitted to flip the table, a move that immediately scores two extra points. If applying this rule changes which player's score is lowest, it can be applied again. This has resulted in some quite exciting finishes.
posted by flabdablet at 6:05 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Also, the player with the lowest score at the end of a tournament is permitted to flip the table, a move that immediately scores two extra points. If applying this rule changes which player's score is lowest, it can be applied again. This has resulted in some quite exciting finishes.
posted by flabdablet at 6:05 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
The American Dream is brilliantly named because at first blush it sounds more equitable (everyone has the same chance for promotion!) but then you think about it for half a tick and realize it's just going to grossly exacerbate existing inequities among the pieces.
posted by solotoro at 6:50 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by solotoro at 6:50 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
I like the specific rule from Chess 2: The Sequel, where you can't stalemate, but can win if you move your king onto the opponent's half of the board. It has other rules that I don't think really matter that much - a Bobby Fischer-inspired rule where you randomise the starting locations of the pieces (although there's always bishops on opposite colours and the king is always between two rooks), alternative "pieces" so you can have asymmetrical armies if you for some reason think that's necessary, and a resource you can spend in a blind bid to reverse captures.
Also there's this Shut Up and Sit Down video where, after dancing around the issue for several months, they review chess variants (and the original Chess, negatively, which given that they had covered Go very enthusiastically, must surely be something of a burn to chess fans).
posted by Merus at 8:24 AM on February 13, 2021
Also there's this Shut Up and Sit Down video where, after dancing around the issue for several months, they review chess variants (and the original Chess, negatively, which given that they had covered Go very enthusiastically, must surely be something of a burn to chess fans).
posted by Merus at 8:24 AM on February 13, 2021
MEFI CHESS: when you're not actively moving, sit at the adjacent table to your opponent's left or right, and ponder your next move over a plate of beans.
chess variants previously
Also, if you are willing to pay for chess adjacent behavior, for $5 there's Fake Chess, a two player roleplaying game where you play two people playing chess. No chess knowledge required. An unwitting audience of bystanders optional.
Available at itch.io
posted by otherchaz at 8:36 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
chess variants previously
Also, if you are willing to pay for chess adjacent behavior, for $5 there's Fake Chess, a two player roleplaying game where you play two people playing chess. No chess knowledge required. An unwitting audience of bystanders optional.
Available at itch.io
posted by otherchaz at 8:36 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Never got the appeal of "Variants" of ages old classic games. ESPECIALLY those trying to actually sell them. Chess is Chess.Chess is just a kind of tired old Chaturanga variant.
posted by 3j0hn at 8:54 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
MEFI CHESS: when you're not actively moving, sit at the adjacent table to your opponent's left or right, and ponder your next move over a plate of beans.
PLUS CHESS: Audience can favorite any move a player makes. Player with the most favorites at the end wins.
DERAIL CHESS: Start playing chess. One player, after some number of moves, begins playing another game. The other player has to continue to play chess, or can begin playing another, third game. No one wins.
MEGATHREAD CHESS: Start playing chess. At some point, start talking about a game you played 3 years ago.
posted by curious nu at 9:04 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
PLUS CHESS: Audience can favorite any move a player makes. Player with the most favorites at the end wins.
DERAIL CHESS: Start playing chess. One player, after some number of moves, begins playing another game. The other player has to continue to play chess, or can begin playing another, third game. No one wins.
MEGATHREAD CHESS: Start playing chess. At some point, start talking about a game you played 3 years ago.
posted by curious nu at 9:04 AM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
calvin chess - gather every checkboard and piece of cardboard in the house, along with all chess pieces, checker pieces, game pieces, dead bugs and bowling trophies - arrange them somewhere convenient like in the middle of the living room in front of dad's chair
then make it up as you go along
posted by pyramid termite at 10:24 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
then make it up as you go along
posted by pyramid termite at 10:24 AM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
Most fun I ever had playing a chess variant was the game we played after ingesting some dubious blotter squares and deliberately getting cut off from the shore on a tidal island, played after dark on a board we'd improvised from sand and flat stones, using pieces we'd improvised from twigs and shells and bits of seaweed.
The rules were standard; the behaviour of the pieces, not so much.
Took me a while to work out that the reason my rook was so often on a square I didn't remember moving it to was not that I was living better through chemistry, but that the shell I'd used for it was still inhabited.
posted by flabdablet at 10:45 AM on February 13, 2021 [11 favorites]
The rules were standard; the behaviour of the pieces, not so much.
Took me a while to work out that the reason my rook was so often on a square I didn't remember moving it to was not that I was living better through chemistry, but that the shell I'd used for it was still inhabited.
posted by flabdablet at 10:45 AM on February 13, 2021 [11 favorites]
CHESS WITHOUT BORDERS: pieces can move off the left or right sides of the board and appear on the opposite side.
How about a version of this where pieces can wrap around the front and near edges too, so every game immediately starts with black in mate. Heck, you won't even have to set up the board to play it again! You could play a hundred games in an hour!
posted by ejs at 1:20 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
How about a version of this where pieces can wrap around the front and near edges too, so every game immediately starts with black in mate. Heck, you won't even have to set up the board to play it again! You could play a hundred games in an hour!
posted by ejs at 1:20 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
How about a version where moves can wrap across any edge of the board, but any piece that exercises that option changes colour if it transits an odd number of edges?
posted by flabdablet at 6:27 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 6:27 PM on February 13, 2021 [1 favorite]
Or a version based on the John Carpenter movie The Thing: When one piece takes another, it can choose to become the piece it just captured. (Not kings, they have to stay kings.)
posted by ejs at 7:03 PM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ejs at 7:03 PM on February 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Every once in awhile I come across this Revolution Chess meme and wonder about how it might play out. The consensus seems to be the pawns would easily win through attrition, but there are so many tweaks you can make. What if it's just two rows of pawns vs. two rows of pieces? Is the pawns' goal checkmate, or extermination? Can they be promoted, and if so, does that piece sell out to the other side?
posted by Rhaomi at 10:50 PM on February 13, 2021
posted by Rhaomi at 10:50 PM on February 13, 2021
The consensus seems to be the pawns would easily win through attrition
Winning as the pawns in Horde Chess is hard enough to make it fun to play.
posted by flabdablet at 1:07 AM on February 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
Winning as the pawns in Horde Chess is hard enough to make it fun to play.
posted by flabdablet at 1:07 AM on February 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
Another chess variant list from Wikipedia, to add to otherchaz's link above. I think dark chess would be fun using online software to manage the hidden field, only seeing the moves you can possibly make and exposing pieces accordingly. An easy variant I don't see yet is cluster chess, where up to four same-color pieces can inhabit any square at the same time, no passing through in one move.
posted by Brian B. at 11:20 AM on February 14, 2021
posted by Brian B. at 11:20 AM on February 14, 2021
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posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:26 PM on February 12, 2021 [9 favorites]