Chess Variants

[Gervie]

Game: Hitchhiker Chess

Created by W. D. Troyka, September 2002


Hitchhiker Chess provides yet another question to science fiction's most famous answer: Forty-two. The game is based on Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker Guide To The Galaxy series. It is played in a diamond-shaped galaxy consisting of forty-two squares, including a restaurant at either end. In the center of the galaxy is a black hole. The middle row of the board wraps around from one edge to the other. The object of the game is to move your Hitchhiker across the galaxy into your opponent's restaurant. You can also win by kidnapping the opponent Hitchhiker and dropping it into the black hole.

No piece can occupy the black hole, and sliding pieces cannot move across it. A player must make a move if one is possible. If no move is possible, the turn is forfeited. Each player begins the game with fourteen pieces of six different piece types. These are:


VOGON SPACE MINE

The Vogon Space Mine is used in construction of the intergalactic hyperway system. Celestial bodies that block planned routes are destroyed through detonation of a mine. Inhabitants are usually given three minutes notice, sometimes four.

The Mine moves one space diagonally or two spaces orthogonally, making its coverage a diamond shape. When moving orthogonally the space traveled through must be empty. It does not capture on white squares, called "space," where it serves merely as a block. The Mine is normally bound to space. However, when it passes through the cross-galactic Mobius loop (the wraparound sixth row) it re-emerges on the dark squares, called "antispace." In antispace the Mine gains the power of detonation. By clicking and releasing the Mine, it and all orthogonally adjacent pieces, friend or foe, are exploded and removed from the board. Detonation of a live Mine can be prevented by capture but the capturing piece itself is exploded.


GOLGAFRINCHAN DEEP SPACE COLONIZER

The Golgafrinchan Deep Space Colonizer stands eight kilometers tall and is used for transporting useless elements of society to remote parts of the galaxy for resettlement under false pretenses of imminent destruction of the home planet. On an unrelated note, chess variant designers beware! A comet will soon be striking Earth and you have all been selected for salvation using the latest in Elbonian slingshot technology. Stay tuned for further details!

The Colonizer moves to an adjacent square, orthogonal or diagonal, and captures by replacement. Alternatively, it can plunge into the black hole and re-emerge in the mirror opposite square on the other side, capturing any enemy piece it lands on. A Colonizer on c5, for example, can plunge through the black hole to position g7. A Colonizer cannot capture an enemy Colonizer when plunging.


MAGRATHEAN ORBITER

The Magrathean Orbiter is custom built by the planet makers of Magrathea. The Earth model featured here became popular after the ban on galactic ****-fighting. The inhabitants that come with these planets are designed to engage in constant warfare for the amusement of their owners. They provide a rich source of betting among capitalist galaxeers.

The Orbiter moves in a diamond orbit around the black hole, clockwise or counterclockwise. It moves through any number of empty spaces, turning corners as it goes, and captures by replacement. It is color-bound when moving in orbit. The Orbiter changes orbit by moving one orthogonal space. It cannot capture when changing orbit.


HYPERGALACTIC IMPROBABILITY ROCKET

The Hypergalactic Improbability Rocket runs on both traditional photonic drive and quantum improbability. The improbability drive operates by making less probable the continued existence of the rocket at its current location and at all other locations in the universe save one, until the rocket rematerializes at the now probable location. With this drive the rocket can travel anywhere within the probability matrix of local particles. For safety reasons the rocket is not allowed to rematerialize within a certain vicinity of unidentified massive objects ("UMOS").

The Rocket moves in a straight line forward or backward and captures by replacement. Aternatively, it can rematerialize in any "safe" square on the board. A square is safe if it is not adjacent to any enemy piece besides the Hitchhiker.


KAKRAFOON SUN

The Kakrafoon Sun scorches the enormous Rudlit Desert, which serves as staging area for performances of Disaster Area, the Galaxy's hottest sound and light show. The shows often climax with the sailing into the sun of a mock ship designed to trigger photonic flares that arc across the void to lick the desert.

The Sun moves in a straight line, orthogonal or diagonal, to an empty square. It captures by "scorching" an adjacent enemy piece. To perform a scorch, click the Sun and place it on the enemy piece. The Sun does not actually move, and the enemy piece disappears in a ball of flame. The Sun cannot be captured if it has just moved.


HITCHHIKER

The Hitchhiker travels the galaxy on 30 Altairian dollars per day and steals to make up the difference. It is represented here by the traditional angel of food service, who brings good fortune to all those who bestow kindness upon travelers, and whose image is the favorite target of the skeet shooters of MaxiMegalon Four.

The Hitchhiker cannot move by itself. Instead, it hitches a ride with an adjacent moving piece, called the "carrier." Specifically, when an orthogonally or diagonally adjacent friend moves, the Hitchhiker follows and lands in the corresponding square. The corresponding square is the space adjacent to the carrier's destination square preserving the same relative position. If that square is occupied or off the board, the Hitchhiker stays behind, although the friend can still move. The Hitchhiker cannot be captured and it blocks motion by other pieces. The space it is on can be moved to or through only if the Hitchhiker is carried to a different space as part of the move. The game is won by moving the Hitchhiker into the opposite restaurant. An enemy Hitchhiker still in its restaurant does not block a winning move.

A player can also win by kidnapping the opponent Hitchhiker and dropping it into the black hole, where it is instantly vaporized. The opponent Hitchhiker can be kidnapped only if it is abandoned, i.e., not adjacent to any friends. A player carries a kidnapped Hitchhiker exactly like a friendly Hitchhiker, with the exception that it can be moved into the black hole but not into a restaurant. It is possible to carry both Hitchhikers at once.

Download Hitchhiker Chess Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Hobbes

Invented and implemented by W. D. Troyka, November 2002.


Hobbes is a game with an unusual type of motion. Each player has a single piece called the Monarch that can move to any square on the board that can be reached by a combination of orthogonal moves. The move must end by pushing or pulling a Soldier in a straight line any number of vacant spaces. Soldiers are neutral pieces that cannot move on their own. Win by capturing the opposing Monarch or crushing it so that it cannot move.

The Monarchs are separated by a wall of Soldiers called the Front. Behind the Front, the area through which the Monarch can move is called its Dominion. The effect of the Monarch's motion is to push and pull the Front so that it forms an ever changing line separating the players. Basic strategy consists of forcing the enemy Monarch to breach the Front so that it can be captured on the next turn, or collapsing the Front around the Monarch until it is crushed.

Hobbes is named after Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century British philosopher who argued that power naturally gravitates to a single absolute Monarch. The game was invented in 1998 and inspired by Robert Kraus' Neutron.

Hobbes comes with 2-player and 4-player variants played on 5x5, 7x7, and 9x9 boards. In the 4-player variants the game continues until a single Monarch remains. Smart Moves must be selected in order to play the 4-player variants. You can design your own variants by right-clicking to place the pieces.

A Monarch move is normally accomplished by first moving the Monarch to a square adjacent to a Soldier, then pushing or pulling the Soldier. If the Soldier is on the same rank or file as the Monarch, a push may be accomplished in one step. If a move could be either a maneuver (push or pull) or a Dominion move to be followed by a maneuver, Zillions will offer you a selection box.

Hobbes was conceived as a 5x5 game and is most entertaining at that size. The 5x5 version can almost certainly be solved and I would welcome any formal proof. I have worked out an informal solution using Zillions that gives the first player a win in 19 moves. The first player can be handicapped by prohibiting a forward opening move.

Please send any comments or bug reports to [email protected].

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[Gervie]

Game: Hodge-Podge

Invented and implemented by Chris Huntoon, September 2003.


Whereas most games usually have one or two goals, Hodge-Podge has multiple goals. The game has a simple set-up. All pieces move and capture the same. There are only two types of pieces: 1 King and the rest are Soldiers. What makes the game complex is that it has several different winning conditions.

You may win by either

capturing your opponent's King;
Getting your own King safely to the far side of the board;
Get 5 pieces in a line in any direction, not counting any pieces in your first two rows. The line of 5 must include the King anywhere within the line.; or
Reduce your opponent to less then 5 pieces.
Ý All pieces slide like rooks in Chess, i.e. any number of empty spaces up, down, left, or right. A piece can also make a single jump over another piece of either color that is adjacent to it horizontally or vertically. The jumping piece lands on the other side. This is not a capture. The only capturing is achieved by sandwiching your opponent's pieces between yours along a row or column. This is similar to Reversi, except that the pieces are removed from the board instead of flipped. A sandwich capture along an edge may wrap around the corner.

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[Gervie]

Game: Hoppel-Poppel Chess

Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001


In the game of Hoppel-Poppel Chess, all rules of the normal chess game apply, but the Bishop captures like a Knight and a Knight captures like a Bishop.

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[Gervie]

Game: Hourglas Chess

Invented by Uri Bruck, 1998.
Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001


In the game of Hourglas, the most rules of the usual chess game apply, but there is another board, a howerglas board, the Pawns are Berolina Pawns (and without the Berolina Pawn initial double step), i.e., they go diagonally and capture orthogonally.
In Hourglass Chess Pawns can only promote to a piece that was previously captured. The Centurion moves up to two squares in any direction (horizontal, vertical,diagonal) can't jump over pieces.

This game was invented by Uri Bruck as contribution to a 38 square contest which was held in 1997/1998.

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[Gervie]

Game: Hungry Pawns

Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, January 2001


Object: Checkmate or capture the opponent's King.

A Pawn may capture several pieces in one turn; it can keep capturing as long as there is an enemy piece in its reach that it can capture.

Apart from this, the standard chess rules apply.


For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz.

Download Hungry Pawns Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Hydra Chess

Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, September 2000


Objective: Checkmate your opponent's King.

According to Greek mythology, the Hydra was a beast with seven heads. Whenever someone cut off one of the heads, it quickly grew back. If you capture one of your opponent's pieces in Hydra Chess, your opponent may reinsert it, but it will change into a piece of less value: Pawn < Knight < Bishop < Rook < Queen. Hence Pawns are lost immediately and do now grow back.

To reinstate a piece, just click an empty square of the board.

In the default variant, up to sixteen captured pieces can be stored.
In the Swap Variant, only one captured piece will be stored.


More freeware as well as real puzzles and games under http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz.

Download Hydra Chess Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Imperial Cheops

Invented and implemented by L. Lynn Smith, January 2003.


Imperial Cheops is played on a pyramid field of thirteen 3x3x3 cubes. Cubes are connected by their corner cells to upper and lower layer of cubes. The topmost cube is the Apex.

ARCHBISHOP [A] slides diagonal or triagonal.
BISHOP [B.] slides diagonal.
DRAGON [D] slides orthogonal or triagonal.
FAVOURITE [F] slides orthogonal or diagonal.
GARGOYLE [G] steps one or leaps to the next orthogonal, diagonal or triagonal cell.
HIPPOGRIFF [H] leaps to the opposite corner of a 2x2x3 area.
KING [K] steps one orthogonal, diagonal or triagonal cell.
KNIGHT [N] leaps to the opposite corner of a 1x2x3 area.
QUEEN [Q] slides orthogonal, diagonal or triagonal.
ROOK [R] slides orthogonal.
UNICORN PAWN slides triagonal without capture, steps diagonal with capture. It may freely promote, excluding the King, when preforming a capture.
WYVERN [W] leaps to the opposite corner of a 2x3x3 area.

Pieces only move through connected cubes.

The game is won by placing a Queen within the Apex cube and capturing the opponent King.
The game is drawn if both players have no Unicorn Pawns and Queens.


Imperial Cheops was developed from a brief description given in the novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert.

Updated 06/28/03
streamlined code; fixed minor errors

Download Imperial Cheops Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Interweave

Invented and implemented by Peter Aronson, December 2002.

Interweave is a game where all pieces are colorbound, but can only capture pieces on squares of the opposite color. Needless to say, capture is not by replacement; instead short and long leap, custodian, rifle and approach captures are used instead. You must capture when you can, and a piece may make multiple captures in a turn. The must capture rule, combined with the number of methods of capture, results in a game that plays a bit like Checkers crossed with Ultima.

The goal of Interweave is to capture either of your opponent's two Kings.


Kings move one square diagonally without capture, and capture by a short orthogonal leap.
Leapers slide diagonally without capturing. They move orthogonally or like Nightriders without capturing to any square of the same color they start on, or moving the same, they may leap over and capture one opposing piece on the other color, landing on empty square past of the color they started on.
Removers may slide diagonally without capturing, or capture any orthogonally adjacent opposing piece without moving.
Smashers slide diagonally without capturing. They move orthogonally any distance, only stopping on squares of the same color they started on. If there is an opposing piece on the next square, it is captured.
Pawns move one square diagonally without capturing, two squares on their first move. They may capture by short leap forward, or by orthogonally sandwiching an opposing piece between them and another friendly piece. On reaching the 2nd to last rank, they may (but do not have to) promote to any previously captured piece. On reaching the last rank they must promote (if no pieces are off the board, then Pawns may not enter the back row). Promoted Pawns that promoted as the result of a move that caused a capture must keep capturing in their new form if possible.

A longer, more detailed description of Interweave can be found at http://www.chessvariants.com/other.dir/interweave.html.

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[Gervie]

Game: Invasion

Invented and implemented by Jean-Louis Cazaux, February 2002.


Invasion is a military inspired Chess variant played on a 84-cases board.
The board has 84 squares formed by a 10x10 field with a central 4x4 sea where no piece can enter, stand nor play.
Two players are opposed and stand on their fortress on NW and SE respectively.

Each player has an army with :

1 Head Quarters, which capture is one goal of the game. The HQ is defenceles but is very mobile. The HQ is immune from Bomb explosion.
2 Flags, also defenceless, which play an important role as they can turn on the Bomb and even win the game !
2 Commandos, very mobile and which are able to shoot enemy pieces.
2 Paratroopers, which can make a long hop once in the game, being the only piece able to fly over the sea. They also shoot enemy pieces.
2 Tanks, dreadful pieces which slide several squares and crush all pieces, enemy or friend, on their road.
12 Troopers, defensive pieces, which can promote to either Commando or Paratrooper when reaching the opposing camp.
1 Bomb, which stands off-board at the beginning in an off-state. When set on by the Flag, it can be dropped anyway on the board and explode killing all pieces (except HQs), enemy or friend, around itself.

Interestingly, there are 2 ways to win. The game can be won by either :
capitulation : checkmating or stalemating the opposite HQ or
invasion : standing a Flag on the opposite HQ corner.

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[Gervie]

Game: Island Chess

Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, April 2003.


Object: Checkmate the opponent's King or stalemate your opponent.

You play as Red against Blue.
Every board position is treated as an 'island' which may or may not have bridges (connections) to the eight adjacent board positions. The connections are shown as short lines between the positions. The connections are NOT painted on the board, but are pieces that can be set or deleted.
In the default variant the connections on the main diagonals are missing. The other variants have other connections missing.
There is also a variant (the last one) where you can design your own Island Chess board (Hit DELETE key + Mouse to erase connections, use right mousekey to change any connections).

The chess pieces can only move along directions that have the associated connections intact. This is obvious for most chess pieces. The Knight's move is considered consisting of one orthogonal and one diagonal move.

Apart from this, the standard chess rules apply.

Variant 2: The central diagonal connections are missing.
Variant 3: The connections between the four central squares are missing.
Variant 4: Top and lower half of board are only connected via the 4 central files.
Variant 5: All connections are given (standard chess board); create your own setup.

Note that there are two piece sets available.

If you find an interesting boardsetup, you can email it to me and I might include it in future versions of Island Chess.


More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz.

Download Island Chess Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Janggi

Redone by Malcolm Maynard, May 2001.

This is a modification of the Zillions of Games implementation of Janggi, or Korean Chess. The original Zillions version simply had different set-ups as variants. In this version, players drop their Horse and Elephant pieces in the formation of their choosing prior to play. I have tried to make this easier for players by having Zillions automatically dropping Elephants besides their Horses, so that you only have to drop two pieces (Horses) instead of four (both horses and both Elephants).

This version of Janggi includes a script for running one of four different Janggi scripts, namely:

Small board and pieces , in color
Large board and pieces
Black & White Set, intended mostly copying games from Korean books, should you have any. To this end, there are 3 boards showing rank and file labes. One shows an Algebraic grid, one shows digits and [Chinese] numerals often found in Korean Janggi books and the last is an all-digit grid system, as used by the Korean Janggi Association.
Bakbo (mating problem) editor, to create and view your own mating problems, or games you played and wanted to record a satisfying position, but did not record the moves prior to this point.
Janggi pieces are octagons, unlike the circular Chinese Chess pieces. There are also 3 sizes of pieces, related to their value: Generals are largest, Rooks, Cannons, Horses and Elephants are mid-sized and Soldiers (pawns) and Ministers are the smallest. The grid of Janggi boards, unlike Chinese Chess boards, are not formed with sqares, but oblong boxes wider than they are tall.

This version includes the "Bigjang" rule of Janggi. It is similar to the "No Bare Kings" rule of Chinese chess, except that if both players' generals face each other across the board without intervening pieces, it is a forced draw and not a win or loss. Also included are [semi-official] handicap games, as variants.

One further change in this version is that the Red Player (Han) sets up first and moves second. This gives slightly more advantage to the Blue Player (Cho). This is something I had overlooked in my previous Janggi ZRF modules.

I have included numerous example games (ZSG files) for this script. There are several readme files for a full explanation of these game files. These example games are sorted into folders:
Korea vs China (Korean Janggi masters vs Chinese Xiangqi masters)
Openings (example openings in Janggi)
Bakbo (some simple mating problems)
Malcolm Horne (games from Malcolm Horne of the UK)
KyoJin Kim of Korea generously supplied these Example games to me, as well as some graphics I used and a good deal of clarification on the rules of Janggi. Mr. Kim is a long time Janggi enthusiast, rated as an amateur 3-dan Janggi player. He is also the author of "Janggi Dosa," a very strong Janggi program for Korean Windows, but can still be used on an English Windows machine, even though the menus would be unreadable to an English speaker. Mr. Kim can be reached at [email protected] if you wish to contact him about Janggi Dosa and perhaps try to encourage him to create an English version of this fine program, which he has not done to date due to a lack of interest of this fine program outside of Korea (to date).

For more information on Janggi, please visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Janggi (or send a subscription request to [email protected])

Updated 05/10/03
corrected graphics

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[Gervie]

Game: Jetan

ZRF by Jean-Louis Cazaux. Thanks to Jens Markmann, many lines here borrowed from him.

Jetan (also known as Martian Chess) is played on a 10x10 checkered board, black and orange. The game represents the traditional war between the black race from South and the yellow race from North. The object of the game is either to capture the enemy Princess or the Chieftain with any piece. Pieces in Jetan move in combinations of directions, which means they are free to change their direction during their move so long they do not cross the same square twice in a single move. Pieces may only capture on their final square.

The rules of Jetan were described in the science fiction novel "The Chessmen of Mars", Vol 5 of the "Martian Tales", by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1922. So many wrong rules are given in sources, one may wonder: BUT, WHO REALLY READ THAT BOOK? At the last page of the book, Burroughs made a summary of the rules. Gollon took these rules for his own book ("Chess Variations Ancient, Regional and Modern") but could have made a few mistakes. One was corrupting some piece names. Another was probably a wrong assumption on the Thoat move (see variants). Further descriptions, Pritchard for example, followed Gollon. The first description given in the Chess Variant Pages from Hans Bodlaender on Internet, contained many other discrepancies from this genuine rules (Padwar moving orthogonally and more).

Here, the corrected actual rules are proposed here (well, except the draw-condition). Also, the name of the pieces have been restored to the ones given by Burroughs: Panthan, not Panthon or Panton; Flier, not Odwar which is another piece,...

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[Gervie]

Game: ERB Jetan

Invented by Edgar Rice Burroughs
implemented by L. Lynn Smith, February 2001.

The rules originally given by Edgae Rice Burroughs are vague, and a lot of propositions have been made on how to really play Jetan.

Included in this package are six variations:

Chained Jetan
Chained Civil Jetan
Chained Wild Jetan
Free Jetan
Free Civil Jetan
Free Wild Jetan
These versions use the following common rules:
The game is played on a 10x10 checkered board.
The Princess may escape.
To win, any piece must capture the Princess or the Chief must capture the Chief.
If the Chief is be taken by any other piece, this is a draw.
Panthans never promote.
The actual movement of each piece is subject to rule interpretation.
Choose a rule interpretation by double-clicking on the appropriate zrf file. See the "Game Description" from the "Help" menu in each zrf for detailed rules of that variation.

Also see http://users3.ev1.net/~llsmith/Jetan/Jetan.htm for complete explanation on all the different versions of Jetan.

Download ERB Jetan Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Jumping Chess

Designed and implemented by Peter Aronson, February 2003

Jumping Chess is a Chess Variant where captures, instead of being by replacement, are made by jumping over a piece, as in Checkers/Draughts. The standard International Chess array is used, but in order to avoid uncapturable pieces at the edge of the board, two extra ranks and two extra files of edge squares are added. These edge squares can only be entered as the result of a capturing jump, and pieces sitting on them are obliged to capture if possible. The object of the game is to capture your opponent's King -- there is no checkmate, and you are allowed to move your King into a position where it can be captured.

This rules file uses additional piece sets by Fergus Duniho and David Howe. More information on the extra piece sets used can be found at http://www.chessvariants.com/graphics.dir/index.html.

A longer, more detailed description of Jumping Chess can be found at http://www.chessvariants.com/crossover.dir/jumpingchess.html.

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[Gervie]

Game: Kamikaze Chess

Invented by B. G. Laws, 1928.
Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001


In the game of kamikaze chess all the rules of usual chess apply. But a piece making a capture is removed from the board together with the captured piece. The kamikaze effect don't apply to the kings.
Kamikaze chess is also known as hara-kiri chess.

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[Gervie]

Game: Kantorai

Created by Chris Huntoon.

Checkers has a number of interesting strategic elements. The pieces are initially forbidden from retreating, forcing the game into an advancing attack. Upon reaching the far end of the board, pieces promote with the increased power of being able to move both backwards and forwards. Captures are compulsory, enabling players to lay traps for each other by forcing an unfavorable exchange for a favorable one or a better position. This game is an attempt to blend these elements in with Chess.

Of all the family of Chess games, Shogi is the one that most easily lends itself to this kind of play. It already has a number of pieces with a forward orientation and the majority of pieces promote in some way. Additionally, the compulsory capture rule, where a piece is sacrificed in order to achieve a strategic advantage, can be seen as an inversion of Shogi's 'in hand' rule, where a strategic advantage is achieved by obtaining enemy pieces. Not to mention the ancient Japanese code of Bushido, where it was considered a disgrace to refuse a fight and the greatest honor was to die in the service of one's lord.

Ravens, Priests, and Squires are apprentice Chess pieces that move like Rooks, Bishops and Knights respectively, except they are forbidden from any backwards movement. When they cross the far promotion line they promote and gain their full abilities to move backwards and forwards.

Pawns move one space forward and capture diagonally forwards, as in Western Chess. When they cross the promotion line, they promote to Gold Generals.

Captures are compulsory. A bare King is also considered a loss. Promoted pieces are denoted in red. An English set of pieces is also included for easier play.

Download Kantorai now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Karma Chess

Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, June 2000


Object: Checkmate the opponent's King.

Some Buddhists believe that 'If you have done something good in one life, you come back as something better'.

In Karma Chess a piece that has captured an opponent's piece is turned into one of better quality ('capture-promotion'): A Pawn turns into a Knight, a Knight into a Bishop, a Bishop into a Rook, a Rook into a Queen.
At the end of all re-incarnations you do not reincarnate anymore. Hence a Queen disappears from the board after her first capture!

In variant 2 and 4 of Karma Chess each piece re-incarnates only once.
Variants 3 and 4 have capture-demotion instead of capture-promotion.
Variants 5 to 8 are like variants 1 to 4, but the last level of reincarnation is stable, which means Queen stays a Queen in capture-promotion games, and a Pawn stays a Pawn in capture-demotion games.
Variant 9: All pieces (except the King) promote to Queens after capture.
Variant 10: All pieces (except the King) demote to Pawns after capture.

Apart from this, the standard chess rules apply.


More freeware as well as real puzzles and games under http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz.

Updated 07/05/03
6 variants added

Download Karma Chess Now!

 

[Gervie]

Game: Ki Shogi

Invented and implemented by L. Lynn Smith, October 2002.
Special Thanks to Georg Dunkel for the inspiration of cubes.

Ki Shogi is played without a board. But for this implementation, it will be played on a 15x15 field.

The game pieces consist of cubes. Each player begins with four cubes called 'Gyoku', 'Hi', 'Kaku' and 'Ki'.

The Gyoku cube has only the value of Gyoku(Jewel).
The Hi cube has six values, Hi(Flying), Cho(Wild Boar), Han(Reverse), Chuu(Go-Between), Ou(Side), and Shu(Vertical).
The Kaku cube has six values, Kaku(Horns), Myou(Cat), Hon(Flee), Ga(Tile), Zou(Miscellaneous), and Ken(Dog).
The Ki cube has six values, Ki(Unicorn), Hou(Phoenix), Ro(Donkey), Ja(Snake), Ba(Horse), and Ryuu(Dragon).

Play begins with an empty field. Starting with Black, each player places their Gyoku cube. Black may place the Gyoku cube at any location on the field, but White must place the Gyoku cube in such a way as to leave one 'space' between the opponent. When moving, the Gyoku cubes must maintain this one 'space' distance throughout the entire game.

Next, each player in turn may either drop or move a cube. The Hi and Kaku cube must be dropped on the 'spaces' adjacent to their respective Gyoku or Ki cube and throughout the game should remain adjacent to either Gyoku or Ki cube. The Ki cube must be dropped either next to their respective Gyoku or Ki cube, or one 'space' away from their Gyoku cube. Throughout the play, the Ki cube should maintain this distant in respect to either Gyoku or Ki cube. Cubes cannot be dropped on 'spaces' adjacent the opponent Gyoku cube, and they may not place the opponent Gyoku cube in immediate jeopardy.

Placement of the cubes and the movement of the Gyoku cube is strictly enforced. The Hi, Kaku and Ki cubes are allowed to move freely upon the field. Each may use the influence of any Gyoku or Ki cube.

If cubes become 'stranded' or seperated from either Gyoku or Ki cube, they are captured by the opponent at the start of the move.

If cubes becomes 'stranded' because of the move or 'stranded'-capture of an opponent Gyoku or Ki cube, the player is allowed to 'recover' any of those cubes with the next move.

When a cube moves without capturing, it is 'flipped' to its opposite face. The faces are paired thus:
Hi and Cho, Han and Chuu, Ou and Shu.
Kaku and Myou, Hon and Ga, Zou and Ken.
Ki and Hou, Ba and Ryuu, Ro and Ja.

When a cube captures, it is promoted to the next most powerful face. Promotions are thus:
Chuu to Cho or Han or Ou, Cho to Ou or Shu, Han to Shu, Ou to Hi.
Myou to Kaku, Hon to Kaku, Ga to Hon or Myou, Zou to Kaku, Ken to Zou or Myou.
Ja to Ki or Hou, Ro to Ki or Hou, Ryuu to Ja or Ro, Ba to Ja or Ro.
Hi becomes Chuu, Kaku becomes either Ga or Ken, Ki and Hou become Ryuu or Ba, these are actually demotions.

The capturing player takes possession of captured cubes, and may play them on subsequent turns.

A player may check the opponent Gyoku cube while still holding cubes.

The game is won by either checkmate of the opponent Gyoku cube, or stalemate.

Updated 06/28/03
improved speed; improved graphics; added variant

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[Gervie]

Game: King Clone 77

Invented and implemented by Ingo Althofer, January 2003.

King Clone 77 is played by two players on a 7x7 chess board. The object is to capture all of the opponent's Kings.

In principle the pieces move like in normal chess.
En passant moves by the pawns are allowed, and happen quite often because of the 7x7 board size.
Pawns promote to Kings or to Rooks only.
There is no stalemate. Castling is not possible.


The game is not overly nice. It is meant to show problems with human cloning. The zrf-file intentionally does not have sound nor music.

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