chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (08/08/85)
Oh, frabjous day! I just got my anniversary issue of Dragon Magazine (#100)
and in it is the definition for a chess variant called DragonChess (TM
TSR). Not what I normally see in Dragon, but I thought I would point it out
to everyone that might otherwise miss it.
Dragonchess is a 3 dimensional chess-like game played on three sets of
12x8 boards. Each side has 13 different pieces (sylph, griffon, dragon,
king, mage, paladin, cleric, hero, unicorn, oliphant, warrior, dwarf,
basilisk and elemental). Each board represents a different plane -- one
air, one ground, and one subterranean, and different pieces have different
move positions on each level, and there are restrictions on which levels
some pieces can move to. The basic strategy is to checkmate the king.
I've just gone over the description a couple of times, and the game looks
to be quite carefully balanced -- a lot of playtesting has gone into the
description. One thing that is definite is that it has a high complexity
level -- I don't think it is as complex as go, but more complex than
straight chess.
Game/chess freaks ought to take a look at the game. If there is interest,
perhaps we ought to get our collective heads together, cobble together some
boards, and start beating on it to see what the strategies look like. It
definitely looks like it is worth studying...
chuq
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:From the carousel of the autumn carnival: Chuq Von Rospach
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