Chess Kit: Chess Variants With a Twist
I am not a strong chess player - it's always seemed to me more like study than
play. However, I do like the ideas in chess: a ragtag army of pieces with
different moves, battling to protect their king. I wondered if I could take
those ideas that many players are already familiar with, and mix them together
with some newer game mechanics from the last 500 years of board game design.
This collection contains chess games I've designed with hidden information,
bluffing, deduction, role selection, and yes, zombies. They can all be played
with a standard chess set and common items like pencil and paper, coins, and
playing cards.
Hopefully, serious chess players can enjoy these as a light break between
regular chess games, and new chess players can use them as a gentler
introduction to the classic game. Players of different chess abilities that
might find a game of regular chess frustrating may enjoy exploring these games
together.
- Zombie Chess is a game where you bury each piece you
capture under one of your pieces. If you move off a buried piece, it
comes back from the dead as a zombie. (2 players, chess set, coins,
pencils, and paper)
- Masquerade Chess is a combination of chess and
deduction games like Mastermind. Pieces move regularly, except when
they capture. Start the game by choosing which capture moves each of
your opponent's pieces will use, then try to deduce how each of your
pieces can capture. (2 players, chess set, pencils, and paper)
- Adrenaline Chess adds power ups to chess. (2
players, chess set, and checkers set)
- Tar Pit Chess use cards and checkers to trap your
opponent in tar. (2 players, chess set, checkers set, and deck of
cards)
- Chess Golf makes players race to plan the best route,
as the pieces caddy each other around the board. (1 or more players,
chess set, deck of cards, timer, coins, pencil and paper)
- Crowded House is the only four-player game I know
of on a standard chess set. (4 players and chess set)
- Cooperative Chess lets you play together
against the game. (2 players, chess set, and deck of cards)
- Half Alice Chess moves pieces through the
looking glass to a parallel universe after each move. (2 players,
chess set, and checkers set)
- Chess960 is a game designed by Bobby Fischer to mix up
the game opening by randomly choosing your starting position. (2
players, chess set, and deck of cards)
If you're interested, you can read my design journal. If you're brave, you can
read about experiments in progress (PDF).