The Concise Guide to Chess Variants: Chess Variant Table

This is a webpage that displays chess variant games along with their various properties. It allows sorting and filtering of these games by using a web service called Exhibit. This page is a part of the Concise Guide to Chess Variants. Note that the chess variants included here were selected because they are either well-known, of historical importance, or actually have been played by a significant number of people. There are many more such chess variants that have not (yet) been included here. The intention is to eventually include the many more well-derserving chess variants that have been left out in this early revision.

Origins Facet

Base

The game which is being used as a basis for the variant. This is to serve as a basis for comparison only, and does not necessarily imply that the game was developed from the base game.


None	It is not known what the base game is, or the game is an original creation and is not based on any existing game.
Proto-chess	Game based on a postulated common ancestor of all reqional chess games (xiangqi, chaturanga, etc.).
Chaturanga	Game based on chaturanga / shatranj.
Orthochess	Game based on orthochess.
Xiangqi	Game based on xiangqi.
Shogi	Game based on shogi.


Middle Ages	475 CE - 1499 CE
Modern/Contemporary	1500 - present
Early Middle Ages	475 CE - 999 CE
High Middle Ages	1000 CE 1299 CE
Late Middle Ages	1300 CE 1499 CE
Early Modern	1500 CE - 1799 CE
Modern	1800 CE - 1949 CE
Contemporary	1950 CE - present
Unknown	Unknown


Central Asia	Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Eastern Asia	China, Hong Kong, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea
Southern Asia	Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
South-Eastern Asia	Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam
Western Asia	Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Northern Europe	Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Eastern Europe	Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine
Southern Europe	Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Gibraltar, Greece, Holy See, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Western Europe	Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Switzerland
Americas	Caribbean, Central America, South America, Northern America
Africa	The continent of Africa
Oceania	Australia and New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia
Unknown	Unknown


Infinite
Orthochess Standard	1x8x8 (64 cells)
Orthochess Wide	1x8x10 (80 cells)
Orthochess Extra Wide	1x8x12 (96 cells)
Orthochess Double	1x8x16 (128 cells)
Decimal	1x10x10 (100 cells)
Xiangqi Standard	1x10x9 (90 cells)
Shogi Standard	1x9x9 (81 cells)
Hexagonal Standard	6 Hexagons per side (91 cells)
Circular Standard	Radius of 4 cells, diameter of 16 cells (64 cells)
Oblong	1x16x4


Rectangular	For example the any of the boards used for orthochess, xiangqi or shogi.
Diamond	Square board rotated 45 degrees (e.g. Legan chess).
Circular	For example the board used for Byzantine chess.
Hexagonal	For example the board used for Glinski's hexagonal chess.
Other	For example the board used in fortress chess.


1	One dimensional board.
2	Two dimensional board.
3	Three dimensional board.
4	Four dimensional board.


Planar	Section of a geometric plane.
Cylindrical	Board with 2 wrap-around sides.
Toroidal	Board with 4 wrap-around sides.
Spherical	Board is the surface of a sphere.
Other


Square	Square or other 4 sided cell.
Diamond	Square rotated 45 degrees.
Cube	The cell of a 3D board (6 sided cube shape)
Point	Intersection of two perpendicular lines
Hex	Hexagon
Triangle	Three sided polygon.
Annulus Segment	A cell on a typical circular chess board.
Other


Citadels	One or more connected cells which serve a special function in the game. For example the palace of xiangqi.
Goal cells	In a positional goal game, cells which serve a function related to the goal.
Restricted movement cells	Cells that limit the movement of the occupying piece (e.g. smess).
Restricted movement zones	Zones that limit the movement of a piece within that zone (e.g. grid chess).
Shifting cells	Cells that may move position during the game.
Terrain cells	Cells which serve a special function in the game relating to promotion, capture or movement.
Territory division	Markings which divide the playing field into territories, which play some role in the game. For example the river of xiangqi.
Throne cells	Cells that the royal piece starts on and which serve a special function in the game.


Fixed	Initial positions of the pieces are always the same for each game.
Fixed Orthodox	Initial positions of the pieces are always the same for each game. The pieces start out in the same setup as the base game.
Fixed Unorthodox	Initial positions of the pieces are always the same for each game. The pieces start out in a setup that is different from the base game.
Variable but Identical	Initial positions of the pieces can vary from game to game, but are always identical for all players.
Variable but Mirrored	Initial positions of the pieces can vary from game to game, but are always identical, but mirrored for all players.
Variable but Not Identical	Initial positions of the pieces can vary from game to game, but are not necessarily identical for all players.


Identical forces	Each player starts with an identical set of pieces.
Non-identical forces	Each player does not necessarily start the game with an identical set of pieces (e.g. chess with different armies).


One move per turn	A player must make exactly one move each turn.
Two moves per turn	A player makes two moves per turn.
Variable moves per turn	The number of moves a player makes per turn is not constant throughout the game.
Progressive moves per turn	The number of moves a player makes per turn increases as the game progresses.
Multiple Moves per Turn	A player makes three or more moves per turn.


Solitaire	A one-player game.
Two-Handed	A two-player game.
Three-Handed	A three player game.
Four-Handed Individual	A four player game, with each person playing for themselves.
Four-Handed Partner	A four player game, with two teams of two players each.
Multiple	A game played with more than 4 players, or that allows multiple numbers of players.


Complete
Hidden: moves	Intended move of opponent is hidden.
Hidden: pieces	Positions of some or all of opponents pieces are hidden.
Hidden: rules	Some rules of the game are not known to the players at the beginning of the game.
Randomizing element: cards	Cards are used to add an element of hidden information to the game.
Randomizing element: dice	Dice are used to add an element of hidden information to the game.


Annihilation	The player who captures all opponent pieces wins.
Bare King	The player who captures all opponent pieces except the royal piece(s) wins.
Capture accumulation	The player who captures a predefined count or subset of opponent's pieces wins.
Check accumulation	The player who checks the opponent's royal piece a certain predefined number of times wins.
Checkmate	The player who checkmates or captures the opponent's royal piece (or pieces) wins.
Inverse Annihilation	The player who captures all opponent pieces loses.
Inverse checkmate	The player who checkmates or captures the opponent's royal piece loses.
Inverse Stalemate	The player who has no legal move wins.
Point accumulation	Players score points during the game, and the player who scores the most, or reaches a certain predefined number of points wins.
Positional	The player who attains a predefined position with one or more pieces wins.
Stalemate	The player who has no legal move loses.


Orthodox	The game uses the same pieces as its base game.
Unorthodox	The game uses all (or almost all) different pieces than its base game.
Unorthodox Modified	Some of the pieces in the game are modified pieces from the base game.
Unorthodox Added	One or more unorthodox pieces have been added to the pieces from the base game.
Unorthodox Pawns	Pawns from the base game have been modified.
Unorthodox Royal Piece	The royal piece from the base game has been modified.


Conversion upon Capture	An opponent's piece changes sides upon being captured (e.g. shogi).
Conversion without Capture	A piece may change sides during the game and without being captured first (e.g. andernach chess).
Introduction	One or more pieces are placed on the board before piece movement starts (e.g. fortress chess).
Late Introduction	One or more pieces may be placed on the board after play (piece movement) has started (e.g. pocket knight chess).
Mutation	A piece may change into another piece during the game and without being captured first (e.g. pocket mutation chess).
No Promotion	The game does not include piece promotion (e.g. ultima).
Promotion upon Capture	A piece promotes when capturing instead of promoting when reaching a cell in a promotion zone (e.g. tai shogi).
Reintroduction	Captured or removed pieces may be placed on the board after play (piece movement) has started (e.g. drops in shogi).


Approach	Some or all pieces capture by moving directly toward the piece to be captured (by not to occupy the same square).
Custodial	Some or all pieces capture custodially.
Hierarchy Restriction	Capture is restricted by according to a piece's position in a hierarchy.
Influence: Immobilize	One or more pieces may influence another piece by immobilizing it, thereby preventing that piece from moving.
Influence: Push/Pull	One or more pieces may influence another piece by pushing it or pulling it, thereby changing that piece's position.
Leaping	Some or all pieces capture by leaping over the piece to be captured.
No Displacement	None of the pieces capture by displacement.
Push/Pull	Some or all pieces capture by pushing or pulling a piece off the board or into other pieces or special cells.
Ranged	Some or all pieces capture by ranged attack.
Various	A catchall for any game that utilizes many different capturing rules.
Withdrawal	Some or all pieces capture by moving directly away from the piece to be captured.


Attraction / Repulsion	Special rules govern how pieces may influence the positions of other pieces at a distance (e.g. dynamo chess).
Board Alternation	Special rules govern how piece move between different boards.
Board Restrictions	Special rules relating to the board govern how pieces may move (e.g. grid chess).
Check Prohibition	Check is prohibited (e.g. checkless chess).
Compulsory capture	Capture is mandatory if possible (e.g. losing chess).
Compulsory mate	Checkmate is mandatory if possible (e.g. reflex chess).
Directional	Special rules govern the direction that piece can move (e.g. checkers chess).
N/A	Not applicable.
Orthodox	The game uses the same movement rules as its base game.
Ranged influence	Pieces have influence on other pieces at a distance (e.g. knight relay chess).
Restricted Capture	Special rules govern whether a piece can capture or not (e.g. guard chess).
Restricted Movement	Special rules govern how pieces may move (e.g. monochromatic chess).
Simultaneous Movement	Players do not take alternating turns. Instead players make move simultaneously (e.g. synchronous chess).
Various	A catchall for games that have many or variable movement rule deviations (e.g. knightmare chess).

The Concise Guide to Chess Variants: Chess Variant Table

Version 1.0 (26 December 2011)

Origins Facet

Base

TimePeriod

Region

Board Facet

BoardSize

BoardShape

BoardDimensions

BoardTopology

BoardCount

CellCount

CellShape

BoardFeatures

Setup Facet

InitialSetup

InitialMaterial

Game Play Facet

TurnDynamics

Players

Information

Goal

Pieces Facet

Pieces

PieceDynamics

CapturingRules

MovementRules

WgrCat

CecvCat

Class