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Game Reviews by MichaelNelson

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Glenn's Decimal Chess. A 10x10 blend of FIDE, Shogi, and Xiangqi influences. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Wed, Jul 23, 2003 04:13 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A most pleasing blend of Western Chess, Xiangqi and Shogi. The piece set is most entertianing and seems to work well together. The Ogyo is more valuable in this game than it would be in a FIDE-like variant: it has the same horizontal King interdiction power as the Rook, and vertical interdiction isn't needed--the King facing rule provides it.

Evolution Chess. Game where pieces add the abilities of pieces they capture. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Mon, Jul 14, 2003 11:07 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A very pretty game, more playable than absorbtion.


It gives me an idea a variant:

When one piece captures another, any DNA the captured piece has that the
capturer does not have is added to the capturerpiece, but any DNA that the
pieces have in common is removed form the capturer:

Rook captures Bishop = Queen
Rook captures Queen = Bishop
Rook captures Amazon = Cardinal
Cardinal captures Queen = Marshall
Knight captures Knight = nothing! (suicide capture)


I wonder how this would play?

Orwell Chess. Three player variant themed on George Orwell's 1984. (7x12, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Thu, May 22, 2003 08:31 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I am more than a little surprized that this game was not chosen as a finalist in the 84 spaces contest. This is an enjoyable, playable three-handed game and that is a very rare thing. I feel that the innovative shifting alliances rule will revitalize the three-handed genre.

PromoChess. Everything but the king can power up. Mix of Japanese/Western/fairy pieces. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Wed, May 21, 2003 02:45 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I really like this game. If a King promotion is desired, perhaps a mW2F2cK
allowing more mobitity with the stipulation that the 2-square move
couldn't cross check (like castling).  This would be worth having as the
promoted King could get out of a dangerous position quicker, but most
mating positions would still be the same.

Let's take a look at promotions:

Knight is a two atom piece that promotes to a five atom piece--this is the
strongest promotion and a good thing -- the 9x9 board weakens the Kinght
vs the Bishop and the stronger promotion rebalances the eqaution.

Bishop is a two atom piece that promotes to a four atom piece, as is the
Camel; the Rook is a three atom piece that promotes to a five atom piece. 
These promotions are of appoximately equal value.

The Silver (FfW) is worth maybe 1 1/3 or so atoms and promotes to a three
atom piece, clearly a a bigger gain than Bishop, Rook, or Camel,  but a
lessar gain than Knight.

The Pawn is harder to evaluate -- it can promote in two steps vs five in
FIDE but does not promote to a decisive piece, so FIDE's 2/3 atom is
probably a good guess.  The Gold (WfF) is worth 1 2/3 atoms, so this is
the weakest promotion--but Pawn promotions collectively can add a lot of
power.

Ready Chess. Pieces cannot capture right after capturing, they have to be restored first. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Tue, May 20, 2003 04:10 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
This is worth an excellent because the concept's elegant simplicity is
applicable to virtually any variant (though I wouldn't want to apply it
to a game slower than FIDE Chess--Ready Shogi would be interesting but
would take forever to play).  The ready concept is particlary meritorious
in games that are faster and more tactical than FIDE Chess -- slowing them
down might give them a strategic/tactical balance like FIDE whiler hasving
a very different feel.  Examples: Ready Tripunch Chess, Ready Tutti-Fruiti
Chess, Ready Progressive Chess.

This game also works with thematic Kings, which personally I really prefer
(when playable) from an esthetic standpoint.

Outback Chess. New pieces on plus-shaped board. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Fri, Apr 18, 2003 05:07 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I have playtested this game extensively in the course of judging Group A. The rules make it sound like a cute game and it is--but it has surprising depth. I will be giving more detail after the judging is complete, but I really wanted to recommend this fine game.

Ataturk Chess. One of your pieces in addition to your King is royal (your vice-president), and it can be changed. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Thu, Apr 10, 2003 11:49 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A really fine game concept. I can't help but wonder how well Attaturk Lag Chess would play.

Rook Mania. Game where all pieces have different sorts of Rook-like moves. (7x7, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Wed, Apr 9, 2003 11:45 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
I like the overall flavor of this game and am looking forward to your revisions. Personally, I don't care for the Coordinator. Pehaps the last pawn should instead promote to a piece its owner has lost (any time after the capture of the next-to-last pawn, counts as a move)--maybe you could extend this to the last two pawns, at the players option--this strengthens the pawn by making capturing them self-defeating beyond a certain point.

Pocket Polypiece Chess 43. Game with off-board pocket where all pieces of a type change when one piece of a type is moved normally. (7x6, Cells: 43) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Wed, Apr 9, 2003 11:22 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
This game deserves an Excellent for the concept, but a small reworking
might be nessessary.

Some limitation on hogging the pocket seems needed--perhaps the cube
variant is some help, but I would suggest that the pocketed piece be
immune from capture for only a limited time (2 or 3 turns perhaps,
playtesting would be required to determine the limit).  After the limit is
up, opponent can move to an occupied pocket and capture. 

I don't think that pawn pocketing variant is a good idea in view of the
pocket hogging issue.   

I would also suggest this variant about flipping.  A piece in the pocket
is affected by flipping, but a move to or from the pocket doesn't cause
filpping.

Pied Color Chess. Oh no! All the colors on the board have been scrambled -- however will the pieces move? (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Fri, Feb 28, 2003 07:46 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
What a fine game concept!  Some possiblitities:

1.  (For equal armies) Randomly choose colors for ranks 1-4 and make
corresponding squares opposite colors, thus if a1 is white, a8 is black.
The symmetrical board will not favor either side.

2.  (For different armies) All squares start out uncolored.  Black chooses
his army, then white chooses his army and makes the first choice of
squares. Players alternate choosing the color of any square on their half
of the board--the corresponding square becomes the opposite color as
above. The armies are then put on the board and play begins. The board
almost certainly will favor one side.

Caïssa Britannia. British themed variant with Lions, Unicorns, Dragons, Anglican Bishops, and a royal Queen. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Thu, Feb 20, 2003 06:54 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A really good game--the pieces are unusual, but no so unusual that clarity is seriously compromised. The piece set works well together.

Poker Chess. Squares contain cards, and players win by forming poker hands with the cards on the squares occupied by their pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Fri, Feb 7, 2003 10:51 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Excellent game concept.  I would suggest a rule change.  Like many
non-Poker games that use Poker hands, the relative values of different
hand types get distorted.  It is always harder to get three of a kind than a pair, 
but a straight or flush may or may not be harder to get than three
of a kind.  So why not use Poker hands with the provision that straights
and flushes don't count?  

A amusing variant might be to play for high hand on turns 1-5, say, and
play for low hand on 6-10, etc.  For the endgame, if a player doesn't have
5 cards, a missing card ranks low. So in playing for low hand, K-7-5 beats
K-7-5-2 (which is logical, since the latter hand wins playing for high).
Of course the five turn alternation frequency can be changed as well.

Touring Chess. Pieces can either move normally or leap on a Knight's tour only known in advance to the referee. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Tue, Jan 28, 2003 10:28 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
A really great imperfect information variant. 

With regard to Knight moves, shouldn't non-touring Knight moves be sent
directly?  

If the opponent receives Ra1-c3 from the moderator, he knows it is a
touring move from the move itself, not just from having received it from
the moderator.  So both sides get the same information. Similarly, if the
opponent got Bc1-f4 from his opponent, he would recognize it as a
non-touring move from the move itself, not just from having received it
directly from the opponent.

But if all Knight moves go through the moderator and a player receives
Nb1-c3, he can't tell whether it is a normal move or a touring move, but
the player who sent the move does know. Why should there be a disparity
for Knights, when in all other cases equal information is obtained?

One of the things I like about this game is that when you obtain
information you also give it to the enemy--mkaes you think twice about
exploring.

ximeracak.. A leaper-heavy fantasy variant designed for play with a standard set. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Sun, Jan 26, 2003 08:22 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I have discoverd the Fool's mate for ximeracak.  by having a longer variant
of it sprung on me in a game.

1.   Wizard d1-c4     X
2.   Wizard c4-b5 mate


Where X is any move that does not vacate a square adjacent to the General
or defend b5.

A beautifully treacherous game indeed.

Heroes Hexagonal Chess. Hexagonal variant with special Hero piece which enhances other pieces. (Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Michael Nelson wrote on Wed, Jan 22, 2003 03:48 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I have been playing this game with the author by email. I find it highly playable--the moves are much easier to visualize than in Glinski's. The whole concept of the Hero piece is fascinating. By far the best hex game I've played.

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