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Charles Gilman wrote on Sat, Feb 13, 2010 07:20 AM UTC:
Six potentates, three clerics, and a courier

My thoughts on the Pasha and offshoots is starting to take shape. I've taken the basis that while two or even three components can make do with a composite name in the Alibaba and Waffle mould, four is stretching it a bit. In particular a one- and two-step move in each of two directions deserves something more distinctive. Looking at the names that seemed to fit the theme I found that 6 were men of substantial temporal power, 3 men of primarily religious power, and 1 with not much official power at all. So I decided to give the first 6 to pieces with orthogonal moves, the next 34 to pieces with no orthogonal but some root-2 diagonal moves, ad the last to one with neither. This is what I have devised so far, describing each piece as coprime plus non-coprime. Some pieces have six simple components and are marked *. The square board has of course only Prince+Alibaba=PASHA. Both cubic and hex boards have Duke+Dybbuk=SHEIKH - so let's see the /honeycomb update posted! Cubic boards further add Baron+Elk=IMAM, and Archduke+Alibuck=SULTAN*. For hex-prism pieces I reserve names that are more obscure or specialised. These include Marquis+Dadaist=EFFENDI, Landlord+Alderman=MULLAH, Bellman+Frunkard=DRAGOMAN, Premier+Addax=EMIR*, Revolutionary+Dadbuck=KHAN*, and Loyalist+Oldbuck=AYATOLLAH*. In the Man and Beast series the first 4 would displace Kinbaba/Dubbuck/Barlock/Embuck here, and the rest even more obscure names here. These names would then be a springboard for prefixing to name pieces adding still further one- or two-step moves.

Now before I go ahead I need to sort out what to call their forward-only versions. It would be doing only half the job if a forward-only Sultan remained a Kinchick! I have a provisional idea for a series of names all starting with Co but forming real words (the likes of Companion and Confidant), but have yet to settle on a final list, so I would be happy to read any alternative ideas. If anyone cxan rthink of an improvement for my ten names for the symmetric pieces I would also be open to suggestions.


Charles Gilman wrote on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 07:42 AM UTC:
I am beginning to get a better idea of what co- names to use for the forward-only pieces, but it has made me reflect that one name for a quite different kind of piece - Consultant, for a Planar piece used in Gutenschach. As a title in the medical world it seems a little too modern. If anyone has any ideas for a better name better fitting the Renaissance air that Gavin Smith's original piece names had and I endeavoured to emulate, I would be delighted to read them.

Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 07:33 AM UTC:
Since my last comment I have gone off the Coms and Cons because while this kind of piece lacks a distinct rider (distinct from special cases of the Princess, Countess, et cetera) it does have a bante moving one step and any even number but no other odd number of steps. On investigation I found that many of my panned Coms and Cons would duplicate the first five letters of existing names - I also managed to unearth the Concoction-Concordat duplication which is why I have replaced Concordat with Acrobat. I'm amazed that that never occurred to me before for a piece name ending in -at.

So now I am looking to moving the less illustrious titles to the FO pieces, so... please help me! While I have now thought of of yet another title to add to the collection - Mogul - that still gives only twelve names for twenty pieces, so I need a lot more! Thoughts of piece names, and even which of the twenty pieces they suit (remembering that Prince+Alibaba=Pasha is fixed).


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