Check out Symmetric Chess, our featured variant for March, 2024.


[ Help | Earliest Comments | Latest Comments ]
[ List All Subjects of Discussion | Create New Subject of Discussion ]
[ List Earliest Comments Only For Pages | Games | Rated Pages | Rated Games | Subjects of Discussion ]

Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

Earlier Reverse Order Later
[Subject Thread] [Add Response]
Rich Hutnik wrote on Thu, Apr 17, 2008 05:33 PM UTC:
What I saw in Braves Chess was the need that we come up with something to
differentiate a proposed rule fix (that would work with a lot of games)
verses a complete stand-alone variant that is a collection of rules.  Can
we work on a greater category name for Mutators (universal rules changes
you can apply to a game to vary things to keep interested) and Fixes,
which are used to address possible issues, like excessive amount of draws.
 Also possibly included would be other categories.  If anyone have a good
name for the category of mutators and fixes, please speak on it.  In the
mean time, may I suggest that the following names be used at the end of a
game entry to let people know what it is (please suggest better names for
these, if you have them):
1. Game or Chess:  This is a collection of rules, pieces, playing pieces,
win conditions, etc... that work together as a stand-alone system. 
Something like Different Army Chess or Chinese Chess would count here. 
Chess960 I would argue is more of a variant actually, and a 960 Shuffle
would be a Mutator (see below).
2. Variant: This is a set of specific rules applied to a particular game,
as a proposed variant.  For example, 'Chess 960 Variant', would be
regular chess, with the 960 position shuffled applied to pieces (I.E
Fischer Random Chess).  There are also other rules applied to make this
variant work.  In the suggested notation I am recommending here, you would
stick Variant at the end.  I will let others see the best way to format
this.
3. Piece: This is a playing piece that could be used in other games.  For
example, the Falcon (patented) is a piece that can be used in a lot of
games.  As a title on here, it would have 'Falcon Piece' as the title. 
Since it is a piece, this total notates that it is a piece to use.  Now,
you could then have 'Falcon Chess' which would be a standalone game
specifically designed around the Falcon piece.
4. Board/Play Area: This would cover the playing area pieces take place
in.  An entry 'Byzantine Board' would refer to the board 16x4 round,
that Byzantine chess plays on.  'Byzantine Chess' would refer to a game
that is based specifically around the board.
5. Mutator: This is a game condition that would work across a lot of
games.  One could, for example, have a '960 Shuffle Mutator'.  This
would mean the mutator performs a Chess960 Shuffle.  One could view these
as a more universal version of a variant, because they work over a wide
range of games.  I view 'Reformed Chess' as actually being a 'Reformed
Pawn Mutator', because the rule could be applied to lots of rules.
6. Fix/Rules Fix/Rule/Rules: This is one or more rules that work together
that can be applied to a wide range of games, in order to address certain
issues.  It is meant to be a steady state Mutator of a sort, used to
address draw issues, play balanced, etc...  This is also meant to denote
that it is stable, and the person proposing it has the intention for it to
be a solution, not just something that can used to vary the action of play.
 In this would be opening issues, midgame, ending, scoring, time-control,
etc...  This could likely use more granularity to it, so it can apply
more.  For example, I have an alternate form of scoring for chess uses to
address the end-game issue.  I would like to have it here and the word
'Rules' at the end looks like it would apply. 
7. Theory: This is meant for discussion of general issues in the area of
chess and chess variants, where a common underlying theme and structure. 
The discussion of 'Catastrophic Chess' recently here (whatever it was
called), would apply here.  The name slips my mind now, but I think people
remember that mathematical formula. 

So, what I am asking for here is perhaps when we do a game entry, we can
at least label the ending of the title different, so people know what you
are talking about when the see the title. It also frees people from the
need to form a complete and totally different game of chess, when all they
want is a single piece to experiment with.  Also, if anyone knows of other
categories here.

Earlier Reverse Order Later

Permalink to the exact comments currently displayed.