https://geekandsundry.com/the-best-in-tabletop-2017-nmbr-9/

Drop 16

I just released the rules for Castilian Shadows — a compact 4x4 game with full-board random setup and hidden identities.

No kings. No pawns. Just queens, rooks, knights, bishops — and a lot of shadows.

New Review on YouTube!

Shobu from Smirk & Dagger

If you told me this easy to learn, difficult to master abstract strategy game had been around for decades or even centuries I would believe you.

It feels both familiar and exciting and new at the same time and my wife and I are hooked on it.

New review: Shobu from Smirk & Dagger

This is a two-player abstract strategy game that feels like it's been around for decades if not centuries. It feels both refreshingly new and familiar at the same time.

The game’s design was inspired by Hangul, which visually represents the way sounds are produced orthographically. The concept was to design a game which visually encodes the movement and starting positions onto the board in an intelligible manner and design the rules from there.

How to read the pieces.

The pieces encode their possible moves on their face.

The square in the center of the piece represents the square the piece occupies.

The gray dots around the square represents a single step in that corresponding direction.

A line through to the edge represents the power to move any number of unobstructed squares corresponding to the direction of the line.

A bird at the edge of the piece represents the power to “fly” to the corresponding space two steps away.

Team is designated by color. While the dots, lines, and birds are always gray, the pieces distinguish between players by the “colors of that which has been burnt”. With one player controlling the “ashen” (white) pieces, and the other controlling the “char” (black) pieces.

How to read the board.

An Elven chessboard is made up of 240 uncheckered squares arranged in a 12×12 (“camp”) with 2 other citadel spaces protruding dead center from the borders of the board on the player’s sides, making a total of 242 squares.

The king starts on the space with the octogram (۞).

The Queen starts on the space with four spokes.

The pawns start on the squares with triangles inscribed on them, and the dots of the pawn must be aligned with the points of the triangle.

No piece can start in the red square (the citadel).

The gray squares historically signified an empty space, but this is merely a vestigial element of an outdated practice in the modern game.

The yellow boarder represents a connection between the two citadels.

Start of the game

Initial configuration.

The only pieces with a definite initial configuration are the king, queen, and pawns.

Who goes first?

The order of play is determined by the roll of the dice.

Placement phase.

Like sittuyin (စစ်တုရင်), the first turn is not the movement of a piece, as in most chess-like games, but rather the placement of the first variable position piece on the board. The pieces must be placed symmetrically within their own ranks and players must take turns placing pieces. This phase of gameplay does not end until both armies are formed.

There are two of every variable position piece per army.

N.B. In pursuit of symmetry, the diagonal movers are the only pieces placed in such a manner as to be in an oppositional configuration [as show below].

An example of symmetry on the first placements of both players. In this example, White places their rooks on A1 and L1 while Black places their Griffons on E11 and H11.

Movement phase.

After the placement phase, traditional chess-like gameplay begins.

End of the game

Unlike most chess-like games, there are several conditions which can cause the game to end.

Checkmate: if you can pin the enemy king into a position where there are no legal moves to evade capture, you win.

King-bearing: if you can capture every piece sans the king, you win.

Citadel capturing: if you can successfully move your king into the enemy citadel, you win.

Starting pieces

Step movers-

Pawns: moves diagonally one space forward, or directly backwards one space.

King: moves one space in any direction.

Counselor: moves one space diagonally.

Governor: moves one space vertically or horizontally.

Rangers-

Queen: moves any number of unobstructed squares diagonally, horizontally, and vertically.

Rook: moves any number of unobstructed squares vertically or horizontally.

Bishop: moves any number of unobstructed squares diagonally.

Jumpers-

Knight: moves two squares vertically and one square horizontally, or two squares horizontally and one square vertically. This piece jumps over obstacles.

Siege engine: moves two spaces horizontally or vertically, jumping over obstacles.

War elephant: moves two spaces diagonally, jumping over obstacles.

Esoterica-

Griffin: moves one square diagonally, before optionally continuing orthogonally outward any number of unobstructed squares.

Anti-griffin: moves one square orthogonally, before optionally continuing diagonally outward any number of unobstructed squares.

Due to the guidance of symmetry, you must choose to start with either two horizontal movers or two vertical movers. It is impermissible to start with both a horizontal and vertical mover, the movement of which is described here-

Horizontal mover: moves any number of unobstructed squares horizontally or one step vertically.

Vertical mover: moves any number of unobstructed squares vertically or one step horizontally.

Finally, due to the guidance of symmetry, you must start with oppositely orientated diagonal movers (called a female and male jian, respectively).

Diagonal movers: moves any number of unobstructed in one diagonal axis or one space in the opposite diagonal axis.

Female Jian pictured below.

Male Jian pictured below-

Promotion

Pawns are promoted upon entering the enemy’s pawn line [designated by the opposing line of triangles], becoming either a sentry or an aide de camp by flipping the piece over and choosing how to orient the piece.

When a sentry or aide de camp enters the enemy citadel, they are promoted to a queen, knight, griffin, anti-griffin, or king. This is simply because underpromotion is forbidden. The promoted piece cannot move for one turn, during which time it may be captured and after which it is teleported into your citadel to be played.

An adventitious (or promoted king) is identical in function to your principal king, and in order to checkmate an opponent with an adventitious king you must either place both into mate, or capture one, then checkmate the sole remaining king.

Transformation

Certain pieces can be rotated to change their moveset at the cost of the player’s turn. When a piece’s moveset is changed as the result of rotation, it is called a “transformation”. Pieces which are interchangeable through this mechanism are the-

Horizontal & vertical mover, which are transformed by a 90-degree rotation.

Male & female jiān, which are transformed by a 90-degree rotation.

Sentry & aide de camp, which are transformed by a 180-degree rotation.

Entering & exiting the citadel

Any piece can enter the citadel, but to do so the piece must first occupy one of the two adjacent squares originally occupied by the royal couple. Pieces can still be captured within a citadel, as a result. Similarly, any piece which exits the citadel must move to one of the two adjacent squares before returning to its normal moveset.

Miscellaneous terminology

Color-free: a piece is considered “color-free” when it can freely move to a space of the same or opposite to the color it currently occupies.

Color-alignment: a piece is considered “color-aligned” when it can only move to a space of the same color to which it currently occupied.

Color-opposition: a piece is considered “color-opposed” when it can only move to a space of the opposite color to which it currently occupied.

Crossed configuration: when the ranger lines of the diagonal movers are orientated towards the center of the board it is called the “Crossed” configuration, due to its resemblance to an x.

Variable position piece: any piece whose position is not predetermined by the rules and which is placed onto the board during the placement phase of gameplay.

Winged configuration: when the ranger lines of the diagonal movers are orientated towards the edges of the board it is called the “Winged” configuration, due to its resemblance to the wings of a bird.