Christian Freeling (born 1 February 1947, in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

, Netherlands) is a Dutch game designer and inventor of

abstract strategy Abstract strategy games admit a number of definitions which distinguish these from strategy games in general, mostly involving no or minimal narrative theme, outcomes determined only by player choice (with no randomness), and perfect information ...

games, notably

Dameo Dameo is an abstract strategy board game for two players invented by Christian Freeling in 2000. It is a variant of the game draughts (or checkers) and is played on an 8×8 checkered gameboard. Game rules Dameo is played on an 8×8 checkerboard ...

Grand Chess Grand Chess is a large-board chess variant invented by Dutch games designer Christian Freeling in 1984. It is played on a 10×10 board, with each side having two additional pawns and two new pieces: the ''marshal'' and the ''cardinal''. * The ...

, Havannah, and

Hexdame Hexdame (or HexDame) is a strategy board game for two players invented by Christian Freeling in 1979. The game is a literal adaptation of the game international draughts (checkers or ''Dame''In most non-English languages, draughts is called ''dames ...

. Freeling's designs cover a range of game types. Several of his games are endeavors to improve on established games that he concluded are flawed or limited in some way, while some introduce familiar

game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-sha ...

into uncommon settings. He also regularly translates rules for orthogonal

board games Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

to the

hexagonal In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A '' regular hexagon'' has ...

grid, resulting in new versions with altered properties – usually enhanced

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

and tactics options, and fewer draws. "Christian's games often embody a desire to get to the heart of the concepts used in abstract games. This is most clearly displayed by his minimalist chess variant,

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, and his version of column checkers, Emergo." Among all his games, Freeling considers

, Emergo,

, Storisende,

Sygo Sygo is a two player abstract strategy game created in 2010 by Christian Freeling. It is a variant of Go. Sygo is played on a 19x19 grid of lines. It differs from Go in that captured stones change colors instead of being removed from the boar ...

, and Symple to be his most important, with Emergo as his personal favourite.

Notable games

is a draughts/checkers variant inspired by

International draughts International draughts (also called international checkers or Polish draughts) is a Abstract strategy, strategy board game for two players, one of the variants of draughts. The gameboard comprises 10×10 squares in alternating dark and light co ...

and a variant of

Turkish draughts Turkish draughts (Turkish: Dama)(Armenian: շաշկի)(Arabic: دامە)(Kurmanji: دامە) is a variant of draughts (checkers) played in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and several other locations around the Mediterranean Se ...

called Croda invented by Ljuban Dedić. Dameo utilizes all 64 squares of the checkerboard and uses both orthogonal and diagonal movement, although capture is orthogonal only. It also introduces linear movement of men where lines of men of any length may move forward together, similar to

Epaminondas Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...

o
Bushka
This was added to speed play, enhance tactics, and curtail draws. "Considerable work has already gone into analyzing Dameo, and some remarkable discoveries have been made in the area of endgame positions with just a few pieces left." Grand Chess init config

utilizes the same compound pieces as

Capablanca Chess Capablanca chess (or Capablanca's chess) is a chess variant invented in the 1920s by World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca. It incorporates two new pieces and is played on a 10×8 board. Capablanca believed that chess would be played out i ...

, but the starting setup the

rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

, giving immediate freedom of movement and "yields the better game" . Internet Grand Chess World Championships have been held, and NOST sponsored yearly tournaments beginning in 1998. A Grand Chess tournament in Yerevan in 1996 attracted 21 chess masters. Havannah, a

connection game A connection game is a type of abstract strategy game in which players attempt to complete a specific type of connection with their pieces. This could involve forming a path between two or more endpoints, completing a closed loop, or connecting al ...

using hexagonal cells like Hex, offers "a subtler strategy and much more varied tactics" . The game was published by

Ravensburger Ravensburger AG is a German game and toy company, publishing house and market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market. History The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He bega ...

in 1981 and marketed for ten years, winning critical acclaim. In 2002, Freeling offered a €1,000 prize for any computer program in ten years that could beat him in even one game in a 10-game match, believing the nature of Havannah made the game difficult to program and therefore best played by human strategic thinking. In October 2012, via Internet, a 10-game match was conducted between Freeling and three Havannah bots. Freeling won by +7−3=0, losing two games to Lajkonik (Poland) and one game to Castro (Canada).

exactly translates

international draughts International draughts (also called international checkers or Polish draughts) is a Abstract strategy, strategy board game for two players, one of the variants of draughts. The gameboard comprises 10×10 squares in alternating dark and light co ...

rules to a hexagonal gameboard, increasing options for moves and tactics, and reducing draws. The

World Draughts Federation The Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames (FMJD, World Draughts Federation) is the international body uniting national draughts federations. It was founded in 1947 by four Federations: France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Members ...

(FMJD) has actively promoted Hexdame as an alternative to the 10×10 game.

Personal life

On 13 May 2000 in Enschede, SE Fireworks exploded 120 meters from Freeling's home, killing 23 people, wounding 947, and destroying 400 houses including Freeling's. Although uninjured, all his possessions and game materials were lost in the tragedy. Freeling has three sons (Demian, born 1975; Myron, born 1978; Falco, born 1993) and one daughter (Ninja, born 1982). Demian invented Congo, a

xiangqi ''Xiangqi'' (; ), also called Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. ''Xiangqi'' is in the same family of games as '' shogi'', '' janggi'', Western chess, '' ch ...

variant, in 1982 when nearly 8 years old.

Games invented

Chess variants A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...

(1979) *

Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

(1980) *

Yari shogi Yari shogi (槍将棋 ''yari shōgi'', spear chess, where 'spear' is another name for the lance piece) is a modern variant of shogi (Japanese chess); however, it is not Japanese. It was invented in 1981 by Christian Freeling of the Netherlands. Th ...

(1981) * Rotary (1981) * Shakti (1982) * Caïssa (1982) * Loonybird (1983) *

Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

(1983) *

(1984) * Cyclix (2011) * King's Colour (2021) * Royal Guard (2021, with Chris Huntoon)

Connection game A connection game is a type of abstract strategy game in which players attempt to complete a specific type of connection with their pieces. This could involve forming a path between two or more endpoints, completing a closed loop, or connecting al ...
s

* Havannah (1979) * Pylyx (2011) * Scware (2012) * Inertia (2013) * Multiplicity (2013) * Query (2010) * Rondo (early 1980s) * Starweb (2017) * KnightVision (2021) * Lox (2021) * Uknight (2021) * KnightShade (2021) * Loops 'n Leaps (2021)

Elimination games

* Bushka (1981) *

(1979) * Emergo (1980, with Ed van Zon) * Crossfire (early 1980s) *

(2000) * Pit of Pillars (2013) * Loca (2020)

Territory games

* Symple (2010, with Benedikt Rosenau) *

(2010) * Mu (1982) * Phalanx (1981) * Medusa (1981) * Lotus (1981) * Macbeth (1981) * Dominions (1984) * Square Off (1982) * Triccs (2012) * Io (2014) * Storisende (2018) * Qascade (2020) * XiaGo (2020) * Migong (2020, with Luis Bolaños Mures) * Cannons & Bullets (2021) * Notubytu (2022) *

Renegado ''The Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice'' is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630. The play has attracted critical attention for its treatment of cultural conflict between Christian ...

(2022)

Mancala variants

* MiniMancala (late 1970s) * The Glass Bead Game (late 1970s) * Shakala (2022)

Race games Race game is a large category of board games, in which the object is to be the first to move all one's pieces to the end of a track. This is both the earliest type of board game known, with implements and representations dating back to at least t ...

* Trackgammon (pre 1976) * Breakthrough (1982) * Jump Sturdy (2010)

Others

* Hexade (1979) * Mephisto (1979) * Hanniball (2009, with Arty Sandler) * Swish and Squeeze * Monkey Trap (2010) * Grabber (2011) * King's Castle (2020) * DropZone (2020) * WedgeLock (2020) * Crossbars (2021) * Zumo (2022) * China Tangle (2022)

Notes

References

Bibliography * * * *

External links

Official website
MindSports • The ArenA
Official website
MindSports • The Pit

by

Hans Bodlaender Hans Leo Bodlaender (born April 21, 1960) is a Dutch computer scientist, a professor of computer science at Utrecht University. Bodlaender is known for his work on graph algorithms and parameterized complexity and in particular for algorithms rela ...

, ''

The Chess Variant Pages ''The Chess Variant Pages'' is a non-commercial website devoted to chess variants. It was created by Hans Bodlaender in 1995. The site is "run by hobbyists for hobbyists" and is "the most wide-ranging and authoritative web site on chess variants" ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeling, Christian Board game designers People from Enschede 1947 births Living people Chess variant inventors