''Knightmare Chess'' is a fantasy
chess variant published by
Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1996. It is a translation of a
French game ''Tempête sur l'échiquier'' (''Storm on the Chessboard''), designed by
Pierre Cléquin and
Bruno Faidutti
Bruno Faidutti (born 23 October 1961) is a historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as a board game designer.
Early life and education
Bruno Faidutti studied law, economics, and sociology, eventually earning a doctorate in H ...
. A stand-alone 80 card expansion called ''Series 2'' was scheduled for a December 1997 release.
Overview
''Knightmare Chess'' is played with cards that change the default
rules of chess. The cards might change how a
piece
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* ...
moves, move opponent's pieces, create special squares on the
board or otherwise alter the game. For example, a card called
Demotion says:
:Replace one of your opponent's pieces (except a King or Queen) with one of his captured Pawns.
:''Play this card on your turn, instead of making a regular move.''
There are two sets of cards sold separately, each consisting of 80 cards. The sets are known as ''Knightmare Chess 1'' and ''Knightmare Chess 2''; a single 160 card deck can be created by shuffling both
decks together. SJG also sells blank cards, that can be customized by the player, in packs of 20.
The graphics in the English version of the ''Knightmare Chess'' cards are dark fantasy style,
nightmarish (hence the pun ''Knightmare'') color paintings by
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian artist Rogerio Vilela. The French original version had a cartoonish tone, unlike the English version, and the cards in the French original version are also different from the English version.
Another innovation of the American version is to include rules for "dueling deck" play, where each player has their own customized deck, possibly built from multiple copies of the set if desired. In SJG's version, each card is marked with a point cost. The total chaotic power of one's personal deck can be measured in the sum of the points of all cards in the deck. For a balanced game each player uses the same point total, or a stronger player can use a lower point total as a handicap. Cards which are too powerful to appear more than once per side are marked with an
asterisk, indicating that a player can only put one copy of that specific card in their deck.
Critical reaction
Peter Sarrett of ''The Game Report'' called the game "outstanding", remarking that it "result
nan unpredictable game which removes the tedium of standard chess while preserving plenty of scope for strategic play," and praising the "gorgeous" paintings by Rogerio Vilela. Sarrett's only complaints concerned the printing of the cards themselves, as he found the wording occasionally confusing and the text "rather small, which makes it difficult for players with poorer eyesight to play the game."
Ken Tidwell of ''The Game Cabinet'' praised the game for including "elements from both the strategic/predictable side of gaming and the wild/disorderly side" and found the artwork "striking" and "succeed
ngin creating an air of comic horror." He concluded, "If I had to find a fault with the game it is that there is no attempt to reconcile the strategic game with the chaotic game and the contrast is a bit jarring. Even so, at the end of the day it is a good game and one well worth checking out."
Conversely, Steve Darlington of ''
RPGnet
RPGnet is a role-playing game website. It includes sections on wargames, tabletop games and video games, as well as columns on gaming topics.
RPGnet was founded in 1996 by Emma and Sandy Antunes, Shawn Althouse ( etrigan) and Brian David Phillip ...
'', while finding the artwork "absolutely gorgeous" and that "in terms of sheer presentation ...
'Knightmare Chess''is streets ahead of anything I've seen in years", felt that while the game itself "might make for an interesting game or two, it's not something you'll be playing an awful lot." He said "the dark design only conflicts with the abstract nature of the game, and ends up being more humorous than dramatic" and that it "ultimately doesn't hold your attention for too long."
In Issue 11 of ''Arcane'', Andy Butcher rated the game 7 out of 10, calling it "an utterly bonkers game that's best played every now and then. as a change from ''
Magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
'', roleplaying or whatever else you normally do."
Reviews
*''
Shadis
''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games.
Publication history
Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepe ...
'' #30 (1996)
See also
*
Fairy chess piece
A fairy chess piece, variant chess piece, unorthodox chess piece, or heterodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some chess problems. Compared to conventional pieces, fair ...
*
Trading card games
Footnotes
External links
Knightmare Chessat Bruno Faidutti's Website
English publisher's website*
{{Chess variants
Chess variants
Bruno Faidutti games
Steve Jackson Games games
1996 in chess
Board games introduced in 1996