FoxTrot by Bill Amend for February 07, 2010

D&D Chess. Interesting

This is real. I own a deck of cards called Knightmare Chess. You use them in conjunction with a normal chess game to introduce various changes to the rules, some temporary, some permanent - for example, there’s a card that lets you cause one of your Knights to explode, capturing everything that it was threatening;l or there’s the card that causes all pawns to move backward for the rest of the game.

Sounds like fun, but I’m bad already enough at regular chess.

Dice! Hmph! When I was a kid we pladed with rocks and clubs. Wham! You lose!

dataweaver said, about 4 hours ago

“This is real. I own a deck of cards called Knightmare Chess.”

My nephew would love this.

\\//_

That’s right Jason! Nerdy is a hundred times more sexy than sporty any day! Wait…that’s probably a negative to Jason…

I should tell my hubby. He’d be in nerd heaven. :)

Is Battle Chess still available for the computer? I used to play it during the 80s.

There was another one, Archon - Black vs White. It was chess with medieval fantasy icons and the squares slowly shifted from dark to light, favoring one side or the other. When a square was challenged the square expanded to fill the screen and the two pieces dueled on a field of battle in real time. It was quite fun if you had someone as nerdy as yourself to play with.

Setebos, Wow, I haven’t thought about battle chess in years. GO DOS!

shadyproject: I’ve found that Knightmare Chess is the great equalizer. The chaos that it brings to the game makes it impossible to plan more than a couple of turns ahead, and even that much is tricky. As such, victory has a strong element of luck to it: a lucky novice has a decent chance of beating an unlucky master.

dkram: unfortunately, the company that made it is sold out, and likely has been for some time. But you might be able to find a copy on eBay.

battle chess was sooo cool!—I don’t think I ever played an actual chess game on it…..just made the strategic moves that caused the chess pieces to wreak havoc with each other…. I remember one powerful piece used to DEVOUR a hapless opponent’s piece

@ Dataweaver, I’ve got that game, it’s pretty good.

And I still play Archon. I have my old C64 fired up in the basement for just such an emergency. Nothing like Basic programs to bring out the true nerd in a man.

Battle Chess kicked butt! Hubby and I used to play it. I especially loved when king took knight. The shot of the king throwing a bomb into the knight’s armor and waving saying “bye bye” made me laugh again and again.

Hmmm. My D&D skills just might be able to make up for my lack of game in chess under these rules. Now where did I put my dice?

Check today’s Close to Home.

“Normal chess isn’t nerdy enough?”

“Is anything, really”

Hilarious.

BattleChess was available as part of a Multiple Game package that I got about 3 - 4 years ago, along with Bard’s Tale and several other games. So it might still be available in one package or another.

Ooh, my nerdiness is showing. I HAVE a deck of Knightmare Chess cards- and I know that there was a second deck sold, too. They did indeed add an extra level of amusement to the chess game. I like the D&D version. Some of us like a little spice added to the purer strains of life.

Anyone up for a round of rock/scissors/paper/spock/lizard?

o wow it actually exists ha who would have thought.

o wow it actually exists ha who would have thought.

then there was halo chess. Then there was zombie chess. then there was….OMG I’ve stumbled into an aging nerds convention. If I fire up an avatar, he’ll get downgraded, shifted into the asylum, eaten by a goblin and spit out by a Red Queen. I miss bridge, simple direct lying and cheating with established conventions and a daily column witrh tipos instead of cheats. Sigh again.

very surprised to see that Mr. Amend didn’t do a strip on Superbowl Sunday as usual…

The first Knightmare Chess set is out of print, but set 2 is still available. http://j.mp/3VsN6I

I have both sets. The kids use it to keep me from winning and to generally frustrate me. The art on the cards is fantastic and the rule mods really make you change your tactics…or throw them out the window altogether. Definitely recommended unless you’re a chess purist.

We also have Tile Chess (same publisher). Makes for a chaotic multiplayer chess variant. No board required, every piece much touch another, no pieces can be orphaned. http://j.mp/cjtAfU

For those that were wondering here is a link where you can still get battle chess (Looks to be about $5 but doesnt say if it will run on current systems)

http://www.mobygames.com/game/battle-chesshttp://www.mobygames.com/game/battle-chess

http://www.chesscentral.com/Battle _ Chess _ 4000_a/274.htm {Leave out the spaces wont post correctly if I leave them out} (Free D/L according to website)

GOG.com has Battle Chess Special Edition for $5.99. It includes the original Battle Chess, Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess, and Battle Chess 4000.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/battlechessspecial_edition

I bought Battle Chess when it was released on the C64.

OK, that’s a little depressing.

Want a little combat with your chess variant?

Fantasy Chess uses traditional chess movements and checkmate. But it has a layer of wargaming rules on top that use dice and stat sheet to determine the kills.

A Chess game where your Knights can charge from Castles, Bishops can heal the injured, Six piece battles can be fought in a square, and you can bludgeon a King to death!

www.shadowhex.com

This is a board game, not computer based.

So if you grok the Foxtrot cartoon, you’ll grok this game.

Sounds like fun but i guess i gotta learn how to p;ay normal chess first…bumer

Love this strip. D&D is an awesome game.

Ooh, my dad wouldn’t like this. He calls chess one of the few games out there that has absolutely no luck involved – adding dice/cards/whatever would ruin that.

Its oddly that not much of a stretch. War games like chess could be considered an early version of Tabletop RPGs, and the history of doing stuff like this goes back centuries. H.G. Wells developed and published one called Little Wars long before D&D was created.

Sounds interesting. (Or I’m just a nerd.)