To start, a pet peeve in the world of board games is slapping the word chess into the name of a game simply to draw attention.
Sure, sometimes it makes logical sense. Omega Chess, for example, is acceptable because the game is so obviously a variant—one of my personal favourites—of the basic chess most people know.
Shape Chess—this column’s review game—has zero connection to chess unless you count being an abstract strategy game, and by that logic, it might as well be called Xs & Os Chess (which would make just as much sense).
So right out of the box, this one felt a tad misleading. I know when I first read the rules online, I was quite surprised to discover it had no real connection to chess at all. That doesn’t mean the gameplay is bad; it just isn’t reflected in the game’s name.
So what is the gameplay here?
Players are trying to build reflectionally symmetric shapes with their stones—a concept that’s a little hard to visualise from the rules alone (at least for Trevor and me), though it becomes more obvious once you start playing.
To achieve this goal, players can either:
-
place a stone on an empty point,
-
jump one of their stones to another empty point, or
-
push an opponent’s stone to an adjacent empty point.
Once you achieve a scorable pattern, the pieces involved are removed. You’ll often find yourself needing to avoid completing patterns, because the removal opens up the board and gives your opponent the freedom to complete larger patterns—or the one they need to win. It’s frustrating that you could score, but you really mustn’t if you want to stay competitive.
Points are awarded based on the size of the symmetric shape, and the winner is the first player to reach four points—though the target score can be adjusted to taste.
This is another small-box offering from Kanare_Abstract, featuring a cloth board and wooden pieces. On the publisher’s website, it notes:
“Shape Chess originated in China around 2010 and has evolved into its current form through years of refinement within the game design community.”
Shape Chess isn’t a bad game, but it didn’t capture our imagination either. In the end, there are several games from the same publisher that we enjoy significantly more.
That said, tastes do differ—so check it out at kanare-abstract.com. It might be the perfect game for you.
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Far from Chess, and a Long Way from Fun Too
Sure, sometimes it makes logical sense. Omega Chess, for example, is acceptable because the game is so obviously a variant—one of my personal favourites—of the basic chess most people know.
Shape Chess—this column’s review game—has zero connection to chess unless you count being an abstract strategy game, and by that logic, it might as well be called Xs & Os Chess (which would make just as much sense).
So right out of the box, this one felt a tad misleading. I know when I first read the rules online, I was quite surprised to discover it had no real connection to chess at all. That doesn’t mean the gameplay is bad; it just isn’t reflected in the game’s name.
So what is the gameplay here?
Players are trying to build reflectionally symmetric shapes with their stones—a concept that’s a little hard to visualise from the rules alone (at least for Trevor and me), though it becomes more obvious once you start playing.
To achieve this goal, players can either:
place a stone on an empty point,
jump one of their stones to another empty point, or
push an opponent’s stone to an adjacent empty point.
Once you achieve a scorable pattern, the pieces involved are removed. You’ll often find yourself needing to avoid completing patterns, because the removal opens up the board and gives your opponent the freedom to complete larger patterns—or the one they need to win. It’s frustrating that you could score, but you really mustn’t if you want to stay competitive.
Points are awarded based on the size of the symmetric shape, and the winner is the first player to reach four points—though the target score can be adjusted to taste.
This is another small-box offering from Kanare_Abstract, featuring a cloth board and wooden pieces. On the publisher’s website, it notes:
“Shape Chess originated in China around 2010 and has evolved into its current form through years of refinement within the game design community.”
Shape Chess isn’t a bad game, but it didn’t capture our imagination either. In the end, there are several games from the same publisher that we enjoy significantly more.
That said, tastes do differ—so check it out at kanare-abstract.com. It might be the perfect game for you.
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
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