Check out Balbo's Chess, our featured variant for October, 2024.

This page is written by the game's inventor, Guilherme Töws.

Generic Chess Piece Creation System

This is a system for construction of pieces, with some roots in Buypoint Chess and A Chess-like Variant Construction Set. This one, however, is intended to be much more freeform, bringing ideas from RPG games.

Base Piece

The base piece costs 10 points for each square it occupies. A piece like this can't move, capture or do anything deserving of respect: It just stays there and can be captured. You'll probably want to buy some Moves for the piece.

Moves

Second, you can buy Moves, which define the mobility of the piece. Each Move has its base cost that is added to the value of the piece. A Move can be boosted beyond its basic status via Advantages and Limitations, which will alter its cost. First, to the Move cost: 
Move type	Cost	Description
Orthogonal	3	Moves one square in a single orthogonal direction
Diagonal	2	Moves one square in a single diagonal direction
Leap		2	Combination of orthogonal and diagonal moves (1/8 of a Knight 
move)
Composite	X	Sequence of moves in a row, bought as a single move
Extra 		X	Extra moves (see in special box)
Leap Moves: A combination of orthogonal and diagonal moves. 2 points each. A combination of 8 leap moves (reflections and rotations), like a Knight move, costs 16 points.

Composite Moves: A sequence of moves the piece does (Like the Crooked Bishop, that does two Diagonal moves in a row). Add the move points of all the moves in the sequence. The piece can stop anywhere in the composite move. Each part of the composite move can have its own advantages and limitations!

Extra Moves: Things that didn't fit here. See below.

Advantages and Limitations

Each move or group of moves can be stretched with the use of these, altering its base cost: For example, a group of the 4 Orthogonal moves can be bought with Repeat Infinite, turning it into the basic Rook move. 
Repeat N 		*N	Can repeat the move N times
Repeat Infinite		*5	Can repeat the move indefinitely
Leap 			*2	A leap move can leap over other pieces
Leapwalk 		*4	The piece can repeat its move over other pieces
Dual Move 		*4	Can move twice
Dual Strike Move	*8	Can move twice, capturing on both moves
Tri Move 		*16	Can move three times
Tri Strike Move 	*32	Can move three times, capturing on all moves
Pusher			*X	Pushes (x-1) enemies on the line
Momentum		*2	Keeps repeating move while possible

Leap Capture		*2	Leap move captures piece it leaps over, stops (unless 
Unstoppable)
Approach Capture	*2	Attacks enemy piece by approaching
Sandwich Capture	*2	Attacks enemy piece with another friendly piece after 
it
Retreat Capture		*3/2	Attacks enemy piece by retreating
Rifle Capture 		*3	Can capture an enemy piece without moving

Doesn't Capture 	/2	Can't capture in that direction
Doesn't Move 		/2	Can't move without capturing in that direction
Unstoppable		*3	Can capture a piece without ending its turn
Single Chance Move 	/4	A move that can only be taken once in the game
Must Leap & Stop	/2	Must leap over a piece, lands on the square after it
Only Threatened		/2
Only Not Threatened	/2
Kamikaze		/4	Kamikaze Move: Piece is sacrificed after its end
Some pieces not only move, but have special abilities: They attract other pieces, repel them, destroy them... Those pieces have Powers.

Powers

Powers are special abilities of pieces. The powers can be Passive or Active. Active powers only work when the piece moves or captures. Passive powers act at the end of every turn.

The power base cost is just as a move base cost, representing the squares the power can affect. Apply the modifiers below for the specific type of power: 
Attraction		*1	Attracts friendly OR enemy pieces
Repulsion		*2	Repels friendly OR enemy pieces
Magnetism		/2	Repels friendly pieces, attracts enemy pieces
AntiMagnetism		*1	Repels enemy pieces, attracts friendly pieces
Conversion		*2	Changes friendly OR enemy piece's allegiance
Poison			*2	Poisons friendly OR enemy pieces
Movement Gift		*(1/10)	Grants extra movement to friendly OR enemy pieces 
- cost is 1/10 of the move
Power Gift		*(power)Grants extra powers to friendly OR enemy pieces - cost 
equals power cost
Immobilization		*2	Immobilizes friendly OR enemy pieces
Burn			*3	Destroys friendly OR enemy pieces

Modifiers

These affect the nature of the power.

Passive Power		*2	Power is always activated
Chaos Power		/2	Skills are granted to all pieces, not just friendly OR 
enemy ones
Example: The Fiery Dragon has the Passive King Burn. King move is 20 points. Burn is *3, and Passive is *2. The total score is 20*3*2=120. Plus the Bishop movement of the Dragon gives a grand total of 170.

Extra Moves

Moves that change with time: 'Special' moves. Can be bought more than once, and can be bought with the move advantages and limitations. 
Mimic			50	Mimics any pieces (protecting/attacking) it
Imitator		50	Imitates a certain piece
				- Last (any/friendly/enemy) moved piece
				- Last (any/friendly/enemy) captured piece
Assimilate		30	Mimics last piece it captured
Metamorph		30 or average of all move types, whichever's larger
				Move depending on column/row piece is in

Piece Modifiers

After buying all moves and stuff, you can apply these modifiers to the final cost: 
Colorbound Piece	-5	Can only walk on one color of the board (Diag)
1/4 Bound Piece		-10	Can only walk on 1/4 of the board (Orth2, Diag2)
Can't Capture		-10	Can't capture, ever
Can't Be Captured	*5	Can't be captured, ever
Promotes		+5	Promotes
Reproduces		*3	Can reproduce
Spins			*2	Can spin in place, changing direction marks
Spawner			+(point cost*2)	Spawns other pieces
Royal			*5	Losing all loses the game
Checkmate		*2	Can only be captured by checkmate
Poisoned		*3	Piece that captures this piece is also captured

Example Base Pieces

---------------------------------------------------
Rook:
	Base Piece				10
	4 Orthogonal Directions (12)
		Repeat Infinite (*5)		60
						---
						70
---------------------------------------------------
Bishop:
	Base Piece				10
	4 Diagonal Directions (8)
		Repeat Infinite (*5)		40
						---
						50
---------------------------------------------------
Knight: 
	Base Piece				10
	8 (1,2) Leap Moves (16)
		Leap (*2)			32
						---
						42
---------------------------------------------------
Queen:
	Base Piece				10
	4 Orthogonal Directions (12)
		Repeat Infinite (*5)		60
	4 Diagonal Directions (8)
		Repeat Infinite (*5)		40
						---
						110
---------------------------------------------------
Pawn:
	Base Piece				10
	1 Orthogonal Direction - fwd (3)
		Only Move (/2)			1
	2 Diagonal Directions - fwd (4)
		Only Capture (/2)		2
	1 (0,2) Leap Move - fwd (2)
		Only Move (/2)			
		Single Chance: first move (/4)	1
						---
						14
---------------------------------------------------

Pre-Made Pieces

--- Base Movements ---
Diag/Ferz	8	Adjacent diagonal squares
Ortho/Wazir	12	Adjacent orthogonal squares
Diag2/Alfil	8/16	Set of 4 (2,2) leaps: Double if can leap over pieces
Orth2/Daba	8/16	Set of 4 (0,2) leaps: Double if can leap over pieces
Bishop		40	Diagonal repeating
Rook		60	Orthogonal repeating
Knight		16/32	Set of 8 (1,2) leaps: Double if can leap over pieces
King (Radius 1)	20	Every adjacent square
Radius 2	32/64	Every square 2 squares away (Squirrel): Double if can leap 
over pieces
Radius 3	48/96	Every square 3 squares away: Double if can leap over 
pieces

--- Base Pieces ---

Q: Queen		110	Rook X + Bishop X
R: Rook			70	Rook X
K: Knight		42	(1,2 leap)
B: Bishop		45	Bishop X
F: Ferz			13	Diag: Colorbound
W: Wazir		22	Ortho
A: Alfil		16	Diag2 leap: 1/4 Bound
D: Daba			16	Orth2 leap: 1/4 Bound
C: Camel		32	(1,3 leap): Colorbound
P: Pawn			14	fwd Ortho (move) + fwd Diag (capture)
K: King			30	Diag + Ortho

--- Bishops and Rooks ---

B: Bishop		45	Bishop X: Colorbound
R: Rook			70	Rook X
Q: Queen		110	Rook X + Bishop X

B3W: Dragon Pony	46	Bishop 3 + Ortho
R3F: Dragon Duke	54	Rook 3 + Diag
BW: ArchBishop		62	Bishop X + Ortho
BD: ArchDeacon		61	Bishop X + Orth2: Colorbound
RF: Tower		78	Rook X + Diag
R2: Hut			34	Rook 2
B2: Nun			21	Bishop 2: Colorbound
Em: Emperor		82	Queen 2 + Knight
B3: Bishop's Dog	34	Bishop 3
KB4: Abbot		74	Bishop 4 + Knight
KR4: Duke		90	Rook 4 + Knight
KB: Cardinal		77	Bishop + Knight
KR: Chancellor		102	Rook + Knight
xB: Crooked Bishop	170	zigzag Diag moves X
xR: Crooked Rook	250	zigzag Ortho moves X
Rrd: Rank Rider		40	side Rook
Frd: File Rider		40	fwd/back Rook
BtR: Top Cathedral 	80	Bishop X + fwd/back Rook X
BsR: Side Cathedral	80	Bishop X + side Rook X
B#: Octopus Bishop	114	Ortho, then Bishop X outwards
R#: Octopus Rook	146	Diag, then Rook X outwards

VM: Vertical Mover	46	side Ortho + fwd/back Rook
SM: Side Mover		46	fwd/back Ortho + side Rook
BQ: Backqueen		90	fwd/back Rook + back Bishop
FQ: Forequeen		90	fwd/back Rook + fwd Bishop

Cap: Capricorn		130	Bishop, then Bishop again at 90 deg
GrH: Great Hook		102	Rook, then Rook 3 at 90 deg

SB: Super Bishop 	130	Bishop + Bishop Leap X (capture)
SB: Super Rook	 	190	Rook + Rook Leap X (capture)
SQ: Super Queen		310	Queen + Queen Leap X (capture)

--- Knights and Leapers ---

K: Knight		42	(1,2 leap)
C: Camel		32	(1,3 leap): Colorbound
Z: Zebra		42	(2,3 leap)
A: Alfil		16	Diag2 leap: 1/4 Bound
D: Daba			16	Orth2 leap: 1/4 Bound

Gi: Giraffe		42	(1,4 leap)
An: Antelope		42	(3,4 leap)
KR: Knightrider		170	(1,2 leap) X
rK: Rose Knight		170	(1,2 leap) X, in a round path
ChK: Chinese Knight	26	(1,2 no leap)
ChKR: Chin. Knightrider	90	(1,2 no leap) X
CK: Camel Knight	74	Knight + Camel
AK: Alfil Knight	58	Knight + Diag2
nK: Narrow Knight	34	fwdmost/backmost Knight + Diag
wK: Wide Knight		34	sidemost Knight + Diag
El: Elephant		37	Alfil + Daba: Colorbound
Frg: Frog		62	King + (3,0 leap) + (3,3 leap)
D3: Yabba Daba		16	Orth3 leap
UU: Ubi-Ubi		138	Dual Knight Move
R50: Root 50		53	(1,7 leap) + (5,5 leap): Colorbound

--- Combination Pieces and Shogi ---
Combinations of primitive chess leaps: Alfil, Daba, Wazir, Ferz, Knight, Camel 
and Zebra.
One constant of Shogi pieces is that many of them have leap moves (Daba & 
Alfil)

Ma: Marquis		54	Ortho + Knight
Pr: Priest		50	Diag + Knight
St: Stork		32	Ortho (capture) + Diag2
Go: Goat		24	Diag (move) + Orth2: Colorbound
Wi: Wildebeest/CKnight	74	Knight + Camel
Sp: Spy/Alfil Knight	58	Knight + Diag2
Sq: Squirrel		74	Diag2 + Orth2 + Knight
Ce: Centaur		62	King + Knight
Kyl: Kylin		34	Diag + Orth2
LyK/Phx: Lykin/Phoenix	38	Ortho + Diag2
tB: Thin Bottle		28	Diag + side Ortho + fwd/back Orth2
wB: Wide Bottle		28	Diag + fwd/back Ortho + side Orth2


Box: Boxer		126	Ortho + Diag + Radius 3
4Sq: Foursquare		130	Diag + Knight + Radius 3 minus orthogonal moves

--- Pawns ---

Pawns are the bulk of the army. They usually have small attack capabilities.

P: Pawn			15	fwd Ortho (move) + fwd Diag (capture) + fwd Rook N at 
start
ChP: Chinese Pawn	14	fwd Ortho + fwd Rook N at start
BP: Berolina Pawn	15	fwd Diag (move) + fwd Ortho (capture) + fwd Rook N at 
start
JP: Japanese Pawn	15	fwd Diag + fwd Rook N at start
IP: Iron Pawn		18	fwd Ortho + fwd Diag + fwd Rook N at start
SP: Side Pawn		17	fwd Ortho (move) + side Ortho (capture) + fwd Rook N 
at start
DP: Daba Pawn		17	fwd Diag + fwd Orth2 (move) + fwd Rook N at start

mP: M. Pawn		19	fwd Ortho (move) + fwd Diag (capture) + promote
mChP: M. Chinese Pawn	18	fwd Ortho + promote
mBP: M. Berolina Pawn	19	fwd Diag (move) + fwd Ortho (capture) + promote
mJP: M. Japanese Pawn	14	fwd Diag + promote: Colorbound
mIP: M. Iron Pawn	22	fwd Ortho + fwd Diag + promote
mSP: M. Side Pawn	21	fwd Ortho (move) + side Ortho (capture) + promote
mDP: M. Daba Pawn	21	fwd Diag + fwd Orth2 (move) + promote

DP: Defending Pawn	21	Pawn + back Rook (move)
DChP: Def. Chinese Pawn	20	fwd Ortho + back Rook (move)
DBP: Def. Berolina Pawn	21	fwd Diag (move) + fwd Ortho (capture) + back Rook 
(move)
DJP: Def. Japanese Pawn	21	fwd Diag + back Rook (move)
DIP: Def. Iron Pawn	24	fwd Ortho + fwd Diag + back Rook (move)
DSP: Def. Side Pawn	23	fwd Ortho (move) + side Ortho (capture) + back Rook 
(move)
DDP: Def. Daba Pawn	23	fwd Diag + fwd Orth2 (move) + back Rook (move)

fP: Fish Pawn		17	Pawn + back Ortho
CfP: Chinese Fish Pawn	16	fwd/back Ortho
BfP: Berolina Fish Pawn	17	Berolina Pawn + back Ortho
JfP: Japanese Fish Pawn	17	fwd Diag + back Ortho
IfP: Iron Fish Pawn	20	fwd Ortho + fwd Diag + back Ortho
SfP: Side Fish Pawn	19	fwd Ortho (move) + side Ortho (capture) + back Ortho
DfP: Daba Fish Pawn	19	fwd Diag + fwd Orth2 (move) + back Ortho

J/: Japanese Spear	25	fwd Rook
A/: Arabic Spear	28	fwd Rook (move) + fwd Bishop (capture)
B/: Berolina Spear	28	fwd Bishop (move) + fwd Rook (capture)
D/: Diagonal Spear	25	fwd Bishop: Colorbound
I/: Iron Spear		45	fwd Rook + fwd Bishop
S/: Side Spear		32	fwd Rook (move) + side Rook (capture)
D/: Daba Spear		32	fwd Bishop + fwd repeating Orth2 (move)

--- Kings, Commoners and Slow Movers ---
The pieces that can only move one square each turn. Also, the pieces whose 
movement is based on King movement.

Cm: Commoner		30	King
CG: Copper General	20	fwd Ortho + fwd Diag + back Ortho
SG: Silver General	21	Diag + fwd Ortho
GG: Gold General	26	Ortho + fwd Diag
SG: Side Guard		24	Diag + side Ortho
TG: Top Guard		24	Diag + fwd/back Ortho
DE: Drunk Elephant	27	King - back Ortho
BT: Blind Tiger		27	King - fwd Ortho
RtG: Right General	27	King - left Ortho
LfG: Left General	27	King - right Ortho

RlW: Relay Wazir	50	Ortho, Ortho Gift of Ortho Move
RlF: Relay Ferz		30	Diag, Diag Gift of Diag Move

Haw: Hawklet		90	King move x2
Li/Dg: Lioness/Dragon	94	King + Radius 2
Em: Emperor		82	Queen 2 + Knight
EE: Emperor of Emperors	490	King + Radius 2 + Radius 3 + Queen Rifle Capture

--- Strange Pieces ---

*: Tribble		38	Orth2, Reproduces, 1/4 Bound
OT: OrthoTank, OxTank	46	Ortho, Pushes 2 pieces
DT: DiagTank, Drag.Tank	34	Diag, Pushes 2 pieces
Wdr: Withdrawer		85	Queen w/ Retreat Capture, can't capture

Written by Guilherme S. Töws. Web page posted by David Howe.
WWW page created: 12 Sep 2000. Last modified on: 12 Sep 2000.