Castle Siege Chess (2017)

A two-player chess variant that is played on the CirSquare 96 (a unique circular board merged with a square board). The object of the game is the same as for traditional chess--checkmate the opponent's King. The board (24"x24", double-sided, quad-fold, custom designed) has 96 spaces and divided into 2 castles of 24 spaces each and a battlefield of 4 rows with 12 spaces each. Numerous initial board setups are possible. Up to 4 additional or new power pieces can be used. The game comes with 2 new optional pieces--Archer and Catapult--which compliment the Knight, Bishop, and Rook. All the traditional chess pieces move as they do in traditional chess. See the game rules for how the Archer and Catapult move. Castling works like it does in traditional chess only if the standard chess setup for the power pieces is used. The board has 4 triangular spaces. When a Queen or Bishop moves into a triangle across a corner, it can exit across either of the other 2 corners. When a Queen or Rook moves into a triangle across a side, it can exit across either of the other 2 sides. Thus, the pieces gain an extra path (a 5th path) of coverage when they are aligned with a triangular space, which is often a great advantage, especially in the middle and end games. —description from the publiser This entry is 'level 2' of the games contained in Castle Strife Games. Each level is a game in its own right, but the earlier levels also serve to gradually introduce the rules of Castle Siege. This level is the most chess-like.