Game: Knightmare Chess

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swuyau — 2008-05-27T12:31:36+00:00

Card

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Ceryon — 2008-01-26T22:05:13+00:00

Better image of the german box front

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rseater — 2008-01-11T20:23:06+00:00

The game is better balanced if you raise the cost of each unique card (the ones with the red *'s) by 2 points.

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rseater — 2007-12-23T07:17:34+00:00

My houserules for recosting the cards to be better balanced, in light of many plays of the game. It's a shame that some really interesting cards are too expensive to ever see use. Any card not depicted here keeps its original cost.

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rseater — 2007-12-23T07:07:24+00:00

Adding a little color the the blank cards. I keep the rules for the blank on a separate sheet, so I can change them without scribbling on the cards too much.

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rseater — 2007-12-23T07:05:10+00:00

the game's namesake

Thread: Chaos rules supreme in the land of the checkered board

Oni no board — 2007-11-06T01:02:26+00:00

I haven’t played chess since college and last Sunday I got a chance to play it but with a twist. The twist was that besides being able to move the chess pieces, you also got to play cards that changed the status on the board. The game is Nightmare Chess by Steve Jackson Games. It is based on the French game, Tempete sur I’Echiquier, by Pierre Clequin and Bruno Faidutti.

The box comes with a complete set of 80 tarot sized cards. All the artwork is done by one artist, Rogerio Vilela, allowing for a consistent theme among all the cards. All the artwork are visually dark but beautiful. The cardstock is sturdy. There are 2 types of cards. Most cards change only a single move. A few, however, have effects that last through the whole game. Each card has a name, it’s point value, symbols indicating what chess pieces are affected, the special effect, and finally, a note on when one can play that card.

Gameplay

There are several ways to play using these cards. One is the way the original French game was played. It is the shared deck method. Each player starts off with 5 cards in hand. The rest of the cards are placed in the middle, face down. As in a regular game of chess, each player alternates moves. However, you may play one card from your hand on your turn. You are never required to play a card. Once played, the card goes to the discard pile face up and you immediately draw a card from the common deck. You must always have 5 cards in your hand. On your opponent’s turn, you may play another card. You may discard on both your turn and your opponent’s turn IF you did not play a card. The one cardinal rule in Nightmare Chess is that no card can be used to put an opponent’s king in checkmate.

Another method is to divide the cards into 2 separate piles. Each player takes a pile and builds a 150 point deck out of their pile. The play then resumes as above. The only difference between this method and the above method is that you cannot discard and draw a replacement on your opponent’s turn.

The third method is for each player to have their own copy of the game and build a deck from his own set. You can have several copies of a card in your deck as long as the card isn’t unique (indicated by an “*”) in which case, only one copy can be in a deck.

A typical game can go like this:

John: I’ll play the card, Evangelists, and swap your bishop here with one of my bishop here. You are now in check!
Becky: Not so fast! I’ll counter with the card, Think Again!, thereby canceling your move. Here is your “Evangelists” card back but you must make a different move.
John: Darn! OK, I’ll capture your knight with my knight and play, “Mystic Shield”. My knight cannot be captured on your next turn.
Becky: Hmmm…that knight is going to be a problem so I’ll play, “Confabulation” and merge my queen with my remaining knight.
John: Nice! I’ll move my knight here, putting you in check. I will then play “Dungeon”, moving your knight-queen to this corner so that you can’t take my knight with that hybrid.
Becky: I’ll play, “Man of Straw” first and swap the position of my king with one of my pawns. I’ll then move my knight-queen using the knight move…

Conclusion

My friend was worried that he would not be challenging enough due to not having played chess in a long time. I was worried that the game would take several hours. Playing the game took away both of these concerns. The cards made chess a bit more forgiving, making it possible for us to recover from certain bad moves. The cards also made things less certain. It made it a bit more difficult to think several moves ahead. Your tactics could be stopped or countered at any moment with a card effect. There is very little strategizing except in the variant where you build your own deck. If you are playing with your own set, the strategy aspect increases with you being able to more refine your deck.

Both games were surprisingly even. Each of us gave as good as we got, with audible gasps and “what the hell?!” remarks peppered throughout the game. Near the end, we were both down to several pawns and one of the starting back row pieces. My opponent only surrendered after I played a Fireball card in the first game, eliminating his starting back row piece and the majority of his pawns that was adjacent to that piece. Both games took less than an hour.

Despite some cards being very powerful, I think the card set and gameplay made things balance out. If you feel that that is not enough, there is an option to handicap a player if that player is a stronger player in regular chess. Simply decrease the point value of the deck for the stronger player and increase it for the weaker player.

In the end my friend, losing both games, still thoroughly enjoyed the game even though he felt some cards were overpowered. We both enjoyed the expressions on each other’s face as we played cards that defied chess physics laws. The rules are very simple and mostly just require following the direction on the cards. I would definitely bring this game out again and play.

Thread: Great Chess Variant

sdonohue — 2007-09-28T14:14:22+00:00

Knightmare Chess is an interesting but chaotic variant for regular chess. It allows players to take additional moves, combine pieces, and do all manner of different things with their normal chess board.

Components
The second edition cards are much cleaner and easier to read, but both editions feature beautiful medieval-themed artwork. The game would almost be worth owning just for the chance to admire the art. The deck consists of 80 cards in total.

Setting/Theme
The game does a reasonable job of adding a theme to one of the world’s most famous abstract games. Building on the medieval names of the pieces, the cards add magic and special capabilities to the various pieces. Overall, it creates a nice, if somewhat dark, theme for chess.

Rules
The basic rules of the game are fairly simple; most of the difficulties arise when various cards interact.
The basic rules allow for a few different variations on how to use the cards. Players can construct their own decks from the available cards (giving it a CCG like feel) or they can simply shuffle the cards and draw from a common deck. The rules are essentially the same for the two versions.
The basic driver of the game is the standard rules of chess. You move your pieces normally (unless a card changes that) and you win when you capture your opponent’s king (unless a card changes that).
The big difference is that on your turn, you may play or discard one card. You may also play a card during your opponent’s turn. In both cases, the cards will tell you exactly when and how they are played. Some cards are played instead of your normal move, some are played before your move and some are played after your move. Some cards specify that they can be used only after an opponents move. Unless a card specifically says so, you can’t play a card during your opponents turn.
The cards come in two flavors, standard and continuing effect. A standard card is played, has an immediate effect and is discarded. A continuing effect card is played and then stays in effect until something happens which removes it.
The other major rule is “The Checkmate Rule” which basically says you can’t play a card in a way that directly causes a checkmate. You can’t, for example, use a card that lets you move a piece twice to have the second move result in a checkmate.
The rules are well-written and thanks to the games long history, they are pretty clear and the Steve Jackson Games website has an exhaustive history of rulings regarding card interactions in a variety of circumstances.
The game starts by setting up with normal chess rules and then each player draws 5 cards. Players never have to play or discard a card. If they run out of cards to draw, then they no longer draw more cards.

Observations
The game is a lot of fun and the deck construction rules help to make it more strategic and more personal. If you favor an aggressive strategy, you can build a deck using many aggressive cards. If you are a fan of a particular piece, you can choose cards that help you make more effective use of that piece.
That said, I have most often played using the combined deck variant where each player simply draws from a common pool of cards.
It can be very useful to have a few extra chess pieces on hand and a small stack of post it notes, particularly if a lot of continuing effects are in play.

Recommendation
This is a great addition to chess. It is probably not for chess purists as they will likely find the cards add too much chaos for their liking.

Thread: Re: Promotion/Replacement with a different piece

Gamegrunt — 2007-08-06T23:31:17+00:00

Yes.

If a captured rook is not available for the knight's promotion that a rubber band or string or some such can be used to designate its new status.

Gg

Thread: Promotion/Replacement with a different piece

Phil Fleischmann — 2007-08-06T22:55:57+00:00

In the standard rules of chess, you don't have to have had a piece captured in order to promote a pawn to that piece. For example, you can promote a pawn to a queen even if you still have your queen, you'd just have two queens on the board. Likewise, if you promoted several pawns, you could have several queens simultaneously (although that would probably be kind of stupid, as you'd most likely have won the game before that happens - how many queens do you need to end the game fairly quickly?)

If a card calls for the promotion/replacement of a piece with another piece (such as "One of your knights becomes a rook for the rest of the game"), I assume this means you simply get the new piece, even if you didn't have one captured already. Is this correct? If the card doesn't explicitly say, "Replace piece X, with one of your previously captured piece Y's," then it's just a "new" piece, not subject to the usual limit of 2 each of B, N, R, and 1 Q. Am I right?

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

fofluff — 2007-05-01T20:05:28+00:00

FYI - I just ordered the new set (French) from Levalet...5/1/07!

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matthewgeom — 2007-04-01T21:05:01+00:00

knightmare chess box art

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arnaudel — 2007-03-08T23:00:32+00:00

Second french printing by Variantes - Back

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arnaudel — 2007-03-08T22:59:55+00:00

Second french printing by Variantes - Front

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Lobo — 2007-01-16T17:02:49+00:00

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

fofluff — 2006-11-24T13:38:12+00:00

Thanks for the great news! I have ordered from Levalet in the past and was happy with their service so I hope they will carry the game.

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

camisdad — 2006-11-22T09:26:41+00:00

Bruno - thanks so much - that is GREAT news!! I am afraid I'll have to haunt levalet again:-)

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

faidutti — 2006-11-22T08:34:05+00:00

It will be available in a few days but, I'm afraid, only in french shops. From the US, you can probably go through Quebec and order it at levalet.com, I bet shipping will be cheaper.

The artwork will be the original french one, the cartoony one, and not the macbethian american one.

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

fofluff — 2006-11-21T18:51:13+00:00

I am looking forward to the new version in French

Any news on when and where it will be available? I am in the U.S. Also, what will the artwork be like?? The original would be great...

Thread: Re: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

faidutti — 2006-11-17T03:29:37+00:00

Yes, but only in french !!!!!

Thread: New edition to gather all cards from all versions?

camisdad — 2006-11-16T06:21:40+00:00

Mentioned in Bruno Faidutti's web site - for this winter? Not sure I am reading this right.

Thread: Re: Anyone know if I can get a Cardlist?

tool — 2006-09-27T23:15:34+00:00

How about we don't do that, then? Whatever the merits of making your own copy of a game which is out of print and expensive, I don't see any in making a copy of one which is IN print and fairly cheap.

Thread: Re: Anyone know if I can get a Cardlist?

Fusionguy1 — 2006-09-27T23:01:19+00:00

The request was really my way of trying to get the game without spending any money on it. If you feel like typing out the names and texts on the cards, that'd great, if not, that's okay too. (It's 80 cards affter all)

Thread: Re: Anyone know if I can get a Cardlist?

tigerwiccan — 2006-09-27T19:26:14+00:00

I have the game at home, so I could make one up if nobody has found anything yet later on. Any specific info you want with it, or just the names?

Thread: Anyone know if I can get a Cardlist?

Fusionguy1 — 2006-09-27T18:02:18+00:00

Does anyone know if I can get a cardlist for this game and/or Knightmare chess 2?

Thread: 4-player Knightmare chess

monkeyrobot — 2006-07-06T19:19:40+00:00

This´ll be a report of a pretty wild knightmare chess game I played a couple of years ago, of which I still have fond memories.

I held one of my game night classic sessions in Madrid and Isma, Emilio and Hector showed up. I had downloaded from Steve Jackson´s web page the rules for a 4-player game of Knightmare chess. You just need a normal chessboard and four different sets of pieces. Each player starts in one different corner of the board. Some spaces are impassable.

We went over the rules in 5 minutes (everyone knew chess already) and after eating some pizzas (Carne lover´s of course) the game began.
In this variant of the game, you are drawing cards all the time (instead of building up your own deck), so you may draw low/high value cards all the time, increasing the randomness of the game. Each player has less pieces to move, so it´s faster thinking. Also, when using powerful cards like Fireball you usually hit more than one opponent (Two birds with one shot).

If Knightmare chess is pretty chaotic it self, 4-player games are totally insane. A vortex played in the mid-game was devastating to Isma. Later on, Emilio made some wrong move with his king, which allowed me to check mate him. Now it was all between Hector and me. Hector had turned his knight into the new king, and let me tell you, checkmating a knight IS HARD (Ever since, we always say "Look, there goes Hector, he´s moving like a horse again!). Anyway, thanks to some luck, I managed to check mate him too, and tasted once again the sweetness of victory...

I know... not too many details, but it was long ago

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

thoia — 2006-06-14T22:01:22+00:00

I don't play chess cause I don't find it enjoyable. Knightmare Chess makes it enjoyable for me. I say check it out. Heck there are 31 copies up for trade (also look at the Knightmare Chess 2 listing as you don't need 1 to play 2) so you should be able to trade something small for it and have it only cost you some shipping.

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

kuhrusty — 2006-03-31T13:00:08+00:00

Bad News [bnw] wrote:
So I just play what seems to be the reasonablest move at this very moment.
You might really like Knightmare Chess then. Although you can plan several moves ahead to maximize the effects of cards in your hand, being able to put pressure on your opponent one turn at a time becomes more important than working out what will happen if you move here, he moves there, and then you move over here. (Because instead of moving there, which might be the only reasonable move in chess, maybe he's going to kill you without moving, or move twice, or swap places with one of your pieces, or jump onto one of his own pieces and mutate into something else, or jump to an unexpected place and play a card which protects him from being captured, etc.)

...

One other thing some people don't like about chess (and other luck-free abstracts) is that when you lose, it's because the other player is better than you are. With Knightmare Chess, you and your opponent can clearly see it's because you drew lousy cards.

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

Gamegrunt — 2006-03-31T12:10:43+00:00

Knightmare Chess adds a considerable degree of luck that the game in its pure state does not. The theme of the cards and the zaniness they introduce into the game can certainly make the basic game enjoyable for those who lack an appreciation of chess. Players of uneven ability can enjoy a game that either of them can win. But even so, in order for a weaker chess player to defeat a notably stronger player, that player would still require basic knowledge of how chess is played.

This understanding goes beyond knowing how the six different pieces move; it goes beyond understanding the rules governing castling. It is very useful to know how to force checkmate, or why a bishop on a certain square is more useful than a knight positioned in the same place.

I have only played a handful of games of KC. I've been beaten by a grandson whose chess strength is several hundred rating points lower than mine. However, he nonetheless can see weaknesses in an opponent's position and how those weaknesses might be exploited. He often played his cards with devastating effect; there was no way for me to foresee the treachery and deceit that those evil cards can bring!

Take Back This Evil Day!

While we're on the subject...

It is a popular myth on this forum that memorizing opening moves is somehow an essential aspect of playing chess with any degree of skill.

This is simply not true. What is essential is for a player to grasp are the principles of sound opening play, such as control of the center and castling early. While certain moves characterize specific openings, it is rarely necessary to learn move sequences simply because it takes two to tango, and your opponent rarely knows the same dance steps.

When I read the criticisms leveled at chess on BGG I smile and recall the fable of the Fox and the Grapes.

Gg

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

Bad News [bnw] — 2006-03-31T10:03:20+00:00

jeep wrote:
It depends on why the person doesn't like chess.

Yeah, I understand that, and I thought about it when making the first post aswell, but I was way too tired to try tom phrase my feelings aobut chess at the moment. (-:

Why I don't like chess... Hmm. Difficult. I know the rules (well, I think I've got the hang of castling, the rest I know anyway) and how pieces move, but I just don't understand how to use the pieces to achieve a goal. It seems like in chess you need to think through if I do this, and then he does this, and then i do this... And that for the whole decision tree, like a computer. I can't do that, and if I'd try it'd be the worst case of AP EVAH! So I just play what seems to be the reasonablest move at this very moment. And usually even that is difficult to see, so basically it just becomes random play, which iws kinda pointless in a perfect information game.

Probbly it could be better with massive practice, but (catch 22) this is really not anything I'd ever want to do because I find it so awful as it is now.

Chess could probably do with a bit more randomness (IMO). I guess.

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

jbetz45453 — 2006-03-31T02:28:09+00:00

It would all depend on why the person does not like chess.Most people don't like chess because you have to invest alot of time playing it to become good.So a good chess player can defeat a new chess player pretty often which can be discouraging to the new chess player.While knightmare chess does make regular chess more fun in my own eyes a good chess player will still beat a new player most of the time even when playing knightmare chess but it does help bridge the gap between the skill levels a bit.Most people unless they are chess purist seem to enjoy knightmare chess as it does change alot of things that happen in the game but it is still all about using your pieces and cards together to the best of your advantage to react to the different things that are happening in the game.I own both knightmare chess 1 and 2.Hope this helps.

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

jeep — 2006-03-30T22:55:13+00:00

It depends on why the person doesn't like chess. If it's because there is too much memorization required in the opening, then yes. If it's because they can't keep track of how the pieces move, then no.

Those are just two examples, but I think a lot of people who don't really like chess will like Knightmare Chess. It's not going to be "everyone" though.

-JEEP

Thread: Re: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

Salt-Man Z — 2006-03-30T22:47:40+00:00

Quite possibly. I like it.

Thread: Could this actually make chess a playable game...

Bad News [bnw] — 2006-03-30T22:37:37+00:00

...for someone who really doesn't enjoy it at all in it's standard form?

Thread: Knightmare Chess Review

marshalljansen — 2005-10-03T17:01:43+00:00

Overview
Knightmare Chess is an ‘expansion set’ for regular chess. You play with a deck of cards that allow you to change the rules in interesting ways.

Components
The game is a deck of oversized cards, beautifully illustrated. They are high quality, and will stand up to regular play.

Gameplay
You begin play of a standard chess game, however at the start of the game each player draws a hand of cards from the deck. These cards are played at the appropriate time. Some cards are played before you move, and allow you to change the movement rules for a piece. Others allow you to take two moves. Other cards let you exchange the positions of pieces, or even create entirely new board dynamics. Several cards allow you to play them in response to your opponent, thwarting checkmates.

Winning the game
Just as in standard chess, you win by checkmating the opposing king. However, with the new cards this is made quite a bit more difficult and less certain.

Thoughts
Knightmare Chess is a vary interesting variant of the game of chess. It takes a balanced game of strategy and tactics and injects it with a huge dose of randomness and luck. While chess afficionados may find this reprehensible, it may make chess more fun to the casual player. In addition, it allows for players of differing skill levels to be more evenly matched. The powers of the cards can cause huge swings in the game, and handicapping a player by giving the two players different numbers of cards works well.

Value
If you have a good chess set that is gathering dust, and a partner who likes chess, but you just don’t play anymore, then you can get a lot of plays then this can revitalize your chess playing. However, it is still chess, just with a new coat of paint.

Accessibility
While a knowledge of how to play chess is fairly common, you can’t count on people knowing the rules. As far as a 2-player game goes, there are better choices out there. This game is really for people who already enjoy chess, and isn’t suited as a pickup game.

Final Rating
I give Knightmare Chess a out of overall. While it does have a lot of potential to make chess fun, the powers of the cards are too swingy for my taste, and once you get away from the basic game and start drafting cards or doing deck construction, you lose what charm the cards add. It’s a good diversion for two chess players on occasion, but other than that I’d rather play other games.

Thread: Re:Quick Comments

malex — 2005-02-18T18:43:57+00:00

Don't confuse "enthusist" with "purist". Alot of serious players I know would consider the addition of random and unbalancing elements into Chess to be a heresy... like if you asked a 6-Dan Go player to roll the dice.

It's a fun game that most chess players will enjoy, just don't actually call it "chess."

Thread: Re:Quick Comments

BilboAtBagEnd — 2005-01-07T06:00:35+00:00

Yes, it makes chess fun all around!

Of course, I have a friend who's extremely good at chess and hates to lose---when I played Knightmare chess with him, the card he liked the most was the one that returned the game to normal rules!...

Thread: Session Report

funvill — 2004-11-23T05:23:50+00:00

i picked this game up because i was looking for a cheap game, that made you think, my group plays a lot of chess and GO so I thought that it was worth a shot.

We played 4 games the off player challenged the winner of the last game, and we where playing with communal decks

Our top two players squared off for the first game, we chose not to let anyone read the cards before.
Normally our games are quick about 20min-30min for a real game, we found that nightmare chess slowed down the game a little, to about 45-60min game.
our strongest player lost the first game, i say because magnet card and fireball.
The games played a lot more defensibly after every one realized how powerful the cards where.

We have a lot of fun and I sure that we will play this game lot more in future.

Thread: Quick Comments

theokester — 2003-07-15T19:41:37+00:00

I am a chess enthusiast though I am far from a chess expert. So whether or not I can dispute the claim that "no chess enthusiast" I cannot say.

What I can say is that I absolutely enjoy this as a variant to the game of chess. Not only is the artwork wonderful and the concept very interesting, but it can help level the playing field between normally unbalanced chess players. The standard skill of chess still remains to an extent, but a single card can drastically change the game.

The concept is fairly unique and while we don't use it every time we play a game of chess, it does get pulled out from time to time for a fun and exciting change of pace.

Thread: User Review

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-24T17:15:51+00:00

Let me start by saying that I am not a chess enthusiast. I am not out to preserve the sanctity of chess. I just want to enjoy my games.

Knightmare Chess is an interesting and amusing variant on chess. The game is downright funny. It is particularly entertaining to play Knightmare Chess in a public place, just to see the reaction of passers-by.

As a game, however, Knightmare Chess leaves something to be desired.

Most of the cards give additional abilities to pieces. This has the effect of equalizing the powers of pieces. A rook is not that superior to a pawn when there is a good chance that the pawn may be able to move like a rook. Therefore the game is one of attrition. Once a player has a raw-number piece advantage, she is unlikely to lose it. The cards, while powerful, rarely enable a reversal of fortune. It just becomes a waiting game until a final checkmate occurs.

This final checkmate can be difficut to engineer. There are many cards that enable an escape from a conventional checkmate. There tends to be a series of checkmates until the victim runs out of escape cards. The time between reconition of superiority and actual victory becomes drawn out.

I enjoy the game strictly as humorous entertainment. It is not a game worthy of any real attention.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I have both Knightmare Chess one and two.. and I love them both dearly. Amazingly haunting artwork on the cards, and delightfully twisted and amusing effects make this a great variant on boring old chess.

**Nobody who is a hardcore chess addict will like this game.**

For the rest of us, even those who don't normally like chess, this is a blast. Imagine playing chess and Magic the Gathering at the same time.

Gary Gygax recommends this one and so do I!
Nev the Deranged

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I am serious about chess. I loved knighmare chess, and also think that the amount of creativity it takes will help your skills at regular chess too.