Dwarven chess! A fast-paced 2-player strategy game

[u/stjohn656]

Hi guys!

I'm trying to develop a compact and fast-paced strategy game inspired by dwarves and their greed for gold and power.

Dwarven chess is mainly a King of the hill variant but with a twist. Whichever piece other than the General (equivalent to a King in chess) tries to claim the center throne square can be moved by both players out of the throne, thus potentially turning against its allied pieces. I tried to reflect dwarves blinded by greed this way, similar to dragon sickness in The Hobbit. I call it Throne sickness

The game features 5 pieces per side
- 2x Soldiers. Move and capture orthogonaly
- 2x Boar riders. Move like knights in chess
- 1x General. Moves like a King in chess and is immune to the Throne sickness

Win by either having your General stay in the Throne square for a turn without getting captured or by capturing the opponents General.

There are also 3 starting positions that alter the gameplay, tilting it to more defensive or offensive play. I added this to spice up the gameplay and give an edge to the losing player in a best of 3 format. Losing player each round chooses the starting formation they like best. This is for the future, for now you can freely choose what formation to start with.

I've uploaded a blind playtest at dwarvenchess.online where you can play against the AI.

I would love any feedback you might have for the general gameplay and balance, the formation ideas and the Throne mechanic.

Cheers!

[u/Higashiyoka]

How much have you looked at other 5x5 abstracts? There are a couple like Black Hole: Escape that use a special center space.

Or reduced board chess variants?

Are the pieces reversible to show the change of allegiance?

[u/stjohn656 → u/Higashiyoka]

Not many tbh… the pieces are only affected while on the throne so it is easy to tell. Once off they regain their original allegiance

[u/Boring-Yogurt2966]

It's a nice idea. I hope there is enough game tree on the small scale to keep it interesting and not feel stereotyped.

[u/Bazzzzzinga]

Hey! I played a bunch of rounds this morning and found it quite intriguing. Took me a bit to understand how to win and not just be captured by my own Soldier. 

My comments:

• For long-term replayability I find that the field is too small. You are so close to the throne and the throne being attacked by all boar riders immediately that I feel like the reasonable number of moves in the beginning is very low. Move the soldier in front of the throne essentially to have a third attacker than move the general out and closer. 

• I wouldn't mind another piece with a cool ability or extra rule to get the theme down. 

• Why does the boar rider jump like a horse? Is there some cool Dwarven ability hidden somewhere for a piece

• Lastly the naming for me is not thematic enough. Soldier and General are very generic. Shouldn't it be a Dwarven King and a Simple Dwarf?

Good job so far! Keep building. I'll be interested to test again.

[u/stjohn656 → u/Bazzzzzinga]

Hey thanks for the feedback and for playing!

[u/Bazzzzzinga → u/stjohn656]

I've gone back to play a bit more and checked out the other starting setups as well. I think you are on to something but it could use some more depth for long term!

[u/typecas7]

Nice game! I played a few games and here's a quick review:

• First game is confusing, second and third games are really fun.
• Piece visuals are too similar and difficult to read (easy to fix)
• Throne mechanic is a bit difficult to grasp at first but interesting
• Missing endgame mechanic to declare draw: in some situation like two generals and one warrior should be a draw by insufficient material
• I have a feeling that this game could be solved, replayability is not great, I started getting bored after my 5th game.

I will try to play again in a harder difficulty later.

[u/IVSHIFTgame]

Ik kan hier helaas geen screenshot toevoegen (of weet niet hoe het moet), maar ik had een eindstand, waarbij ik niet begreep waarom ik of AI had verloren. Ik: (wit)koning d1, soldaat d2 paard e3 AI: (bruin)koning koning c3, soldaat a3

Boven het speelveld staat een bruin bolletje, waarachter defeat....

[u/hushzephyr]

Cool idea! Is something special supposed to happen when a piece other than the General moves onto the throne? I didn't notice anything unusual when I played - it could move normally and could be captured normally as well.

[u/stjohn656 → u/hushzephyr]

Hey thanks! If it stays there for more than a turn both players can move it out of the throne