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New Zealand No 297906 International No PCT/NZ95/00131
TO BE ENTERED AFTER ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICATION
Priority dates 22 12 1994,
Complete Specification Filed 19 12 1995
Classification (6) A63F3/02// G06F15"! 00
Publication date 29 Apnl 1999
Journal No 1439
NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Title of Invent'on A board game
Name, address and nationality of applicant^} as in international application form
MERVYN KEITH MORRISON, 3 Valhalla Drive, Birkdale, Auckland 1310, New Zealand
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A Board Game technical field
This invention relates to a board game Background Art
One of the most popular board games in the world today is the game commonly known as "Chess" Chess is a game that includes a board and two sets of playing pieces, each set of playing pieces usually comprising 16 individual members Each piece is distinguished from members of the other set of playing pieces, usually by the colour of the piece Each piece 10 also has a pre-defined method of moving over the board, and also a set of pre-defined methods of capturing members of the opposing set of pieces The board that the pieces move over usually comprises a chequered grid of 64 squares
Despite its popularity, Chess has been found to possess a number of 15 limitations which detract from the enjoyment of the people playing it For example, many players quickly become frustrated by the overly tactical nature of the game, which largely arises due to limitations m the allowed moves of each piece in a Chess set These limitations are further exaggerated by the reasonably small size of the board, which restricts the 20 nuir1 er of squares pieces m a Chess set can move to This often results in "blockage" of Chess positions This can be frustrating for Chess players looking for an open, exciting game Potential Chess players can also rapidly become disillusioned with the amount of analysis (and memorisation of lines of openings) required to play Chess to a reasonable 25 standard, which arises m part due to the reasonably predictable lines of attack and defence that take place in a Chess game Thus the effort needed to become a good Chess player can be substantial (and off-putting)
Although many alternative versions of Chess has been suggested over the years (eg one alternative version involves rearranging the pieces on the 30 "back rank" of each side), no alternative versions of Chess (to date) have been found to be very satisfactory Furthermore, despite a number of very famous Chess players (such as Fisher and Capablanca) complaining about the need for improvements in the game of Chess, there has not to date (before the present invention) been any serious attempt (to the 3d applicant's knowledge) to create a board game that could supersede
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Chess, while retaining the general appeal of a tactical two opponent board game, such as Chess is
The present invention relates to a board game which attempts to address some of the problems encountered in playing the game of Chess However, 5 it should be appreciated that the present invention forms an enjoyable and challenging board game in its own right, and no knowledge of, or experience of, a game like Chess is required to play it Furthermore, the present invention has a number of advantages over games like Chess, and, in particular, the present invention has been found by many players 10 to be more enjoyable, and more challenging than Chess Thus although the present invention is a complete and separate game from the game of Chess, it could also be viewed as forming the type of improved Chess game that players like Fisher and Capablanea have been wishing for
The present game, although primarily designed as a board game, may 15 also take a number of other forms For example, the present invention may also be able to be played as a computer game, or m other versions The scope of the present specifications should include any version of the present invention that is played in accordance with the rules and instructions defined herein, and should not be limited to any particular 20 version of the present invention
Disclosure of Invention
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided board game comprising a board and a plurality of playing pieces, the board including a 10 by 10 array of locations substantially aligned in rows and 25 columns, the playing pieces comprising two sets of 20 playing pieces, each playing piece in each set being uniformly distinguished from the pieces of the other set, each playing piece being able to move over the board in accordance with a set of pre-defined rules
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a 30 board game comprising a board and a plurality of playing pieces, the board including a 10 by 10 array of locations substantially aligned m rows and columns, the playing pieces including two sets of twenty playing pieces, each set of playing pieces including ten sols, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, two princes, one queen and one king, each playing 35 piece in each set being uniformly distinguished from the pieces of the other set, each playing piece being able to move over said board m
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accordance with a set of pre-defined rules
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a hoard grme substantially as described m either of the above paragraphs, and wherein the movement of the playing pieces takes place substantially 5 in accordance with the rules defined herein
In the present specification, the term "array of locations" will be used to denote any form of marking or indicia used to separate or compartmentalise certain areas of the board For example, in preferred embodiments of the present invention the board may include a 10 by 10 10 grid over which the pieces may move In these embodiments, each location on the board may correspond to each individual square in the grid However, in other embodiments of the present invention the board may also be divided into arrays of locations which may not be as regular as the grid described above These embodiments should also be included 15 in the scope of the present invention
In further preferred embodiments of the present invention, each piece m each set of playing pieces may be uniformly distinguished from pieces m the other set of playing pieces, either by colour, shape, or any other marking However, in most embodiments of the present invention colour 20 shall be the preferred way of distinguishing one set of playing pieces from the other
In still further preferred embodiments of the present invention each set of playing pieces may consist of a number of pieces distinguished from each other m any suitable manner For example, playing pieces may be 25 distinguished from others of the same set by shape, or by including a distinctive marking, or by any other means Although preferred embodiments of the present invention include a number of distinct playing pieces in each set of pieces, each set cf playing pieces may also include a number of pieces substantially identical to each other
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, there may be provided seven different "types" of playing pieces Preferably, each set of playing pieces shall comprise the same numbers and types of pieces, albeit with the pieces of each set distinguished from corresponding pieces of the other set (eg by colour)
However, m other embodiments of the present invention, each set of
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playing pieces may consist of varying numbers or types of playing pieces This is especially useful should "handicap" games be wished to be played In these games, it may be appropriate for (say) the weaker player to have a "stronger" set of playing pieces The relative strength of the playing 5 pieces may be defined m any convenient way, eg by the agreement of the players
In preferred embodiments of the present invention consisting of two sets of 20 corresponding playing pieces, each set of playing pieces may consist of the following pieces
Ten "sols", two "rooks", two "knights", two "bishops", two "princes", one "queen", and one "king"
It should be appreciated that the names of the playing pieces given above are purely for identification purposes only Each playing piece may also have a number of other names, all of which are intended to be included 15 within the scope of the present specification Thus each playing piece is defined herein by the movements the piece makes, and shall be treated as such within the present specification Thus, a King (for example) is intended to be defined within the present specification as any piece (of any name) that may make movements identical to (or substantially identical 20 to) the allowed movements defined herein for a King
In embodiments of the present invention whereby each set of playing pieces comprise the pieces listed above, it is envisaged that the board may include a 10 by 10 grid over which the pieces may move The rules for allowing movement of the pieces in such an embodiment of the present 25 invention shall now be described These rules will also be described (at times) by comparison with rules of movement for "similar" Chess pieces It should be appreciated that this is done for the sake of simplicity only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present specification in any way
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the movement of the "sols" (a word formed from an abbreviation of "soldiers", although some players (especially Chess players) may alternatively call this piece a "pawn") may resemble the movement of pawns in a Chess game In particular, in most embodiments of the present invention sols may 35 initially be placed on the second (and ninth) "rank" (le "row") of the board Sols may then move either one, two or three squares forward (at
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every move), providing there are no pieces occupying or blocking movement to these squares Sols may also be provided with powers to capture opposing pieces, which again resemble the powers of capture of Chess pawns Specifically, in most embodiments of the present invention, sols may capture opposing pieces located on squares diagonally located (and in front of) the square the sol is located on, and may also capture opposing sols who traverse such a square during the opposing sols move In embodiments of the present invention whereby sols move in this way, sols become fast moving and active pieces, m contrast to the slower movement of pawns in a game of Chess
In addition, m most embodiments of the present indention, should a sol be moved to the opponents back rank, the player moving the sol will be required to exchange the sol for any other desired piece (except for a king) This is similar to the "queening" rule m Chess, and can be a considerable advantage for the player able to "promote" his sol
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, rooks in each set of playing pieces may move in a similar way to a Chess rook In particular, rooks may move to any unoccupied or unblocked square in the same row or column that the rook occupies Rooks may also "capture" opposing pieces located m the same row of column as the square the rook occupies, providing the rooks path to that piece is not blocked by any other piece
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, knights may move in a similar way to that of a Chess knight In particular, in all moves apart from the first, the knight may move in the "L" motion (two squares forward or backward m the same row or column that the knight is located m, and then one square in any direction perpendicular to the direction of first motion) that is characteristic of Chess knights However, for the knight's first move, it has ben found particularly useful if the knight is able to (optionally) incorporate two "standard" moves into one (providing the initial square the knight moves to after its first "L" move is not occupied) In this way, it becomes significantly easier to develop (and centralise) one's knights in the present game
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, bishops may move in a similar way to that of Chess bishops In particular, bishops may move any distance m a diagonal manner, providing the square they are moving to is not obstructed, or occupied by a piece of the same set of pieces that the
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bishop belongs to Bishops have the same capturing powers as Chess bishops As with Chess bishops, it should be appreciated that bishops are constrained to move only on half of the squares on the board
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, princes may move m 5 a way which roughly corresponds to the combined movement of rooks, bishops and knights in a Chess game In particular, a pnnce may move to any square that would be accessible to a Chess rook, bishop or knight located on the same square as the prince However, the pnnce also has an additional power in that it may "jump" pieces located adjacent to the 10 location of the prince, including pieces located on squares located diagonally adjacent to the square the prince is located on. Ii* these "jump" moves, the prince must land on either an unoccupied square adjacent to the square that has been "jumped", or must effect a capture by landing on a square adjacent to the square that has been "jumped", and occupied by 15 an opposing piece In these "captures", as with Chess, the opposing piece is removed from the board (as it is with "captures" effected by all pieces)
With the movements descnbed above, the pnnce usually becomes the most powerful piece on the board The pnnce is also a very dynamic piece, in that many different movement options are to the pnnce This tends to 20 enhance the interest level in the present game, m that it tends to become more fast paced and dynamic than Chess tends to be
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the queen may move in a similar way to that of a Chess queen In particular, the queen may move diagonally, vertically or honzontally to any unobstructed square, or 25 to an unobstructed square occupied by an opposing piece to effect a "capture" In this regard, a queen thus combines the movement of a rook and a bishop However the queen also has a "jumping" power, in that it can jump pieces located on the same row or column or diagonal that the queen is located on, providing that piece is located also on a square 30 adjacent to the queen This is similar to the jumping power of the pnnce, with the exception that the queen cannot conduct a "knight-like" jump
Further, m preferred embodiments, the "king" may move to any location on the board which is within two squares (either horizontally, or vertically, or diagonally, or any combination of the aforesaid directions) of 35 the king's current location, providing this does not give the opponent the opportunity to capture the king in his (or her) next move (or, in Chess
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terminology, providing that this does not put the ki£g m "check") This may include (if necessary) jumping pieces
The king may also be provided with "castling" opportunities, which occur if the king and a rook have not been moved, and if there are no pieces 5 between the king and rook In these situations, the king may be moved to any square between its current location and that of the rook, with the rook being moved to any vacant square on the "open" side of the king (le the opposite side to that which the rook started from) The rook however, m the castling manoeuvre, cannot be moved past any other piece on the back 10 rank Unlike Chess, castlmg can occur while the king is in "check", or also if the squares the king moves past, are under attack by opposing pieces <
Although a certain set of movements for pieces included m a preferred embodiment of the present invention have been described, it should be 15 appreciated that variations to these movements may also be included in the present board game In particular, certain rules of movement (such as the "castling" movement described above) have been chosen to maximise certain enjoyable aspects of the present game (such as the opportunity for quick piece development) Variations of these moves may 20 be made for other reasons (for example, to slow the game down, or to increase its length, or to simplify it, etc)
As with Chess, the primary object of the present game is to "check-mate" the opponents king This occurs when the one sides king may be taken by the opponents next move (le the king is m "check"), and there is no 25 permitted square that the king may move to where this may be avoided (le the king cannot move out of "check") In the process of attempting to "check-mate" the opponents king, it has been found to be desirable (generally) to capture a number of the opponents pieces However, in addition to the capturing of pieces, certain tactical considerations (such as 30 the relative worth of the pieces, or positional advantages of taking (or not taking) the opponents pieces) need also to be taken into account Thus it has been found that the present invention comprises an excitable and enjoyable game, and frequently is both more exciting and enjoyable than Chess
Furthermore, as with Chess, the present game involves setting up the pieces in the initial positions assigned to them (see, for example, figure 1
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and accompanying description), and then each player taking a turn to move one of (or m the case of castling, two of) his or her pieces in accordance with the rules as defined herein This move may also involve capturing an opponents piece, in which case the opponents piece is removed from the board The opponent will then respond by making a move of his (or her) own This process of moving m turn continues until one sides king is "check-mated" (or a pre-determmed time limit runs out), at which time the game is terminated
As there is a danger that players in the present game may take varying times to make his or her moves, it is sometimes useful if a time keeping device (such as a clock) is provided to take note of how much time each player has used to make his (or her) moves A clock such as a Chess clock may be particularly useful m the present game As with Chess, certain pre-determined time limits may also exist for making a certain number of moves, and in addition to winning by "check-mating" the opponents king, a player may also win the present game should the opponent exceed any pre-determmed time limits (if any exist)
Furthermore, it is envisaged that in addition to games of the present invention where the outcome is either a win or a loss for each individual player, there may be games whereby the outcome may be a draw (le neither player may win) A draw in the present game (as in Chess) may be achieved in a number of ways These include a) Either player may offer the opposing player the option of a draw This offer may preferably take place at the completion of a move by the player offering the draw A draw is declared if the offer is accepted by the opposing player b) A position is reached m which a player's king is not m check, and that player additionally has no legal moves This is similar to the "stalemate" outcome m Chess c) A certain number of moves (say fifty) are made by each player, without the capture of any pieces In this situation, either player may be free to claim a draw d) A certain identical configuration of pieces on the board may be reached a certain number of times (say three) In this case (as with Chess), either player may be free to claim a draw
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In addition to the above drawing options, there may also be provided other ways of achieving draws in the present game However, it should be appreciated that as the present game forms a more attacking and open game than Chess, the outcome of a draw m the present game is likely to 5 occur less often than in Chess This adds to the enjoyment of the present game
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a board game comprising a general purpose data processing device capable of generating a visual representation of a board and a plurality of playing 10 pieces, the visual representation of the board including a 10 by 10 array of locations substantially aligned in rows and columns, the visual representation of the playing pieces comprising two sets of twenty playing pieces, each set of playing pieces comprising ten sols, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, two princes, one queen and one king, each playing 15 piece in each set being uniformly distinguished from the pieces of the other set, the general purpose data processing device including a means to move the visual representation of the playing pieces over the visual representation of the board in accordance with a set of pre-defined rules
According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is 20 provided a board game comprising a general purpose data processing device, a board and a plurality of playing pieces, the board including a 10 by 10 array of locations substantially aligned in rows and columns, the playing pieces comprising two sets of twenty playing pieces, each set of playing pieces comprising ten sols, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, 25 two princes, one queen and one king, each playing piece in each set being uniformly distinguished from the pieces of the other set, the general purpose data processing device including a means to generate the movements of a least one set of playing pieces over the board
According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is 30 provided a method of playing a board game, the board game comprising a board (or visual representation of) and a plurality of playing pieces (or visual representations thereof), the board (or visual representation thereof) including a 10 by 10 array of locations substantially arranged in rows and columns, the playing pieces (or visual representation thereof) 35 comprising two sets of twenty playing pieces, each set of playing pieces comprising ten sols, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, two princes, one queen and one king, the playing pieces (or visual representation of) being
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able to move over the board (or visual representation of) in accordance with a set of pre-defined rules, the method of playing the game including the steps of a) placing the playing pieces in an appropriate initial configuration,
b) allowing a first player (or a first set of players) to move one or more of the pieces in his or her set of pieces m accordance with the set of pre-defined rules, and c) allowing a second player (or a second set of players) to move one or set of pre-defined rules,
the movement of the pieces of the first and second players (or set of players) continuing until the game is terminated in accordance with any one (or more) of the pre-defined set of rules
As briefly mentioned in the prior art, a number of other options (or versions) of the present game may also exist In particular, the present game may lend itself particularly well to being converted to be played on a general purpose data processing device (which shall herein be defined as any known computer, or additionally any computer that may be allow the 20 present game to be played) In these versions, it is envisaged that the present game may be played either between a single player (or a single team of players), and the data processing device (such as a computer), or possibly by the data processing device itself, with a player, or number of players watching, and perhaps learning various aspects of the present 25 game at the same time Alternatively, the data processing device may also perform an instructional function, perhaps by giving appropriate hints at various times during the game
In addition, there may be a number of ways in which known (or novel) data processing devices may be used to play the present game (for 30 example, against a single opponent) In one version, a known data processing device (such as a computer) may generate a visual representation of a board and a number of pieces, as descnbed herein, and may control the movements of one set of pieces A player, or number of players may control the movements of the second set of pieces
In an alternative version, there may be a data processing device that may
and
more of the pieces in his or her set of pieces in accordance with the
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be connected m some way to a board and a number of pieces in accordance with the present invention The data processing device may have a means of sensing the location of the pieces (eg by appropriate magnets placed in the pieces), and also of indicating preferred movements of the pieces (eg 5 by light placed on the board) These versions of the present game may resemble known Chess computers, which come with a separate board and playing pieces
It should be appreciated that versions of the present invention that can be played on a computer (or a general data processing device of any kind) 10 may allow a single player to participate m an enjoyable game (in contrast to say, board game versions of the present invention, where at least two players are generally needed) Furthermore, it is envisaged that computers may form both powerful opponents and useful instructional aids m the present game A computer (or other general purpose data 15 processing device) may also be programmed with other useful information (such as historical information, upcoming tournaments, etc), which may add to the enjoyment of the player playing the present game
Brief Description of Drawings
Figure 1 is a plan view of a board in accordance with one embodiment 20 of the present invention, and
Figure 2 is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the playing pieces forming part of the apparatus m a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the movements of a playing 25 piece of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, namely a rook, and
Figure 4 shows the movements of a further playing piece forming part of the apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, namely a knight, and
Figure 5 shows the movements of a further playing piece forming part of the apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, namely a pnnce, and
Figure 6 shows the movements of an obstructed pnnce forming part of the apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present
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invention, and
Figure 7 shows the movements of a king forming part of the apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 8 shows the movements of a queen forming part of the 5 apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 9 shows the initial position of a sol, forming part of the apparatus of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 10 shows a plan view of a casting option for the queen's side according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
Best Modes for Carrying out the Invention
With regard to Figure 1, there is shown a board 1 including a grid 2 Grid 2 comprises a number of squares 3, arranged in 10 rows and 10 columns 15 Although a regular array of locations (or squares) is pictured, it should be appreciated that various other arrays of locations, in particular incorporating non-regular configurations of squares or locations may also be used m the present invention
Board 1 is coloured with either a light colour, as in white squares 4, or a 20 dark colour, as in black squares 5 Thus board 1 is visually similar in appearance to a traditional Chess board, with the exception that an additional 36 squares are contained on the board Although it is useful (for example in calculating the permitted moves of the bishops, queen or princes) it should be appreciated that the traditional "chequered" format 25 of a Chess board need not be maintained
The squares 3 of board 1 are also provided with indicia 6 to identify each location on the board This notation may be similar to algebraic notation often used in Chess, in that each square on the board may be identified by a letter (indicating the column it is located in) and a number (indicating 30 the row it is located in) Other means of identifying squares 3 may also be used Indicia 6 are particularly useful when recording a move made in the present game, as it is particularly easy to identify the square a piece has bee moved to (or from)
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In addition to indicia 6, certain squares may contain an illustration 7 (or any other symbol) to indicate the initial position of the pieces in the present game For example, in preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is intended that sols of one set of pieces be placed on squares 5 a2-j2, rooks (of the same set of pieces) be placed on squares al and jl, knights (of the same set of pieces) be placed on squares bl and ll, bishops (of the same set of pieces) be placed on squares cl and hi, princes (of the same set of pieces) be placed on squares dl and gl, the queen (of the same set of pieces) be placed on square el, and the king (of the same set of 10 pieces) be placed on square fl The pieces of the other set may be placed in the twenty squares located m rows 9 and 10, and positioned as indicated by indicia 7 on board 1
Although the above is a preferred initial configuration of pieces in the present invention, it should be appreciated that other configurations of 15 pieces may also be used In addition, it should be appreciated that some embodiments of board 1 may not include cither indicia 6 or illustrations 7, as the information contained by these symbols may become known to players in other ways
Figure 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the pieces provided in a 20 preferred embodiment of the present invention In particular, a sol 10, a rook 11, a knight 12, a bishop 13, a pnnce 14, a queen 15 and a king 16 are all shown It should be appreciated also that although figure 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of these pieces, the pieces may also take a number of other shapes and configurations as well
With regard to Figure 3, the moves available co rooks 30 and 31 (located on squares al and h2 respectively) are shown In this figure, both rooks are unobstructed and thus both rooks can move to any location indicated by arrows 32 and 33 (for rook 30), or arrows 34 and 35 (for rook 31) Should either rook be obstructed by a piece belonging to the same set of pieces as 30 rooks 30 or 31, or by a piece of the opposing set that a player does not want to capture, then the rooks cannot move beyond (or onto) the square on which the obstructing (or opposing) piece is located The rooks 30 and 31 may capture opposing pieces (if desired) in a similar way as Chess rooks can
With regard to Figure 4, the initial moves of a knights 40 and 41 are indicated In particular, knight 40 can move to any of squares a3, c3 or d2,
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or utilising the unique initial "double move" may also move to squares a2, a4, b3, b5, c2, c4, dl, d5, e2, e4, fl or f5 Similar moves are available to knight 41, which can move to squares el, e3, f2, f4, gl, g2, g5, h2, h3, h4, i3, i5, j2, j3, or j4 However should a square such a d2 be obstructed (for example, by a 5 sol (not shown)), then knight 40 will not be able to move to a square such as fl (in a single move) until square d2 is unobstructed It should also be appreciated that after the knights initial move, then only moves resembling the movements of an ordinary Chess knight will be available to knights 40 and 41
With regard to Figure 5 there is illustrated the movements available to prince 50 Prince 50 can move to any square m the direction of arrows 51, as well as to squares d3, d5, e2, e6, g2, g6, h3 and h5 (utilising the princes ability to make "knight" type moves) However, as Figure 6 shows, the movements available to an obstructed prince are (usually) less m scope
Figure 6 shows the movements available to a prince 50, obstructed by a number of pieces In this situation, prince 50 may move to any square indicated by arrows 52, or utilising the "jumping" feature of the princes movement, to any square including a black dot 53 The ability of the prince 50 to jump pieces is not influenced by the set of pieces that the piece to be 20 jumped belongs to However it should be noted that once a piece has been "jumped" (such as king 54), the prince cannot continue to move beyond the square adjacent to the jumped piece (for example, prince 50 cannot travel to squares a3 or b3)
With regard to figure 7, the movements of king 60 are shown In 25 particular, king 60 mav move to any square indicated by black dot 61, providing that that square is not currently under attack by an opposing piece Although not shown, king 60 may also jump pieces For example, should a number of pieces occupy squares gl to g5, king 60 may jump these to move to any of squares hi to h5 (providing that the square the king 30 60 moves to is not under attack by an opposing piece)
Figure 8 shows the movements available to a partially obstructed queen 70 In particular, queen 70 may move either to any square in the direction of arrows 71, or to any square indicated by a black dot 72 As illustrated, this may include jumping pieces (for example knight 73), in a similar way 35 as illustrated by pnnce 50 m figure 6 However, the "knight type" moves available to pnnce 50 are not available to queen 70
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With regard to Figure 9, the initial position of a sol 80 is shown Although not clearly shown, sol 80 may move to any of squares f3, f4 or f5 in its initial move, and in subsequent moves, also move either one, two or three squares forward Sol 80 may also capturc any opposing piece occupying 5 squares e3 or g3, or in general, on any diagonally adjacent (and forwardly located) square For example, a sol on square b5 could capture opposing pieces on squares a6 or c6 A sol may also capture sols that move past them in a similar way to the "en passant" rule m Chess For example, if a sol is located on square b5, and an opposing sol moves from square c8 (or 10 c7) to square c5 (or square c4, if the sol started on c7), then on the next move only, the sol may "capture" the passing sol by moving to square c6, and removing the opposing sol from the board
Figure 10 illustrates an version of "castling" in the present game In particular, assuming king 60 and rook 30 have not previously moved, then 15 king 60 may be moved to any square indicated by black dot 90 Rook 30 is then moved to any square on the opposite (open) side of king 60, providing no other pieces block the movement of the rook to its final square For example, if a bishop was located on square hi, and king 60 was moved to square bl, then (in castling) rook 30 could move to any of squares cl-gl
The above describes a preferred set of rules for the present game only, and it should be appreciated that other rules (or allowed movements) may be incorporated into the present game without altering the inventive scope thereof
Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example 25 only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additicns may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims