Dragonchess

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The Dragonchess 3D gameboard:
Gary Gygax

Dragonchess is a three-dimensional fantasy chess variant created by Gary Gygax, co-creator of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The game was introduced in 1985 in issue No. 100 of Dragon Magazine.[1][2][3]

Boards and pieces

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The Dragonchess gameboard consists of three 12×8 chess boards stacked vertically. The upper board (blue and white) represents the air, the middle board (green and amber) represents the land, and the lower board (red and brown) is the subterranean world (Gygax 1985:34).

The Dragonchess game pieces (42 per player) are an ensemble of characters and monsters inspired or derived from fantasy settings in Dungeons & Dragons. Intricate inter- and intra-level game piece capabilities are defined. As in chess, White moves first and then players take turns, and the game is won by delivering checkmate (inescapable attack) to the enemy king.

Upper board (level 3)

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abcdefghijkl
8a8b8c8 black zebrad8e8f8g8 D dh8i8j8k8 black zebral88
7a7 black upside-down pawnb7c7 black upside-down pawnd7e7 black upside-down pawnf7g7 black upside-down pawnh7i7 black upside-down pawnj7k7 black upside-down pawnl77
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j6k6l66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j5k5l55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j4k4l44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j3k3l33
2a2 white upside-down pawnb2c2 white upside-down pawnd2e2 white upside-down pawnf2g2 white upside-down pawnh2i2 white upside-down pawnj2k2 white upside-down pawnl22
1a1b1c1 white zebrad1e1f1g1 D lh1i1j1k1 white zebral11
abcdefghijkl
Upper board starting position
The Sky Board, by Zac Dortch

Sylph (S)

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On level 3:
  • can move without capturing one step diagonally forward, or capture one step straight forward (i.e. like a Berolina pawn, but without promotion or an initial two-step option).
  • can capture on the square directly below on level 2.
On level 2:
  • can move without capturing to the square directly above on level 3, or to one of the player's six Sylph starting squares.

Griffon (G)

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On level 3:
  • can move and capture like a zebra, i.e. it can move two steps diagonally followed by one step orthogonally outward, jumping over any pieces in between.
  • can move and capture to level 2, to a square diagonally adjacent to the square directly below (i.e. one step downward along a space diagonal).
On level 2:
  • can move and capture one step diagonally;
  • can move and capture to level 3, to a square diagonally adjacent to the square directly above (i.e. one step upward along a space diagonal).

Dragon (R)

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  • on level 3, can move and capture either any number of squares diagonally or one step orthogonally (i.e. like a dragon horse in shogi, or a combined king and bishop from standard chess); it can never leave the upper board.
  • can capture remotely (without leaving level 3) any piece that stands on the square directly below on level 2 or any square orthogonally adjacent to that square.
    • it can only capture one piece at each turn, and the remote capture counts as a full move (i.e. the dragon may not move on level 3 and then capture remotely).

Middle board (level 2)

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abcdefghijkl
8a8 black upside-down bishopb8 black unicornc8 black championd8 black bishope8 black upside-down kingf8 black wizardg8 black kingh8 C di8 black bishopj8 black championk8 black unicornl8 black upside-down bishop8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawni7 black pawnj7 black pawnk7 black pawnl7 black pawn7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j6k6l66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j5k5l55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j4k4l44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j3k3l33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawnj2 white pawnk2 white pawnl2 white pawn2
1a1 white upside-down bishopb1 white unicornc1 white championd1 white bishope1 white upside-down kingf1 white wizardg1 white kingh1 C li1 white bishopj1 white championk1 white unicornl1 white upside-down bishop1
abcdefghijkl
Middle board starting position
The Ground Board, by Zac Dortch

Warrior (W)

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  • on level 2, can move without capturing one step straight forward and capture one step diagonally (i.e. like a chess pawn but without the initial two-step option); it can never leave the middle board.
  • promotes to a Hero upon reaching the furthest rank.

Oliphant (O)

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  • on level 2, can move and capture like a chess rook (i.e. any number of squares orthogonally); it can never leave the middle board.

Unicorn (U)

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  • on level 2, can move and capture like a chess knight (i.e. one step orthogonally followed by one step diagonally outward, jumping over any intermediate squares); it can never leave the middle board.

Hero (H)

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On level 2:
  • can move and capture one or two steps diagonally (jumping over the intermediate square if moving two steps).
  • can move and capture to levels 1 and 3, to a square diagonally adjacent to the square directly above or below (i.e. one step along a space diagonal).
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can only move and capture back to level 2, again to a square diagonally adjacent to the square directly above/below (i.e. one step along a space diagonal).

Thief (T)

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  • on level 2, can move and capture like a chess bishop (i.e. any number of squares diagonally); it can never leave the middle board.

Cleric (C)

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On any level:
  • can move and capture one step orthogonally or diagonally (like a non-royal chess king).
  • can move and capture to the square directly above or directly below on an adjacent level.

Mage (M)

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On level 2:
  • can move and capture any number of steps orthogonally or diagonally (like a chess queen).
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can move[a] one step orthogonally (like a wazir).
On any level:
  • can move and capture one step or two steps[b] directly above or directly below to one of the other levels.

King (K)

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On level 2:
  • can move and capture like a chess king (i.e. one step orthogonally or diagonally).
  • can move and capture to the square directly below on level 1 or directly above on level 3.
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can only move[a] back to the square directly above or below on level 2.

Paladin (P)

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On level 2:
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can move and capture like a chess king.
On any level:
  • can move[a] to the other levels using a knight-like move: one level up or down followed by two steps orthogonally, or two levels up or down followed by one step orthogonally.

Lower board (level 1)

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abcdefghijkl
8a8b8c8 black giraffed8e8f8g8 black foolh8i8j8k8 black giraffel88
7a7b7 M dc7d7 M de7f7 M dg7h7 M di7j7 M dk7l7 M d7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j6k6l66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j5k5l55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j4k4l44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j3k3l33
2a2b2 M lc2d2 M le2f2 M lg2h2 M li2j2 M lk2l2 M l2
1a1b1c1 white giraffed1e1f1g1 white foolh1i1j1k1 white giraffel11
abcdefghijkl
Lower board starting position
The Underground Board, by Zac Dortch

Dwarf (D)

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On levels 1 and 2:
  • can move (without capturing) one step straight forward or sideways, or capture one step diagonally forward.
  • can capture directly upward from level 1 to level 2, and move (without capturing) directly downward from level 2 back to level 1.

Basilisk (B)

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  • on level 1, can move and capture one step diagonally forward or straight forward, or move (without capturing) one step straight backward; it cannot leave the lower board.
  • automatically freezes (immobilizes) an enemy piece on the square directly above on level 2 (whether the Basilisk moves to the space below or the enemy piece moves to the space above); the immobilised piece may not move until the Basilisk moves away or is captured.

Elemental (E)

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On level 1:
  • can move and capture one or two[b] steps orthogonally;
  • can move (without capturing) one step diagonally;
  • can capture in the following pattern: one step orthogonally, followed by one step straight upward to level 2.[b]
On level 2:
  • can move and capture in the following pattern: one step directly downward to level 1, followed by one step orthogonally.[b]

Move notation

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Recording moves is done the same as in algebraic notation for chess, extended to a 12×8 board, with the addition of a numeric prefix (1, 2, or 3) in front of each square coordinate to identify the level.[c] So for example, White's Elemental starts on square 1g1 (level 1, square g1); Black's King starts on 2g8; and so on.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Gygax does not mention whether this applies to only non-capturing moves, or to moves and captures.
  2. ^ a b c d Gygax does not mention whether the piece can jump over the intermediate square or not when making this move.
  3. ^ Gygax initially describes levels beginning with "1" for upper board in the first page of his article (Gygax 1985:34), but consistently uses "3" for upper board and "1" for lower board in the subsequent six pages for all move definitions, examples, and sample moves (Gygax 1985:35–40).

References

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  1. ^ Gygax (1985), pp. 34–40
  2. ^ Pritchard (1994), p. 95
  3. ^ Pritchard (2007), p. 232

Bibliography

  • Gygax, Gary (August 1985). "Dragonchess". Dragon Magazine No. 100. Vol. X, no. 3. TSR, Inc. ISSN 0279-6848.
  • Pritchard, D. B. (1994). "Dragonchess". The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
  • Pritchard, D. B. (2007). "Dragonchess [Gygax]". In Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
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