Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Suicide-Chess, Carampool and other new game ideas

Day before yesterday I invented couple of games. Yesterday we had to test-out the pool version. It works pretty ok.

Kind of reversed games. I like carambola, but there's not that many tables around. So I had to invent new rules to pool to get some of the carambola-feel into it.

Suicide-Chess
Note: Found out that this has been already invented in this exact form: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_chess (Added 2nd March. 2007)

Pieces move the same way as in the normal chess. King has no special value, it can be "eaten" at any point of the game. The rules are simple. You need to get rid of your pieces. If you can eat something, you must. If you have multiple choices, you can choose which piece you'll eat on your turn. But if you can, you must. Who has no pieces left is the winner.

Tip: Get rid of your queen as quickly as possible.

Carampool

This is kind of mixture between pool (8-ball), carambola and Finnish Korona. Played on a normal pool table. Each player takes 7 balls. One takes the numbers 1-7 and the other 9-15. You place the balls on your side of the table. On the line, where you normally would put the white ball in equal spaces. So seven balls on each side of the table, on the line. White ball in the middle of the table. Small numbers starts.

The idea is to shoot one of your balls, hit the white ball and then drop any of your opponent's balls down. Any ball can drop any of your opponent's balls, but you must hit the white ball first. Yes, it might be weird to shoot with a number ball and hitting the white ball with that, but that's how this goes.

If the white ball goes down, you lift it on the table. The one who's turn it is can choose where he wants to put it. In the middle, or on either of the spots on the lines on each side of the table. If a spot is not free, like in the beginning only the middle is free, then you can't put the white there, before it gets free. If all three places are occupied by another balls, then you can place it only in the middle, as close as possible.

If you drop the white ball or don't hit the white ball first, but you also drop one of your opponent's balls, it (the opponent's ball) is then lifted back on the table. If the table is one of those pay-per-play tables that don't give the balls out, then first you can lift 8-ball and after that the one who made the mistake looses one ball. There has to be some consequences in errors, otherwise you could "accidentally" drop all of your opponent's balls incorrectly.

You don't lift a ball if you put your own ball down. That's not a mistake, but you just can't continue. Same goes, if you don't hit the white ball first, but nothing goes down, you just can't continue.

The last ball is not lifted on the table. If you pocket the last ball incorrectly, you lose. If you have one ball left (pay-per-play -version) and you do a mistake pocketing your opponent's ball incorrectly, you lose.

Carambola skills are usefull in this, and also you need to be extra accurate, as the opponent can shoot his ball away if it's next to a pocket. As long as he hits the white ball with that one.
Optional rules: If you don't hit the white ball first, and nothing goes down, the opponent can then put the white ball on any of the three spots.

Footbasketpool

The name might give you a hint... It's kind of mixture between football (soccer), basketball and pool. Normal soccer field, but junior size - or not. Football in the middle, and the idea is to get the ball into the opponent's goal. How to get it there is different. I have two variations of it. The first one requires a bit of customizing of the equipments.

1. Each player has a ball, that has been attached to the wrists with two elastic bands. Short enough, that you don't trip over when you run, but long and elastic enough that you can hit the football with it.

2. I think this is more interesting way, and it doesn't require any special/custom equipment. Each team has 7 balls. Each team different color. You're not allowed to touch other team's balls. You can throw or roll the balls. You can also pass the balls to the other team members if they don't have a ball, but are closer or in better position to the football.

The idea is then that you are not allowed to touch the white football with anything else, except with another ball. Throwing or rolling your ball and hitting the football with that and getting it into the goal is the ... well... goal of this game. And of course the team which scores the highest, wins.

Note: The name "Suicide-Chess" has been changed from "Kamikaze-Chess" due to the fact similar game, Kamikaze-Chess was already invented in early 1900's.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kamikaze-Chess sounds like a Ultra-feministic anti-gay game:
"King has no special value"
and
"Get rid of your queen as quickly as possible"

Hehehehe...

Hugs,
Your mental Men-Thor!

Anonymous said...

Kamikaze chess was invented in 1928 by B G Laws

Don KeyShot said...

there is always straight pool...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_pool

Sami Rautiainen said...

Ah, yes. Thank you for the information. (The second commenter.) Should've checked wether someone already invented this, since the idea is so simple.

However, I checked the internet and found out that the rules are little bit different than my rules. Kamikaze Chess (Laws' version) is normal chess, except also your piece is removed when you capture your opponents piece.

In this version of Kamikaze Chess the idea is to get rid of your pieces. Who has pieces left at the end loses. Maybe I should rename the game as "Reverse Chess" or something. Better to check that name too...