EQUIPMENT
- 2 sets of chess pieces (32 white pieces and 32 black pieces)
- A lot of black and white stones (e.g. from a Go set)
- 2 screens of some sort (big enough to hide 5 chess pieces)
GOAL
Each player creates a "secret" by secretly selecting 5 black chess pieces from one complete chess set and placing these behind his screen.
During the game both players will build "triangles" which are used to score points at the end of game.
Additionally both players may try to guess their opponent's secret and score points for correct guesses and losing points for wrong guesses.
The object of the game is to score the most points.
SETUP
Each player takes a screen and one set of black pieces (16 pieces).
Each player secretly selects 5 black pieces and hides these behind his screen in any order.
All other black pieces are put aside without showing them to the opponent.
The remaining 32 white pieces and all black and white stones form a supply to be used by both players.
One player is determined randomly and starts the game by executing the first game turn.
After that the players take their turns alternately.
GAMEPLAY
When executing his turn a player must execute exactly one of two actions:
- Build a triangle; or
- Guess.
Build a Triangle
The active player builds a triangle by taking any three white pieces from the supply and placing these in a triangle formation anywhere on the table between himself and his opponent.
The tip of the triangle (one chess piece) must point to the opponent. The base of the triangle (two chess pieces) must face the screen of the active player.
It is not allowed to build a new triangle containing the same pieces already present in an existing triangle.
Example:
If a triangle exists containing two pawns and a king, it is not allowed to build a new triangle containing two pawns and a king.
Both players simultaneously hold their right thumb either UP or DOWN (doing this in a Rock-Paper-Scissors fashion).
If a player holds his thumb UP he places a white stone with the new triangle - the current player places such a stone at his side of the triangle (the base) while his opponent places such a stone at his side of the triangle (the tip).
Note:
This way it is clear, which player voted "thumb UP" for any given triangle. This is important because by voting for a given triangle the players give away some information about their own secret - see scoring at the end of the game.
If a player selects the option to build a triangle and then detects that it is not possible to build a new triangle from the remaining white pieces, because there are only two pieces left or it is not possible to build a triangle different from all existing triangles, the game ends and points are scored.
Guess
The player states the number and type of pieces that he thinks his opponent is hiding behind his screen. The exact order of the pieces is of no importance.
Example:
The player might say something like "You are hiding two pawns, two Knights and the King."
His opponent must answer truthfully if the guess is correct or not.
If the guess is correct the player takes as many white stones from the supply as there are triangles placed on the table up to this moment. The game ends at immediately and points are scored.
If the guess was not correct the opponent takes one white stone from the supply while the guessing player takes one black stone from the supply. The game continues.
SCORING
The game ends immediately:
- As soon as a player guesses correctly; or
- If a player tries to build a triangle and is unable to do so.
All triangles without a white stone are removed now.
This leaves triangles on the table that either have one or two white stones.
Each player reveals his secret and all triangles are checked one after the other.
For each piece in a given triangle that a player can "reproduce" from his "secret" he gains as many white stones from the supply as were placed with the triangle.
If there are several pieces of the same type in a triangle each piece must be "reproduced" separately to gain points for it.
Example:
Regarding a triangle "pawn pawn king" with one white stone... a secret of "pawn queen rook rook bishop" would gain the player 1 white stone, while a secret of "pawn pawn pawn rook rook" would gain him 2 white stones.
Each white stone a player now holds earns him 1 point (white stones by guessing correctly plus white stones earned for matching triangles). Each black stone a player holds now (for guessing incorrectly) scores him -2 points.
Whoever gets the most points wins. If both players score the same amount of points the player who has more black stones wins. If both players scored the same number of points and have the same number of black stones, well, call it a tie.
