Rules Martian chess

1 rules

1.1 initial setup
1.2 movement , capturing
1.3 end of game , scoring

rules

four-player , two-player starting setups


initial setup

each player starts 9 pieces: 3 small (pawns), 3 medium (drones), , 3 large (queens). color of pieces irrelevant gameplay. mix of colors recommended.

players place pieces in corners of board shown. in two-player game, half-board used. players decide moves first. play turns alternate, , pass left after each move.

movement , capturing

the red lines in diagrams indicate notional canals divide board territories, or quadrant. @ given time player controls pieces in or territory.

the pieces move follows:

pawns move 1 space diagonally in direction. (unlike chess pawns, may move backwards.)
drones move 1 or 2 spaces horizontally or vertically, without jumping. (like chess rooks, limited range.)
queens move distance horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, without jumping. (the same chess queens.)

as in chess, square may contain no more 1 piece, , piece captured when enemy piece lands on square occupies. capturing player removes piece , puts aside later scoring.

in two-player game, player may not reverse opponent s last move (i.e. may not move piece across canal departure square, on next turn).

end of game , scoring

the game ends when 1 player runs out of pieces (i.e., territory becomes empty). players compute scores adding point values of pieces captured: queen = 3, drone = 2, pawn = 1. player or team highest total wins game.

in four-player game, players form 2 teams, teammates in opposite corners. teammates play combined score. aside strategic differences, play unaffected; legal (and strategy) capture teammate s pieces.