|
The fictional universe of the ''Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett features a number of invented games, some of which have gone on to spawn real-world variants. ==Stealth Chess== Stealth Chess is a chess variant, played in the Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild, according to ''The Discworld Companion''. It is similar to normal chess, with the exception of an extra piece and the widening of the board by two specially-colored fields (red and white are described, as opposed to the normal black and white) on either side, known as the Slurks. The extra piece is the Assassin (appearing on either side of the Rooks in the beginning of the game), the only piece to be able to move in the Slurk. The Assassin moves one square in any direction, and two to capture; however, on exiting the Slurks, the assassin may make as many moves as it has taken within the Slurks and, optionally, a capture move. An example may clarify: If an Assassin enters the Slurks and takes five moves within them (in any direction, including back and forth), it may then appear in ''any'' square that is five moves from its original entry point into the Slurk. It is then still able to make a one-square move to capture. If an Assassin were to make fifteen moves (the minimum necessary to go from one corner of the normal board to the opposite corner), it could reappear ''anywhere'' on the board. The mechanism of moving the assassin up and down the Slurks is used in order to a) use up a move by the player and b) to keep count of how many spaces the assassin has moved. The Slurks are, in essence, a second, "invisible" board, through which only the Assassin may travel, and from which it may reemerge on the "visible" board at any time. The Assassin may take pieces of its own colour, should this give the player an advantage, but may not take opposing Assassins (professional courtesy). Many players consider the assassin to be moving "underneath" the actual board, ready to pop out when they have reached their intended destination. This makes it a highly powerful piece and a very effective counter to certain strategies depending on specific pieces, and can quickly win the game if one manages to take control of the Slurks and access the King directly. ''The Discworld Companion'' notes, however, that players should also take care that they don't focus on the opponent's Assassin exclusively to the point that they lose track of what the opponent's ''other'' pieces are doing. The acknowledged master of the game in the books is Lord Havelock Vetinari, Provost of Assassins and Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. According to the ''Companion'', some Discworld scholars believe that Stealth Chess is the ''original'' form of chess in their world; this belief is corroborated by the in-world discovery, in a tomb in Muntab, of a preserved corpse with an 8×10 board embedded in its skull and a pawn hammered up each nostril. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Games of the Discworld」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|