Dragonchess

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

The Dragonchess 3D gameboard:
Gary Gygax

Boards and pieces

The Dragonchess gameboard consists of three vertically stacked 12×8 levels. The upper level (blue and white) represents the air, the middle level (green and amber) represents the land, and the lower level (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, the game is won by delivering checkmate to the enemy king.

Upper
Upper board starting position
The Sky Board, by Zac Dortch

Sylph (S)
On level 3:
  • can move one step diagonally forward, or capture one step straight forward;[lower-alpha 1]
  • can capture on the square directly below on level 2.
On level 2:
  • can move to the square directly above on level 3, or to one of the player's six Sylph starting squares.

Griffon (G)
On level 3:
On level 2:
  • can move and capture one step diagonally;
  • can move and capture one step triagonally to level 3.[lower-alpha 5]

Dragon (R)
  • can move and capture as a chess king+bishop on level 3;[lower-alpha 6]
  • can capture remotely (without leaving level 3) on the square directly below on level 2, or on any square orthogonally adjacent to that square.

Middle
Middle board starting position
The Ground Board, by Zac Dortch

Warrior (W)
  • can move and capture like a chess pawn on level 2 but without the initial two-step option;
  • promotes to Hero when reaching the furthest rank.

Oliphant (O)
  • can move and capture like a chess rook on level 2.

Unicorn (U)
  • can move and capture like a chess knight on level 2.

Hero (H)
On level 2:
On levels 1 and 3:

Thief (T)
  • can move and capture like a chess bishop on level 2.

Cleric (C)
On any level:
  • can move and capture like a chess king;
  • can move and capture to the square directly above or directly below on an adjacent level.

Mage (M)
On level 2:
  • can move and capture like a chess queen.
On levels 1 and 3:
On any level:
  • can move and capture one or two steps (blockable) directly above or directly below to one of the other levels.[lower-alpha 8]

King (K)
On level 2:
  • can move and capture like a chess king;
  • can move and capture to the square directly below on level 1 or directly above on level 3.
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can move to (only) the same square on level 2 the King previously left.[lower-alpha 7]

Paladin (P)
On level 2:
On levels 1 and 3:
  • can move and capture like a chess king.
On any level:
  • can move 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
Lower board starting position
The Underground Board, by Zac Dortch

Dwarf (D)
On level 1:
  • can move one step straight forward or sideways, or capture one step diagonally forward;
  • can capture on the square directly above on level 2.
On level 2:
  • can move one step straight forward or sideways, or capture one step diagonally forward;
  • can move to the square directly below on level 1.

Basilisk (B)
  • can move and capture one step diagonally forward or straight forward on level 1, or move one step straight backward;
  • 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 moves to the space above, and until the Basilisk moves away or is captured.

Elemental (E)
On level 1:
  • can move and capture one or two steps orthogonally;[lower-alpha 8]
  • can move one step diagonally;
  • can capture in the following pattern: one step orthogonally followed by the square directly above on level 2.[lower-alpha 8]
On level 2:
  • can move and capture in the following pattern: the square directly below on level 1 followed by one step orthogonally.

Move notation

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.[lower-alpha 9] So for example, White's Elemental starts on square 1g1 (level 1, square g1); Black's King starts on 2g8; and so on.

Notes
  1. The same as a Berolina pawn (but without promotion or an initial two-step option).
  2. The move or capture is unblockable.
  3. Or (the same result): one step orthogonally followed by two steps diagonally outward. The same as a Zebra fairy chess piece, or an elephant in janggi.
  4. That is, to a square diagonally below.
  5. That is, to a square diagonally above.
  6. The same as a dragon horse in shogi.
  7. Gygax does not mention whether for moves only, or for moves and captures.
  8. Gygax does not mention whether the move is unblockable or not.
  9. 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
  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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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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