Castle Strife Games

I thoroughly enjoy playing traditional (orthodox) chess and all 4 of the Castle Strife Games, especially Castle Challenge Chess. Having invented the Castle Strife Games makes it even more satisfying that I enjoy playing them so much.

A neat game. It has several levels of complexity -- they are phrased as a way of slowly learning the game, but the lower levels are interesting games in their own right. Definitely play the games in ascending levels of difficulty!

Level 1: Chess.

Level 2: circular board + 2 new low-power pieces. A strong chess variant. The board geometry produces a battle on three fronts that link together in interesting ways -- it's not as obvious what a good development move it, or what it means to control the center of the board. The new pieces are also neat in that they are low power (but not useless) but start blocked in the back of you setup, so you have to decide between developing in a desirable order or developing more aggressively but putting stronger pieces at risk.

Level 3: Special power cards. Less chaotic than Knightmare Chess and much more about positioning -- this is not a game about lucky draws or ridiculous combos. Most let you do something crazy but without a capture, promotion, or king move -- thus they add surprises without undermining fundamentals of chess tactics. Can slow things down until you learn the cards.

level 4: Weapon chits allowing occasional long range attacks. I worry that these promote stalemate and punish careful play. They are fun, but I'm not sure they are a net gain on their own. However, they are fine as a stepping stone to learning level 5...

level 5: To call this a chess variant is to call Go a Tic-Tac-Toe variant. You can see some common elements and even a lineage, but the games feel nothing like each other. Castle Siege is more of a wargame played with chess pieces than a chess variant. It's definitely a monster but there is a lot of good stuff going on.

level 1 = 6/10 chess level 2 = 8/10 clever level 3 = 7/10 balanced level 4 = 5/10 ok level 5 = 6/10 long net experience = 7/10 solid

I have played all versions of Castle Strife Games and I have thoroughly enjoyed every match. The round board brings fresh challenges that are sure to test both new and experienced chess players. With multiple levels of play you can make the game as complex as you want. Able to be played at the most basic level for the traditional chess players used to tournament styles or add action cards, weapon cards, and dice for a more board game approach.

Having played a few chess variants I can say that this is by far my favorite. Every match I find myself trying new strategies no matter which game we choose. I recommend this for anyone searching for a fun challenging chess experience.