Chessplus
Chessplus is a commercial chess variant developed by the Australian family business Chessplus Team.
 | |
| Publishers | Chessplus Team |
|---|---|
| Years active | c. 21st century to present |
| Genres | Board game Abstract strategy game Mind sport Chess variant |
| Players | 2 |
| Playing time | 5–55 minutes[citation needed] |
| Chance | None |
| Skills | Strategy, tactics |
Chessplus is a commercial chess variant developed by the Australian family business Chessplus Team.[1]
Appearance
[edit]Chessplus, as a physical variant, can come in 1 of 3 packages.[2]
- A bag, containing all the pieces.
- A box featuring a pawn and knight combining into a knawn.
- A pseudo-box with a wrap-around board and pieces.
As for the pieces, they are designed so players can merge them.[3]
Gameplay
[edit]Chessplus gameplay is similar to that of regular chess, but pieces can merge. The only piece that can't be merged with is the king.[4] Pieces can only merge with other pieces of their own color. Only 2 pieces can be merged at a time. Pieces may split, in which they use their original move to get away from the merged piece, separating them.
Castling
[edit]Castling may be done with a combined rook. Just like in regular chess, the rook must not have previously moved. In other words, if a knight moved to combine with a rook, castling is possible, but if that rook moved to combine with the knight, then castling is no longer allowed for that rook.
En passant
[edit]Similar to the castling rules, en passant can only be used on a combination of 2 pawns.[5] If the combination is, for example, a biawn, the combination of a bishop and a pawn, then en passant is not allowed.
Inspiration
[edit]The game was inspired by an illegal move made by Aimee Simpson, one of the members of the Chessplus Team, when she was playing chess with her father, Christian Simpson. Aimee had moved her rook onto the same square as one of her pawns, confusing him. On Aimee's next move, she promoted her fusion of pieces to a queen while exclaiming that she was going to beat Christian.[6]
Reception
[edit]Chessplus received generally positive reviews.[4][7][8]
Steam release
[edit]In 2025, the Chessplus team announced that Chessplus would be released on Steam as "Chessplus: Combine and Conquer".[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Noone, Richard (18 May 2017). "Coastie conjures new form of the ancient game of chess". Daily Telegraph (Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate). Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
- ^ "The Chessplus Range". Chessplus. Archived from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ The board game itself
- ^ a b "The Meeple Guild - ChessPlus fun twist to classic favourite". SaskToday.ca. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "How to Play". Chessplus.
- ^ "Our Story - Chessplus".
During a game of Chess with her dad the young Aimee (aged 8) did something not so legal. With a cheeky smile Aimee moved her rook onto the square of a pawn. Her dad looked on puzzled and made a traditional Chess move. With her next move Aimee took both the rook and the pawn to the far side of the board and proudly announced 'I get a queen, I'm going to beat you!' Her dad laughed, then he reflected on her actions and Chessplus was born.
- ^ "Chessplus | Jim Gamer". What Board Game. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Chessplus: Combine & Conquer". Board's Eye View. 2022-11-19. Retrieved 2024-03-18.