The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Well, to start out with, this isn't really a role-playing game. It isn't really a miniatures game either. At first I was a bit hesitant about reviewing it. Then I saw that The Three Stooges Card Game had been reviewed before and felt much better.

So, what is this game, anyways? The easiest way to describe it is an add on to chess. When you open the box, you find some new rules and a lot of neat cards.

"Oh, no," I can hear you saying, "not another card game!" Well, it's definitely not a CCG. (Whew!) The best way to play Knightmare Chess is with all players using one shared deck, although there are rules for separate decks.

The cards themselves do all sorts of wild and crazy things. They range from the simple Masquerade (move any piece like a Queen) to the fun Fortification (make a wall between two squares) to the bizarre Madman (move a Pawn like a checkers piece) to the amazingly neat Earthquake (turn the whole board sideways, promoting all Pawns as applicable). Fortunately, each player can only use one card per turn. And yes, there are many ways to foil an opponent's move.

The overall goal of the game remains the same as normal: checkmate the opponent's king. However, you cannot directly checkmate with a card, so as to add some balance. It is often harder to checkmate in Knightmare Chess than in normal chess because there are many cards to aid a king's escape.

Overall, the game is much more chaotic and varied then normal chess, and for this reason I prefer Knightmare Chess. However, a few of my friends feel that the loss of the ability to predict moves in advance detracts a little from the game.

The cards are glossy, a bit oversized so as to fit nicely in your hand, and very well illustrated, with a few exceptions. The rules sheet is also very well done.

There are very few problems with this game. The most disabling, from my point of view, is that it can be mildly annoying to carry around a full-sized chess set, and I don't like those small magnetic ones. Another is that a few cards are really weak. Often I'll hear a new player look at a card they just picked up and exclaim, "Why would anyone play this?" I just respond, "Is it Assassin or Disintegration?" Both of these involve destroying your own pieces.

Overall, though, the problems are trifling compared to the fun. It's amazingly easy to teach to anyone who knows chess (and just about everyone does), and you'll both have fun while you play.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Knightmare Chess
Author: Pierre Clequin and Bruno Faidutti Category: Card and chess game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Cost: $15 Page count: n/a ISBN: 1-55634-319-1 Playtest Review by Sam Lindsay-Levine on 03/28/98. Genre tags: none	Well, to start out with, this isn't really a role-playing game. It isn't really a miniatures game either. At first I was a bit hesitant about reviewing it. Then I saw that The Three Stooges Card Game had been reviewed before and felt much better. So, what is this game, anyways? The easiest way to describe it is an add on to chess. When you open the box, you find some new rules and a lot of neat cards. "Oh, no," I can hear you saying, "not another card game!" Well, it's definitely not a CCG. (Whew!) The best way to play Knightmare Chess is with all players using one shared deck, although there are rules for separate decks. The cards themselves do all sorts of wild and crazy things. They range from the simple Masquerade (move any piece like a Queen) to the fun Fortification (make a wall between two squares) to the bizarre Madman (move a Pawn like a checkers piece) to the amazingly neat Earthquake (turn the whole board sideways, promoting all Pawns as applicable). Fortunately, each player can only use one card per turn. And yes, there are many ways to foil an opponent's move. The overall goal of the game remains the same as normal: checkmate the opponent's king. However, you cannot directly checkmate with a card, so as to add some balance. It is often harder to checkmate in Knightmare Chess than in normal chess because there are many cards to aid a king's escape. Overall, the game is much more chaotic and varied then normal chess, and for this reason I prefer Knightmare Chess. However, a few of my friends feel that the loss of the ability to predict moves in advance detracts a little from the game. The cards are glossy, a bit oversized so as to fit nicely in your hand, and very well illustrated, with a few exceptions. The rules sheet is also very well done. There are very few problems with this game. The most disabling, from my point of view, is that it can be mildly annoying to carry around a full-sized chess set, and I don't like those small magnetic ones. Another is that a few cards are really weak. Often I'll hear a new player look at a card they just picked up and exclaim, "Why would anyone play this?" I just respond, "Is it Assassin or Disintegration?" Both of these involve destroying your own pieces. Overall, though, the problems are trifling compared to the fun. It's amazingly easy to teach to anyone who knows chess (and just about everyone does), and you'll both have fun while you play. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)