As I'm sure you're aware, pasta comes in many different shapes, and I always had a vague plan in mind to make a chess set using different pasta shapes. That idea sort of simmered in the back of my mind for quite a while, until I decided to create a
xiangqi set using pasta.
As xiangqi pieces are normally flat discs, I decided to use
ruote as the bases for all pieces, and add different shapes on top to differentiate the pieces. A rainy-day trek past a few shops gave me enough different pasta shapes to make this work.
We'll eat
lots of pasta in the foreseeable future ...
But first the board. Piece of plywood, painted red, formed the base of the board, and
linguine was used to create the lines.
Xiangqi boards normally have the starting positions of canons and pawns indicated, and I used
stelle to do that.
Board done!
So on to the pieces, and I decided to paint the differentiating parts of the pieces red and black, but leave the
ruote bases 'pasta-coloured'. I also wanted to use similar, but not identical pasta shapes for the two sides' general/marshal, elephants/ministers, and pawns, as traditional xiangqi sets use alternative Chinese writing for the red and black versions of these particular pieces.
Starting with the pawns, I used
macaroni, in two different configurations for 'red' and 'black'.
For the cannons, I used
penne. Pretty obvious why, right?
The chariots (rooks) have
mafalda corta as their distinguishing pasta shape.
Farfalle was used for the horses (knights); I do see the knight move in the shape.
For the ministers and elephants, I used similar shapes:
conchiglie and
gnocchi.
The guards are represented by
dischi volanti.
And, finally, the marshal and general (the king in xiangqi), for which I used
fusilli and
fusilli bucati.
Let's put all the pasta pieces on the pasta board!
I'm pleased with how my pasta set turned out; definitely a set unlike any I've made so far. I think the word 'quirky' captures it quite well!
