Dollhouse xiangqi set

I saw this 'dollhouse' xiangqi set on eBay and I just had to get it!

Inside the little plastic box is a folded-up paper 'board', and the pieces, still connected. They needed separating, and some TLC to file away the rough edges as much as possible.

And to give you a sense of scale, a pound coin in-between ..

I wanted to have a board which was a bit nicer than the folded-up piece of paper, and decided on getting two semi-translucent Perspex discs. The idea was to have the paper board in-between those discs.

And this is then what the full set looks like:

The smallest set in the collection! Just had to take a picture of this dollhouse xiangqi set together with the 'generals' of my largest xiangqi set ...

Beach xiangqi set

A year ago to the day, we went out to collect flat round stones from a pebble beach nearby.

The idea was to create a xiangqi set for 'outdoor use', and flat round stones would be perfect for that. For all kinds of reasons, the idea remained just that, an idea, and the stones were patiently waiting in a bag in the shed .... Until earlier this week!

Chinese symbols duly painted on the stones ...

... and, with the pieces done, where better to create an outdoor board than on a beach? So down to Wittering beach on a cold but beautiful day. First measured out and drew the board ...

... and then added the pieces to it. 

Rather than set up the board and pieces for modern xiangqi, I decided to do so for a reconstruction of xiangqi as it is thought to have been played during the Tang and Song dynasties. This reconstruction is by Himly, and dates to 1870.

In terms of the board and initial set-up of the pieces, the main differences with xiangqi as it is played nowadays are the absence of the river (like in modern Janggi), six pawns rather than five, the cannons starting on the back row, a single guard rather than two, and the kings starting in the centre of the palace (like in modern Janggi). There are also differences in the moves of the pieces (e.g. the chariot only moves forward, like the 'lance' in modern Shogi). 

By the way, I did paint the symbol of the guard on the reverse of the 'extra' pawns, so the set can be used for modern xiangqi just as well.

Laser Chess

When is a board game a chess variant? Guess we can discuss this until the cows come home, and there are different opinions on the matter. Even so, no matter where you draw the line, there will always be a grey area ...

Enter Laser Chess. To me, this is still a chess variant, because (1) it has a number of different pieces, with different moves and/or powers, and (2) the capture of a single piece (the 'king') decides the game. Laser Chess fulfils those criteria, so ...

Besides a king, Laser Chess has 'switches', 'deflectors' and 'defenders', which can all move. Plus a 'laser', which is stationary. The 'switches', 'deflectors' and 'defenders' have different reflective (mirrors), blocking, and vulnerable surfaces, whereas the king only has vulnerable surfaces.

The stationary 'lasers' can be fired at the end of every move, with the aim of hitting the king, making use of the mirrors on its own pieces. The opposing pieces are moved such that they screen the king from being hit, but if they have vulnerable surfaces, they can be hit as well, and are then removed from play. Essentially capturing from a distance.

In case all this sounds a bit familiar to anyone, in the 1980s there was a computer game called 'Laser Chess', which worked on the same concept. It had that annoying video voice saying "You can't do that!" if you tried to make an illegal move ...

Disney 'Mickey & Friends' set

Another addition to my 'fictional' chess sets. I already had a Disney 'Heroes & Villains' set, and this Disney set is referred to as 'Mickey & Friends'.

Like the other Disney chess set, and like other 'fictional' chess sets in the collection (Smurfs, Simpsons, Flintstones, Batman and Shrek), the pieces are made from plastoy. The board is the usual fold-up cardboard.

On 'Mickey's side, we have Mickey and Minnie as king and queen, Pluto as rook, Pete as knight, and Horace Horsecollar as bishop. 

On the 'Friends' side, we have Donald and Daisy as king and queen, Grandma Duck as rook, Scrooge McDuck as knight, and Goofy as bishop.

Plus a set of eight mice and ducks acting as pawns for 'Mickey' and 'Friends', respectively!