Best reviewed games of 2016 - Part I

It always seems appropriate at this time of year, as the last days of 2016 drop away, to look back at the games reviewed to offer a quick top-five over the next couple of issues.

Starting at number five among reviewed games in 2016 is Grand Chess is by Dutch game designer Christian Freeling.

The variant has become widely respected in the chess world.

Developed in 1984, the game enlarges the familiar board of western chess to 10 X 10.

The larger boards allows for the additions of two compound pieces, which have been used in a variety of chess variants over the years. They are the Marshall which has the combined moves of Rook and Knight, and the Cardinal having the combined moves of Bishop and Knight.

The additional pieces add some definite firepower to the piece array which also includes the regular pieces from chess, with of course to additional pawns.

The next thing Freeling did, and I believe this is where his game design shines through, is to move the pieces forward one space, or more correctly the pieces are set apart as if still on a board eights ranks deep.

The row closest a player is then empty of pieces, or would be except that Freeling pulled the rooks into the corner spaces of the 10 X 10, mimicking their position in regular chess.

Give Grand Chess a try. It is a dynamic experience to be sure.

Button Soccer is a traditional Hungarian and Brazilian soccer game, and sits number four.

The game is one of those skill based games which is also considered a sport by some.  Yes there is an international group promoting the sport aspect (www.isbf.info).

This is a game I admit I have never played, but is one that has long intrigued me.

Of course finding sets when the game is primarily based in Hungary and Brazil is near impossible. Even eBay, the site where you can find practically anything you seek, seems devoid of sets.

So as the name implies, the game simulates soccer; the board depicts a soccer field and both players control a team of disks (or rings), and move them by flicking or pressing their edges, in order to hit a smaller disc (the ball) with them.

Online I have seen homemade versions which are simply larger buttons, although the type in terms of being stable on the board, and their weight. Still you can see how the game developed from people using what they had at hand.

So the idea is rather straight forward. The pieces, (buttons), represent soccer players. As the controlling player you try to flick your buttons onto the ball, and into the goal, for a point.

It’s pretty clear the game would be one where skill wins out, your competitive nature can be satisfied, and where there would be tons of camaraderie would exist in a weekly league, or games room gathering. It might be fun to even build some sets with good old-fashioned buttons, grab a few combs and hit the table pitch. Anyone interested? ([email protected])

At number three is International Checkers which is played on a 10X10 board is an excellent game to wile away many hours.

To begin with the addition of 20 spaces adds some new challenges in terms of maintaining a workable defence across a wider battlefield.

But it is piece movement and capture which really set International Checkers at a level above the common 8X8 game.

The Moves of the Men: Checkers pieces can move forward on each empty square to the left or to the right. When these pieces reach the last line on the opponent’s side they become kings.

“Captures: In International checkers, maximum captures are obligatory, which means that if a player has more than one path to jump to capture his opponent’s pieces, he must take that path that will affect the most capture of his opponent’s pieces. If a piece lands on the king row during a jump, it must continue jumping backward for as long as there is a jump opportunity. That particular piece cannot be kinged unless it finishes the move and stops on king row,” details checkershistory.com via boardgamegeek.com

“Captures by the Men: Men can affect capture by moving forward or backward and jumping over a single piece of the opponent provided that the said piece is adjacent to it and the following square is empty. If the man can jump again from the arrival square to effect another capture, then it must do so.”

It can be checked out in more depth at www.fmjd.org a site dedicated to promoting the game worldwide.

In the meantime find, or fashion a 10X10 board, add 20 pieces of each colour (five per row in the four rows closest each player), and give International Checkers a try. It will amaze you how dynamic the game can be compared to the smaller 8X8 version with its more limiting movements.

Onto the top two next week..