tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8489932668814899181..comments2024-03-28T06:20:47.668-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: The Articles of Dragon: "Dragonchess"James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55971354665779284692012-05-21T21:16:17.032-04:002012-05-21T21:16:17.032-04:00I made a dragonchess set a while back out of Sculp...I made a dragonchess set a while back out of Sculpey: some pictures here:<br /><br />http://panglott.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-first-dragonchess-set.html <br /><br /><br /><br />It's a grand idea, but apparently Gygax never actually played a game <br />before publishing it. It is wildly overcomplicated, and the piece moves <br />are unpredictable and unsystematic. I've been working on a similar game,<br /> that I could use that board with, that would be a much more <br />learnable/playable game. <br /><br /><br /><br />I think it's a gateway for a lot of us to other chess variants...<br /><br />http://panglott.blogspot.com/2009/06/chess-variants.html<br /> Jeremiah Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62719329854049979022012-05-05T00:24:21.928-04:002012-05-05T00:24:21.928-04:00I am a little disappointed to see this series of p...I am a little disappointed to see this series of posts end here. While issue #100 is an obvious symbolic number, as you said, in content it's nothing special. The definitive end of the Old School Era at TSR came around a year later, with Gygax's ouster.M. Rooneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-91126873395194166382012-05-04T00:17:09.504-04:002012-05-04T00:17:09.504-04:00Thought folks might want to check out some custom-...Thought folks might want to check out some custom-made DragonChess boards hand-blown from fused glass: http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3193<br /><br />Allan.grodognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60286402457211719352012-05-02T20:10:59.779-04:002012-05-02T20:10:59.779-04:00Thank you for the 100 Articles of Dragon series Ja...Thank you for the 100 Articles of Dragon series James. It's been a great read and chance to revisit articles from my first foray into the hobby.<br /><br />Care to hint at what's next? JTAS? Polyhedreon?Hotchip Hqnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63512271425758128272012-05-02T14:17:16.484-04:002012-05-02T14:17:16.484-04:00Clay-o-Rama was the only mini-game from Dragon tha...Clay-o-Rama was the only mini-game from Dragon that I played more than once - and in grade school, I played it a lot (I loved the additional rules as well). This game deserves a revival - your kids are going to love it!Victor Von Davehttp://victor-von-dave.myopenid.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-76719353538449205002012-05-02T09:37:51.036-04:002012-05-02T09:37:51.036-04:00I think the only Dragon games my group and I ever ...I think the only Dragon games my group and I ever played much of were a few games of King of the Tabletop and more games of Clay-o-Rama than we cared to admit. <br /><br />Hmm... I should introduce my kids to Clay-o-Rama. I bet they'd love it.Tom Bolenbaughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9670296490130238642012-05-02T09:35:38.603-04:002012-05-02T09:35:38.603-04:00I have never tried Dragon Chess, and I must say th...I have never tried Dragon Chess, and I must say that the number of variations in it intimidate me, and I'm an okay chess player. I have played some awfully fun chess variants.<br /><br />Byzantine chess, played on a round board, is one of my favorites. I also recently learned how to play Papal Chess, which apparently until 1910 could get a person excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Tom Bolenbaughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75974554148529351112012-05-01T19:23:07.951-04:002012-05-01T19:23:07.951-04:00I made a board out of plywood and dowels a few yea...I made a board out of plywood and dowels a few years back, with pieces made of various combinations of small dowels and different sized wooden spools. My step-daughter and I made it and played it a couple of times, but it was very time consuming and complicated. I really loved the idea, but it wasn't something I was going to play much.AMPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32758373195758375352012-05-01T15:36:59.585-04:002012-05-01T15:36:59.585-04:00I wrote a Dragonchess computer program for my old ...I wrote a Dragonchess computer program for my old Atari (assembly language, so even if I still had it I don't think it would be much use to anyone else). I set the boards up in fullscreen and then set F1, F2, and F3 to switch to the appropriate board instantly (each was saved as a screenshot so there was no redraw time). This made it very easy to grasp the relative positions of the pieces on the boards.<br /><br />Played a slow game, though, on 3-ply or more which you absolutely needed to avoid it throwing the dragon at almost every tactical difficulty.Nagoranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38385846912936322412012-05-01T15:11:48.531-04:002012-05-01T15:11:48.531-04:00I'm impressed by the images over at BoardGameG...I'm impressed by the images over at BoardGameGeek.<br /><br />http://boardgamegeek.com/image/125337/dragon-chess<br /><br />Would love to play it, but I'm afraid it's not my style enough to make one...JPLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4998167645692193932012-05-01T13:11:35.669-04:002012-05-01T13:11:35.669-04:00Looks like something a group of wizards would'...Looks like something a group of wizards would've played - preferably with illusions, like a magical version of this "monster chess" seen in Star Wars.doreshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70249168653407357182012-05-01T11:38:40.287-04:002012-05-01T11:38:40.287-04:00I too, am fond of the _idea_ of dragonchess, altho...I too, am fond of the _idea_ of dragonchess, although it's too expensive and too much trouble to actually _make_ a set. I seem to remember a later article, a few months along, where they had photos of a set or more which subscribers had made and sent photos in of.<br /><br />Of course, now I'm considering building the set out of LEGOs...John Fialahttp://jcfiala.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47531990481521997542012-05-01T11:36:28.058-04:002012-05-01T11:36:28.058-04:00Seems like it would be a fascinating game. Back in...Seems like it would be a fascinating game. Back in the "old country" chess is popular, and I recall some variants making use of Chancellors--a piece that moves like a Bishop/Knight (much in the same way the Queen moves like a Bishop/Rook) and the Marshall (a piece that moves like a Rook/Knight), but these variants were never popular for long. Good story. It's enjoyable reading these reminisces. Sorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82757176756157351282012-05-01T11:25:40.132-04:002012-05-01T11:25:40.132-04:00We made three boards out of cardboard, colored the...We made three boards out of cardboard, colored the squares appropriately and put them side-by-side. We never actually played, but we did read the article and move the pieces around to get familiar with how everything was supposed to work. If we had played, I'm sure luck would have been more important than skill.Slerotinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2798239115832317952012-05-01T11:12:15.810-04:002012-05-01T11:12:15.810-04:00Congratulations on finishing up your Dragon Articl...Congratulations on finishing up your Dragon Article series. It is quite an accomplishment, and I can say I've enjoyed them. Looking forward to what comes next. Dungeon articles? :)<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />-TroyTroy Costisicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64079715087712997962012-05-01T11:09:48.528-04:002012-05-01T11:09:48.528-04:00My old DM constructed a Dragonchess board out of s...My old DM constructed a Dragonchess board out of some plexiglass and some three foot long bolts. <br /><br />We played a few times, but like you say it was a hard one to keep track of. <br /><br />With the recent influx of cool and cheap minis I have considered many times making my own. <br /><br />I have tried out various software versions over the years and that is enough to remind me I really don't need to build one.Timothy Brannanhttp://timbrannan.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-37003200872158310132012-05-01T10:24:50.083-04:002012-05-01T10:24:50.083-04:00I actually built a Dragonchess board out of plexig...I actually built a Dragonchess board out of plexiglass (and contact paper) in my shop class in high school. I never got to play it -- or even acquire all the pieces -- but it sure was fun looking at my (crazy-heavy, expensive) board and imagining.Steven Marshnoreply@blogger.com