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MStitanic-chess[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Florin Lupusoru wrote on Mon, Mar 11, 2024 04:34 AM UTC in reply to Bob Greenwade from Sun Mar 10 03:59 PM:

I don't know yet how to include Hydra into this game. If I have to stick to the legend and allow Hydra to increase its power every time it is captured, I also need to find a way for its power to be neutralised.

I tried to see what other have done with the Hydra, and there's not a lot (perhaps Jean-Louis could help out here). One Hydra that I recall seeing before was a compound of the Manticore (Rhinoceros) and Griffin (Eagle), moving on space and then turning 45° to slide from there, which I think would be a good fallback (since you currently have only two per side listed).

If you want to keep to the legend, then start each player with at least six, moving like Snakes (one step forward or backward, then outward diagonally). Every time one is captured, two more appear in the spaces where Hydra pieces started, or elsewhere in the starting territory if all of those (or all but one) are occupied. This can be stopped if the capturing piece is fire-based (that's how Hercules stopped the heads from regrowing), such as the Chimera, Dragon, or Phoenix (though the Medusa might also do). When only one Hydra piece remains, it becomes Iron (cannot be captured; one of the Hydra's heads was immortal).

I believe the Hydra problem could be solved by allowing it to multiply upon being captured. There is no need for extra snakes. 

Both, the captured Hydra, and an extra one, will enter the game on the next turn. And yes, I can use Medusa and other pieces to neutralize its power, or the Dragons and Titans to capture it and completely remove it from the board.