Avon
By Charles Gilman
This is another Anglis Qi variant like Isis and Cam, again inspired by riparian cities with distinguished (though this time newer) universities. Two such cities at the western end of the old Mercia-Wessex border, Bath and Bristol, share a river, the more southerly of the two left-bank tributaries of the Severn called the Avon. The name Avon also means the cities and their environs considered as a single area, among the most pan-European in provincial Britain with links to such instances of an immigrant and his son making a big impact on some profession as the Cabots, Herschels, and Brunels. While nowhere can match Oxford for fantasy heritage the relatively obscure Katherine Roberts is, like this variant's inventor, a graduate of Bath and the more widely-known (at least in Britain) Terry Pratchett has been awarded honorary doctorates from bo Bath and Bristol. As with Isis and Cam the premise is the university Chancellors and local church leaders inviting an equal each from other cities and (alas, for the same date!) the royal family.As there are two cities it is a four-player game, two players sharing the White and two the Black pieces. With one university north and one south of the River, same-colour pieces start in opposite corners. The board is a FIDE one with an extra rank at each end, numbered 0 and 9. To prevent an early massacre, moves crossing the boundary between files d and e must include at least one square each side on ranks 2-7, either as start/end (the only option for a Knight move) or en route (c1-f4 is allowed, as it passes through d2, but c0-f3 is not). Players are initially restricted to moves starting or ending their side of the River. Playing order is White 0-4, Black 5-9, White 5-9, Black 0-4.
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A player with no legal move (including ending with a royal piece on their half of the board) drops out of the game. All that player's turns are subsequently missed. Their partner, if still in the game, gains total control of the army with extensive promotions: Princess to Queen, Caryatid to CHATELAINE (all Rook and Ferz moves), Abbot and Bishop to PRIMATE (all Bishop and Wazir moves), and Pawn to Wazir. This strengthening is some compensation for the army moving only half as often as before. The form of partnership is suggestive of the card game Bridge, appropriate for a river through two such distinguished cities and thus so impressive a range of bridges! The game ends when both an army's players drop out of the game.
This variant can be played with varying amounts of communication allowed between partners. For example, you might allow an opinion to be expressed on a partner's initial proposal for a move but not on any change of mind. It can also be played with wins and losses for teams or individual players. In the latter case the player whose move ends the game ranks first and the first player to drop out fourth.
It is playable using two FIDE sets distinguishable by size, with (large/small) Pawns for Wazir/Pawn, Rooks for Marshal/Caryatid, Knights for Marshal/Carpenter, Bishops for Bishop/Abbot, Queens for Queen/Princess, and both Kings for Princes. No substitution is needed for mass promotions when a player takes control of their entire army, such promotion being obvious from the partner dropping out.
Since this variant I have posted two further 4-player multi-city ones set in more northerly conurbations. Irwell uses the same size (and shape) board but with armies more intermixed and no restriction on crossing between files. Aire has a larger, H-shaped board with sections of camp at different distances from the River and a ban on moving through concavities.
Written by Charles Gilman.
WWW page created: October 17th, 2004.