I originated the use of the three-colored board for the same reason that a two-colored board is advantageous for Chess. In Chess, a two-colored board makes it easy to tell where a Bishop can move to. If you tried to play Chess on an uncheckered board, you would know what I mean. Cavalier Chess includes the Nightrider among its pieces, and a Nightrider's movements are easier to follow on the three-colored board I described. The board is set up so that each path available to a Nightrider alternates between only two colors on the board. Although designed primarily with Nightriders in mind, a three-colored board also makes it a bit easier to follow Knight moves, and almost every piece in the game can move like a Knight.
Before settling on a three-colored board, I tried a four-colored board. I decided that the four-colored board was overkill and that a three-colored board would work just as well for following Nightrider moves. Also, adding any colors to the board makes it a bit harder to follow Bishop moves, which the Queen and Paladins have. Using a three-colored board makes it easier to follow Bishop moves than a four-colored board would. So, to aid the visualization of both Bishop and Nightrider moves, I settled on a three-colored board.
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The Knight King moves like a Knight or a King. It may move to any
adjacent square like a King or jump like a Knight. Like the King in
Chess, it may not move in check, because it is the object of the game
to checkmate this piece. Unlike the King in Chess, the Knight King may
not castle.
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The Queen is unchanged from Chess. She can move across a straight line
any number of spaces in any direction.
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The Marshall combines the moves of Rook and Knight. It can move across
a straight line any number of spaces in any orthogonal direction, or it
may jump like a Knight. Unlike the Rook in Chess, it may not castle.
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The Paladin combines the moves of Bishop and Knight. It can move across
a straight line any number of spaces in any diagonal direction, or it
may jump like a Knight.
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The Nightrider has an extended Knight's move. It can make any number of Knight moves in the same direction, so long as each landing square is unoccupied.
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The Cavalier moves like a Knight but cannot jump pieces. It moves one square orthogonally, followed by a diagonal move in the same direction. A Cavalier's move is blocked if a piece occupies a square orthogonally adjacent to it. The Cavalier moves just like the Knight in Chinese Chess. When it reaches the eighth rank, it promotes to the piece whose starting square it lands on. Since Cavaliers cannot promote to Knight Kings, a Cavalier which lands on the Knight King's starting square promotes to any other superior piece of the player's choosing.
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