Barion
quantum physics on the chessboard
In Barion the objective is to checkmate the opponent's
king. Normal chess rules apply. Instead of the regular pieces in the initial
position, there exist "shaman" pieces (residing in a "spiritual
trance-state"), that can travel directly to any empty square on the board.
Alternatively, the shaman can directly be transformed to a piece from the
regular piece set. Only the pawns and the kings are initially defined. Until the
shaman has been defined as a real piece it cannot interact with other pieces,
that is, cannot make captures. In order to transform a shaman (allow a shaman to
leave the shamanic state and become a normal piece) the player must use up a
move on the spot. A shaman can transform himself to any piece there remains to
drop. The shaman is only mobile once. Hence it becomes immobile on the square
where it has landed. So the only option is, later, to transform it to a normal
piece.
Castling is allowed with a shaman instead of a rook. Since the
castled shaman has moved it cannot move again, but must later be transformed to
any remaining piece. Should a shaman be captured and the player has several
pieces that remain to be dropped, the opponent has no way of knowing which piece
has actually been captured. The two bishops must be dropped on different
colours. If only a bishop remains to be dropped, the player must see to that the
shaman is positioned on the correct colour. Otherwise the bishop cannot be
dropped. Barion was invented and implemented by undersigned, January 2006. It is
inspired by
Bario and Shamanic
Chess
Don't overestimate the shamans in the early phase of the
game. Remember that shamans, although extremely mobile, are weak pieces while
they become immobile after they have landed. Even the enemy king can step up to
the shaman and capture it. This game could be played on a real chessboard with
checkers pieces as shamans.
There is an affinity between Barion and modern quantum physics. A
quantum particle can exist in an "undefined" state, until it is
observed, when it obtains its properties. This is reminiscent of the undefined
piece in Barion.
(Don't miss my other chess
variants.)
You can download my free Barion program here (updated 2006-06-28), but you must own the software Zillions of Games to be able to run it.
© M. Winther (January 2006).
