THE RULES OF FOURPLAY



Pieces 960-968




960. Definition of Fourplay Piece Bender

A. There exists a Fourplay piece called the Bender.

B. The Material Value of the Bender is 4.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Bender is 4.

D. The ASCII for the Bender is Be.

E. The Bender moves in any single orthogonal direction. When a Bender crosses from a quadrant to a neutral square, a neutral square to a quadrant, or a quadrant to a different quadrant, however, its direction changes from orthogonal to diagonal; it can choose from either diagonal direction that forms a 135 degree angle with its original path of travel. The Bender is never required to make such a crossing. Its path of travel must always be unblocked, altho it can capture an enemy Pieces occupying its destination square.


961. Definition of Fourplay Piece Zombie

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Zombie.

B. The material value of the Zombie is 4.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Zombie is 3.

D. The ASCII character for the Zombie is Zo.

E. The Zombie moves exactly 2 squares in any direction, skipping over intermediate squares when doing so. It can not capture when moving this way.

F. The Zombie captures on adjacent squares. When doing so, it automatically promoes to the Piece it is capturing, unless doing so would break instance limits, in which case the Zombie can not capture that Piece.

G. The Zombie appears as your standard B-grade horror-movie Zombie. The Piece is taken from the Ackanomic subgame Party Chess.


962. Definition of Fourplay Piece Withdrawer

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Withdrawer.

B. The material value of the Withdrawer is 4.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Withdrawer is 1.

D. The ASCII character for the Withdrawer is W.

E. The Withdrawer moves any number of squares in any single direction. Its path must be unblocked and its destination square must be unoccupied.

F. The Withdrawer only captures Pieces on adjacent squares, and only by moving in the direction that is directly away from the Piece being captured.

G. The Withdrawer appears as sneaky, shifty man, with dark eyes, a top hat, and a trenchcoat. The Withdrawer is taken from the famous chess variant Ultima.


963. Definition of Fourplay Piece Monkey

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Monkey.

B. The material value of the Monkey is 3.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Monkey is 3.

D. The ASCII character for the Monkey is M.

E. The Monkey can move to any adjacent unoccupied square.

F. The Monkey captures moves like a checkers piece. If the Monkey is adjacent to any enemy Piece, and the square adjacent to the enemy Piece that on the oppsite side of the Piece as the Monkey, then the Monkey can move to that empty square, capturing the enemy Piece. If, upon arriving at the square, the Monkey finds himself in a position to capture another Piece, he may do so, and continue doing so for as many Pieces as he wishes, altho he is never obligated to capture Pieces.

G. The Monkey appears as a monkey, the colors of the Player's Office. It is taken from the game Congo.


964. Definition of Fourplay Piece Spider

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Spider.

B. The material value of the Spider is 8.5.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Spider is 2.

D. The ASCII character for the Spider is @.

E. The Spider move any number of squares in any single direction, provided all squares in its path are unoccupied, including its destination square. The Spider does not capture.

F. The Spider can rotate the Pieces around it. More specifically, the Spider can pick up any Piece that is on a square in the Spider's Conway Neighborhood, and move it to another square in the Spider's Conway Neighborhood that is also in the Von-Neumann Neighborhood of the square the Piece was originally on. The Spider may pick up and move as many Pieces at one time as it wishes; however, all Pieces must be moved in the same direction (either clockwise or counterclockwise) around the Spider. The Spider can move friendly Pieces onto enemy Pieces, which are then captured. He can not move enemy Pieces onto friendly Pieces or other enemy Pieces, he can not move Pieces off the Board, he can not pick up Pieces that can not normally move (such as Walls) and he can not pick up the Neutron. All movements are considered to be simultaneous.

G. The Spider can shift all the Pieces around it. More specifically, the Spider can pick up any Piece that is on a square in the Spider's Conway Neighborhood. Then the Spider moves exactly one square in any single orthogonal direction, and all Pieces moved by the Spider travels exactly one square in the same direction as the Spider. The Spider may pick up and move as many Pieces at one time as it wishes. The Spider can move friendly Pieces onto enemy Pieces, which are then captured. He can not move enemy Pieces onto friendly Pieces or other enemy Pieces, he can not move Pieces off the Board, he can not pick up Pieces that can not normally move (such as Walls), and he can not pick up the Neutron. All movements are considered to be simultaneous.

H. The Spider appears as a giant spider, and picks up one Piece with each leg when moving Pieces. It has multiple compound eyes, which are the colors of the Player's Office. When the Spider is mashed by the Masher, it makes a big disgusting mess, sending bug guts flying everywhere.


965. Definition of Fourplay Piece Movable Wall

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Movable Wall (MW).

B. The material value of the MW is 6.

C. The on-board instance limit for the MW is 2.

D. The ASCII character for the MW is m#.

E. The Movable Wall can move any number of squares in any single direction, provided all the squares in its path are unoccupied, including the destination square. The MW can not capture.

F. The Movable Wall can not be captured. This takes precedence over all other capturing Rules.

G. The Movable Wall can not be moved to or placed on a square orthogonally adjacent to a Wall for any reason. If conditions (such as location of Magnetrons) or actions of other Player's (such as using a Qball) cause the MW to move a square adjacent to a Wall, it is immediately destroyed.

H. The Movable Wall can not be part of a Compound Piece.

I. The Movable Wall appears the same as the Wall, but with wheels on the bottom.


966. Definition of Fourplay Piece Scooper

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Scooper.

B. The material value of the Scooper is 8.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Scooper is 1.

D. The ASCII character for the Scooper is Sc.

E. When the Scooper is first placed on the Board, the Player placing it must specify which direction it is facing (either up, down, left, or right). On subsequent moves, the Scooper can either move up to three squares in the orthogonal direction that it is facing (it can not skip over occupied squares), or it can rotate 90 degrees to face a new direction. Rotating counts as a move, so it can never rotate and move in the same turn.

F. The Scooper captures as it moves. However, it is not obligated to stop upon capturing; it can continue moving (in the same direction), possibly capturing additional Pieces (so the Scooper can capture up to 3 Pieces in one move.

G. The Scooper can not be part of a Compound Piece.

H. The Scooper appears as a truck with a big scoop on the front and a big dumptruck-like container in the back. When the Scooper captures, it scoops up the Pieces with its scoop and flips them back into the container in the back, where the are given electric shocks to immobilize them while they are transported off-board.


967. Definition of Fourplay Piece Orphan

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Orphan.

B. The material value of the Orphan is 4.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Orphan is 6.

D. The ASCII character for the Orphan is O.

E. The Orphan can not be part of a Compound Piece.

F. The Orphan has the power to move like all the Pieces that are attacking it. More specifically, if an enemy Piece is in a position with respect to an Orphan such that if it were the enemy Piece's turn, that Piece could capture the Orphan, then the Orphan can move as if it were the enemy Piece. There are some restrictions:

1) An Orphan threatened by Magnetrons will not cause between-turn effects.
2) An Orphan moving as a promotable Piece will not promote, even if its move fulfills promotion requirements.
3) An Orphan threatened by an Echo gains echo power, so that it can echo friendly Pieces as an Echo would. However, it does NOT gain the power of the Piece that the threatening Echo is echoing.
4) An Orphan threatened by an Oliphaunt will not be caused to rampage by a Harfyblob will have the Hn of the threatening Harfyblob.
6) An Orphan threatened by a Little Dog can not attach itself to other Pieces.

F. An Orphan threatened by an enemy Orphan will gain all the powers of the enemy Orphan; thus Orphan chain-reactions can occur.

G. The Orphan only has the powers of the enemy Pieces as long as it is attacked by those Pieces. The Orphan loses the powers of the threatening Pieces if the Orpahan or enemy Piece moves away or is captured, or if an interposing Piece blocks the threat.

H. The Orphan appears as a Charles-Dickens era orphan. The piece was invented by David L. Brown, problemist and columnist for the USCF's Chess Life magazine.


968. Definition of Fourplay Piece Friend

A. There is a Fourplay Piece called the Friend.

B. The material value of the Friend is 5.

C. The on-board instance limit for the Friend is 3.

D. The ASCII character for the Friend is Fr.

E. The Friend can not be part of a Compound Piece.

F. The Friend has the power to move like all the Pieces that are guarding it. More specifically, if an friendly Piece is in a position with respect to an Friend such that if it were an enemy Piece, that Piece could capture the Friend, then the Friend can move as if it were the friendly Piece. There are some restrictions:

1) A Friend moving as a promotable Piece will not promote, even if its move fulfills promotion requirements.
2) A Friend guarded by an Flaming Pig. (However, a Friend guarded by a Flaming Pig can rampage an enemy Oliphaunt).
3) A Friend guarded by a Little Dog can not attach itself to other Pieces.

F. A Friend guarded by another Friend will gain all the powers of the other Friend; thus Friend chain-reactions can occur.

G. The Friend only has the powers of the friendly Pieces as long as it is guarded by those Pieces. The Friend loses the powers of the threatening Pieces if the Friend or guarding Piece moves away or is captured, or if an interposing Piece blocks the guard.

H. The Friend appears as a really nice guy. He will occassionally offer to buy you a beer. The piece was invented by David L. Brown, problemist and columnist for the USCF's Chess Life magazine.