Witch's chess

... for three Players


Start of the Game - Positions of the Figures

*** Aufstellung bei drei Parteien ***

Three Players, each  having

1 Witch
1 Raven
2 Brooms
2 Bats
2 Towers
7 Toads

The hexagonal three-person chessboard and the positions of the figures of the two players at the beginning of the game.

Like in the two-person Witch's Chess each raven stands in his corner, his witch directly before him, on the left a broom flanks the raven and a bat on the right, a tower is directly on the left near this broom, the second tower on the right near this bat. The second broom stands directly before the first broom and the second bat directly before the first bat. Seven Toads enclose the more powerful figures.. However, here each player is separated in by a free corner from each of the two other players (see Picture).


Game Rules

Firstly, the colors (red, black and white) are randomly assigned to the three players. The party with the red figures starts the game, followed by black, then white, then red again, and so on. A player makes one movement per turn. The game rules are similar to those of the conventional chess game. A figure is not allowed to move to a field occupied by a figure of the same color. If a figure moves to a field occupied by a figure of a different color (i.e., party), then the other party's figure is hit and removed from the board. A party is eliminated when its raven is hit or, eventually, if it is not possible for the party to move any figure on its turn. If the first party is eliminated because of the inability to make a movement then all figures of that party are removed from the board. If the party is eliminated because the raven (king) was hit by another party's figure, then all remaining figures of the party, whose raven has been hit, come under the control of the hitting party for the remainder of the game. When one party is eliminated, the remaining two parties continue playing against each other until a winner is determined. Hence, the overall game consists of two phases.


The possible movements of the Figures:

hexe Witch
rabe Raven
besen Brooms
fledermaus Bats
turm Towers
kroete Toads

Specifics of the three Player's Witch's Chess

Basic directions of the Figures' movements

The directions of the movements and the hits of the Toads of the three parties are different from each other, because the Toads of each player are oriented towards the opposite side of the board. When the first Raven is eliminated and his Toads are taken over by the hitting player, these Toads keep their original orientation of movement and the original fields to be reached for changing them to other Figures.


Moreover there exist major differences between the two and the three person hexagonal Witch's Chess. concerning the treatment of the Raven (King) and the correspondings Rules for winning the game.

In addition, in the three-person Witch's chess coalitions between two players can be formed. Such coalitions can have a strong effect on the course of a game.



Aim & End of the Game

In contrast to the conventional chess game, the ravens (kings) are not protected by any special rules. This means that there is no obligation for any party to hit a king, if indeed possible, and nor is it forbidden for a king to move to a field that can be attacked by figures of the other two parties. Moreover, when a party is not able to move any figure it has lost the game. Thus, in the second phase, the overall game can be won by hitting the opponent's king or through forcing the remaining opponent into a situation where he or she is unable to make any move. Finally, the game is won by the player having the strongest power in figures, if no figures are hit for ten consecutive rounds.

Rules defining Draws

The game immediately ends with a draw, if the third repetition of the identical position with the identical player's turn appears.
 

Coalition Formation

In the hexagonal chess game coalitions can only exist for certain phases and the commitment to a coalition cannot be formally assured by binding contracts. Only verbal statements of intent concerning the commitment to a coalition are possible during the game.


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