My sister gave me a solitaire chess set for Christmas.
Each puzzle is played on a 4x4 square and all pieces move as they normally would in a chess game. The rules that are different are that you have to capture a piece with every move and you win by only having one piece on the board. It doesn't matter what piece, so long as there is only one. I did this puzzle just last week. See if you can do it. It is one of the "expert" level puzzles. If you want a hint or two, the rook moves first and the king is the last piece on the board. (b2xb1, a3xc1, b1xa1, a1xc1, c1xc3, b3xc3, c3xd4)(highlight the white line to see the solution).
I've always enjoyed strategy and tactics, even though I'm not as good at them as I would like to think I am. Games like chess, ticket to ride, and other board games steel panthers (and other turn based stratagy games), real time stratagies, and war games. They require me to think ahead and try to plan out what I want to happen. Invariably my plan will be foiled - (see "no plan survives contact with the enemy") - and I will need to pick up the pieces or come up with a new plan. While it is often frustrating to lose, games give provide a great opportunity to fail without serious repercussions. I can try my chess puzzles as often as I like and it doesn't matter how long it takes. (It occurred to me that it would have been good to record how long it takes me, just as a measure of my progress.)
What I find interesting about this solitaire chess set is that there is often such a limited number of moves. Often times some pieces have no purpose but to be captured. Of instance, the rook at d4 and the bishop at b1 cannot capture any piece, and so are just there to be bait. Their presence is necessary for the puzzle but their potential movement can be disregarded. Yet, despite such a limited scope, many of the puzzles take longer than I would think.
Each puzzle is played on a 4x4 square and all pieces move as they normally would in a chess game. The rules that are different are that you have to capture a piece with every move and you win by only having one piece on the board. It doesn't matter what piece, so long as there is only one. I did this puzzle just last week. See if you can do it. It is one of the "expert" level puzzles. If you want a hint or two, the rook moves first and the king is the last piece on the board. (b2xb1, a3xc1, b1xa1, a1xc1, c1xc3, b3xc3, c3xd4)(highlight the white line to see the solution).
I've always enjoyed strategy and tactics, even though I'm not as good at them as I would like to think I am. Games like chess, ticket to ride, and other board games steel panthers (and other turn based stratagy games), real time stratagies, and war games. They require me to think ahead and try to plan out what I want to happen. Invariably my plan will be foiled - (see "no plan survives contact with the enemy") - and I will need to pick up the pieces or come up with a new plan. While it is often frustrating to lose, games give provide a great opportunity to fail without serious repercussions. I can try my chess puzzles as often as I like and it doesn't matter how long it takes. (It occurred to me that it would have been good to record how long it takes me, just as a measure of my progress.)
What I find interesting about this solitaire chess set is that there is often such a limited number of moves. Often times some pieces have no purpose but to be captured. Of instance, the rook at d4 and the bishop at b1 cannot capture any piece, and so are just there to be bait. Their presence is necessary for the puzzle but their potential movement can be disregarded. Yet, despite such a limited scope, many of the puzzles take longer than I would think.
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