Comments by IlyaLizard
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your feedback. Made some grammatical and clarification updates, and also added .stl files for anyone, who would like to 3D print the equipment.
Best regards,
Ilya
Dear Bob,
Thank you for your feedback. Made some grammatical and clarification updates, and also added .stl files for anyone, who would like to 3D print the equipment.
Best regards,
Ilya
Лев - спасибо за пояснение, и спасибо за высокую оценку игры.
В любом случае, дополнения Боба были хорошей идеей.
In any case, thank you very much for your contribution, I think your suggestions were in place.
Best regards, Ilya
Hello Fergus!
I think I did a Google search, strange it didn't come up right away. Maybe I made a grammar mistake.
Thank you very much for pointing this out, I've changed the name to Changeling Chess.
Best regards,
Ilya
Dear Fergus,
Thank you very much for the help. Looks like all the cool fantasy names are long taken, so after a thoughtful search, I took inspiration from "Really Bad Chess" by Zach Gage and renamed my game to "Fluky Chess".
I think, that now my submission is ready.
For your consideration,
Best regards, Ilya
Dear editorial team, there was a little squeak of impatience, now deleted. Sorry, doesn't matter, take your time. Best regards, Ilya
Hello Bob!
Yes, you are right. I got a little impatient out there, but you definitely have a good point - there are a lot of inventors and probably a large backlog.
Best regards,
Ilya.

Interesting variant, definitely looks wild and very dynamic.

There is a good and very clear explanation of rules and gameplay routines - on the Triple S games YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyft7UQsQRM

Astounding. I don't think I'll ever play something so complex, but the concept and work are awesome. The case, when reading about game rules and design, is almost as exciting, as the play itself.

It is a very nice and creative take on the chess labyrinth kind of game. I tend to agree, that digital implementation could be the best way to make this game playable - cause it needs some algorithm that ensures that every starting position is solvable. Overall, I think it's a great minimalistic game that can be used in school tactical games clubs or as support material to teach the basics of chess.

Dear Ben, thank you very much for the observation - I'll change the first exception to "if the moved piece puts the enemy king in check" - so there would be no mistake. Originally, it was like you proposed, but in the playtest, we found that the second exception as it is makes the play more dynamic and, more importantly, gives more tactical planning possibilities.
Of course, in the tag and formatting part, I totally rely on your judgment as an editor.
Thank you for your help and approvement!

I think it could be good for the publication process, except I doubt that regular members or novice inventors (like myself) should have a voting right on submissions. I think it would be better to save the voting right (or duty) for the senior members of the community - they have a better understanding of the chess variation subject, experience in writing (and reading) good submissions and, what is also important - have seen a lot of variants and could easily spot repetitions or occasional plagiarisms.

I love it. There are a lot of nice, sophisticated and interesting chess variants out there, but not many variants that I see myself actually playing. But Lighthouse will definitely be in my collection of mini-chess games I play with friends and colleagues. This game perfectly blends fast pace, simple and understandable rules, accessibility and an opportunity to enjoy the special spirit of Shogi.
Great work, Lev.

Thank you very much!

Thank you, I know, the name "familiar" is a little misleading, but it's the best I've come up with for now. I'm definitely open to suggestions =)
Jean-Louis - thank you very much for such an elaborate commentary and ideas!
Sanskrit associations for the name it's an interesting idea and sounds good. There are some 6x6 chess variants, like Mallet chess and so on, but it definitely can be a part of a nice and unique-sounding name.
"Familiar" relates to the magical familiars in Western mythology, with often a cat, a dog, or a crow\raven. Also, for warriors a familiar could be a magical horse or some kind of dragon, so I named the piece Hippogryph - as a nice hybrid. So the current naming is mainly for context integrity and my amusement, which is important in game design =). But you have a good point, so I think it would be a good middle-ground solution to add the more common names and mention, that the game could be played with those pieces instead. And I think I would change the crocodile to a Squirrel - it is more of a joke piece anyway, and the Squirrel is even funnier.
Now, for the movement part. To give the Hound and the WildCat additional leap square it's an interesting and, possibly, a great idea. I definitely would check it in future test games (my main concern is that the Hound and the WildCat can become too powerful) and if it works, I would be happy to implement this in "Familiar Chess 2.0", with all the appropriate mentions, of course.
Thank you again!
(Oh lord, why is naming so hard?)
After some research with google, thesaurus, and chatGPT, the name was changed to "Critter Mate Chess". Some changes to fairy piece descriptions were made (Jean-Louis Cazaux - thank you for the advice) Lastly, I've added .stl files for self-print.
I think the current edition is ready for publication - for the consideration of the editorial team.

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Since this comment is for a page that has not been published yet, you must be signed in to read it.

Hello.
I think it's a very nice take on the mini-chess, that feels different from Diana, Mallett, or Los Alamos variants. I believe that the closest relative of this variant is 5x6 chess, with the same feel of all possibilities of orthodox chess, but faster and less complex. This variant is definitely going to take its place in my game library. Thank you for sharing!

This page of mine is ready for publication for the following reasons:
- The rules are clear, unambiguous, and easy-to-understand.
- The rules are comprehensive.
- There is a locally-hosted setup image, or the setup is the same as Chess.
- Locally-hosted images are being used for pieces, or only Chess pieces are being used.
- No code on the page is broken, or it has no code.

Dear colleagues and editors,
I fully understand that the site administrator has a great deal of work, as do those who assist him. The website is constantly being updated, improved, and optimized — all while Fergus manages most of it practically on his own.
That said, I would like to inquire about some games that appear to be ready for publication but have remained in that status for over a year (since last spring). For example, there are several highly interesting games by Max Koval that I would be glad to share with fellow enthusiasts — yet they remain inaccessible, as they are still unpublished.
I can see that games on the site are indeed being updated from time to time, though not necessarily in the chronological order of submission. If there is a particular issue with the unpublished entries, perhaps a short note to the authors might help clarify the situation?
With sincere gratitude and best regards, Ilya
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Dear editorial team!
I think my submission is ready for publication, I'll be glad to get it approved or to get the feedback for the needed changes or improvements.
Thank you and best regards
Ilya