Chess - Shut Up & Sit Down

The Best Ways to Make Chess Fun

Like backaches and questionable political opinions, Chess sets seem to be one of those things that people just acquire as they get older. But is it possible to have fun with them?

We put our top board game scientists on the case, and they said “Yes. Yes. We think so.” In this video we’d like to present the games of Peasants’ Revolt, Horde Chess, Monster Chess, Atomic Chess, Alice Chess, Demi Chess, Bughouse Chess, Synchronistic Chess and much, much more.

Were there any particularly spicy, simple Chess variants that we missed? Please leave us a comment. And enjoy the video, everybody.

My goodness. We always say this, but… have we ever had so many luminary board games on one podcast? In this episode, Matt and Quinns discuss the twin games of Cockroach Salad and Cockroach Soup, a discovery so exciting that Quinns has since hunted down all of Drei Magier’s “Ugly Animals” games. The pair then move on to chatting about the wicked worldbuilding of Neon Gods, the dexterity magic of Men at Work, the small-form joy of Targi, the BEHEMOTH box that is Lisboa, and finally their game of the podcast, Blackout: Hong Kong. We also answer a particularly tricksy question from our mailbag. If Chess had never been invented, how do we think it would be received today? Enjoy, everybody!

Paul: March is here and with it what might be THE MOST EXCITING GAMES NEWS OF THE YEAR SO FAR. Maybe. I don’t want to get your hopes up or anything, but we have a whole host of great stuff here. Let’s get started with one of the most interesting games concepts I’ve seen for long time…

Quinns: Fog of Love! Riding high on its early Kickstarter success, Fog of Love is a two-player game about trying to navigate the ups and downs of a relationship, about trying to understand your partner and about trying to get what you want both from a relationship and from life.

In a special feature on this ancient pastime, Brendan discovers everything he was taught about chess to be wrong and goes on a quest to learn it properly. A written transcript is available here.

After discovering everything he was taught about chess to be wrong, Brendan goes on a quest to learn the game properly, in this special feature on the ancient pastime.

Brendan: Amar moves his knight to c6 and I feel my lungs seize up. It is my first game of chess against another human being in over 10 years and remembering to breathe has become a problem.

When I first arrived at the chess club, hidden away on the shadowy second floor of an old school hall, like some secret society, Amar greeted me with a kind smile and a friendly handshake. He had a soft voice and an Einstein moustache. Now he is moving his knight to c6. Sometimes Amar makes his moves slowly, thoughtfully. Other times, he takes seconds, as if the order of play was pre-ordained and he was just there in some formal capacity as piecemover. What else can I say about Amar? Oh yes. He is destroying me.

March 19, 2012 Reviews, Specials Cold War: CIA vs KGB, Chess, Stronghold, A Few Acres of Snow, Memoir ’44, Jungle Speed, Memoir ’44: Operation Overlord THE FINEST (and only) board game review show going has, for episode two of season two, turned its wet, wide, child-like eyes towards two player games! Four of them! And … Read more

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