CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~ and CHECK 11 ~Royal Secret~


   A lot happened since my last post in November.
   I want to create a new chess variant that use cards and I succeed. It is called CHECK 11 ~Elemental Rage~ (check here for more).
   In the mean time I was fine tuning the other 2 variants I already had also: Check 11 and Royal Check.
   This article is about those 2 and how they evolved.



CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~


# The name

   The name “Check 11” has been replaced by “CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~”.


# Factions Selection

   Hidden selection removed. Now players reveal their faction choice to each other from the start.


# Factions Updates

   - Orthodox:

   I completely change its trance: It is the classic castle now but with more options.
   I remove all the previous constraints of the rule; it can be done vertically as horizontally; it can be done at any position on the same line or column; and it can be done diagonally with a bishop too.
   It says:” The rook and the bishop can move at the king side then the king jumps one space behind them.”

   - Hologram:

   Now, you can teleport your king to its queen space anytime you want, just not when the king is captured anymore. The queen is still eliminated while doing so.

   - Magnetic:

   I completely removed this faction.

   - Royale:

   I buffed this faction. Their previous trance is now their basic state. And now in trance, the rook and the bishop can move as a standard king.

   - Element:

   I made multiple changes to reflect how the elements level system works in CHECK 11 ~Elemental Rage~.
   Trance has been simplified a lot. You do not get to buff your pawn and king during trance anymore; it is the bishop and the knight that are leveled up.
   The rook cannot capture at all anymore, but it can push its own pieces now.


# New Factions

   - Afrodite

        + The king at its queen side can move as a standard queen
        -  The queen cannot capture
        ++ Trance: The king on the line, the column or one diagonal of its queen at sight can move as a standard queen.

   A powerful king faction as Magnetic. I used to have it during the creation process beginning; I get it back and update a little. The way the king is buffed is less complex than in Magnetic. The faction works as a sort of replacement for Magnetic removal.

   - Lilit

       + The pawn moves without capturing 2 spaces straight forward and captures 2 spaces diagonally forward.
       -  The queen moves 2 spaces maximum.
       ++ Trance: The pawn in front of its queen can capture 2 spaces straight forward and move without capturing 2 spaces diagonally forward.

   A powerful pawn faction. With pawns being faster with more attack range, pawn specific tactics or strategies are greatly improved. The pawn boost by the queen during trance makes things even more difficult to deal for the opponent.

   - Cyborg

       + The rook eliminates enemy pieces at its side orthogonally after capturing.
       + The bishop cannot capture but prevents enemy pieces at its side diagonally from moving.
       -  The queen cannot capture and cannot be captured.
       ++ Trance: The rook eliminates enemy pieces on its line and its column at sight after capturing.
       ++ Trance: The bishop prevents enemy pieces on its diagonals at sight from moving.

   A powerful rook and bishop faction. I love this faction a lot and how I make the lock mechanic and the explosion mechanic work together. Most explosive and impactful faction of the game.


# Trance duration

   Trance length has been nerfed to end as soon as the faction is captured.



CHECK 11 ~Royal Secret~


# The name

   The name “Royal Check” has been replaced by “CHECK 11 ~Royal Secret~”.


# Factions Updates

   - Orthodox:

   I add the castle from its CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~ counterpart trance. It can do it from the start to the end of the game here so it is even more powerful.

   - Hologram:

   Works as its current CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~ counterpart (minus trance): You can teleport your king to its queen space anytime you want, but not when the king is captured anymore.


# New Factions

   - Afrodite

       + The king at its queen side can move as a standard queen
       -  The queen cannot capture
   
   The same as its CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~ counterpart (minus trance).

   - Illusion

   Works as the last version of Hologram: The king teleports itself to its queen space whenever the king is captured.




The DSC system and the variants different versions.


   DSC system for Debut-Standard-Complete system is a system I decided to use recently to create and design my games from now on.

   It is a split principle of a system into 3 global versions depending on your users base and the experience you want them to have:
    - The Debut Version which works as a starter mode, the simple and least complex version, aimed for discovering the system, for starters or casuals
    - Standard Version which works as the standard Mode with basic rules needed to experience the system as you imagined or wanted normally
    - Complete version which works as an expert mode, with all the rules and options that you have created for the system, aimed for people who wants a full experience like advanced users and enthusiasts, or pros.

   For my games, this is how it goes:
- What are the rules and options for the basic experience of the game I think or want people to have => this is the standard version of the game
- I take the standard version and remove rules and options to get the least possible version of the game that can be played while keeping the core spirit of the entire game => this is the debut version of the game
- I think of all the ideas than can make the standard version more interesting and add all the rules for these, always trying to keep the spirit of the game => This is the complete version of the game.


For CHECK 11 ~Original Vision~

Debut version for discovery
         - 3 factions available (Orthodox-Afrodite-Hologram)
         - Trance duration: one turn
Standard version
         - 4 more factions available (Royale-Element-Lilit-Cyborg)
         - Trance duration: until the faction is captured
Complete version for full experience (work-in-progress)
         - 4 more factions available (Nemesis-Teleport-Jungland-Zombi)
         - Trance duration: length based on the faction captured pieces


For CHECK 11 ~Royal Secret~

Debut version for discovery
         - 3 factions available (Orthodox-Afrodite-Hologram)
Standard version
         - 2 more factions available (Magnetic-Illusion)
Complete version for full experience (work-in-progress)
         - 6 more factions available


   I encourage people to start with the debut version of a variant first. Then, when you get a grasp of how the game can be play, you can go to upper version and see how much the gameplay evolves. And do the same for the complete version.

   If you feel like some version is better for you, you can stop and continue to play that version just fine (this the purpose of the DSC split).



That’s it!



Take care and let the spirits guide you.

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