Description

Fans of Chess and Arimaa will want to pay close attention to The Travelers, a game which has not been commercially produced, but probably should be.

The game, played on a 9×9 board, is explained as "an unorthodox game, very different from Western Chess. It is a strange game, but it is very nice, and regardless the apparent simplicity of some pieces and rules, it is a very complex and deep game. The object of the game is to move TWO pieces, called TRAVELERS, to the last rank," according to information found on www.chessvariants.org.

The pieces include:

• Travelers (T): Can move in the eight directions, up-to three positions. A Traveler can't capture pieces, neither being captured. A Traveler can't move into Check, but if in Check, it is not obligatory that you move your Traveler. When a Traveler reaches the last rank, it can't move, neither being displaced. You win the game if your two Travelers reach the last rank.
• Displacer (D): Can move as Queens. If a Displacer lands on a square orthogonally adjacent to an enemy piece, you can DISPLACE the enemy piece (except a Block) and send it to ANY EMPTY square in the vertical line or the horizontal line defined by the Displacer's landing square. A Displacer can't displace a Traveler that has reached the last rank.
• Block (B): Moves in the eight directions, up-to-three squares. A Block can't capture, neither being captured. Block can't be displaced. A Block can't never move to the first or to the last rank.
• Ace (1): Moves in the eight directions, up-to-three squares. An Ace can capture a piece at distance 1 in the eight directions, except a Traveler or a Block.
• Deuce (2): Moves in the eight directions, up-to-three squares. A Deuce can capture a piece at distance exactly 2 in the eight directions, regardless there is or not an intermediate piece in the path. They can't capture Travelers or Blocks.
• Trey (3): Moves in the eight directions, up-to-three squares. A Trey can capture a piece at distance exactly 3 in the eight directions, regardless there are or not intermediate pieces in the path. They can't capture Travelers or Blocks.

You start the games with two Travelers, one Displacer, one Block, four Aces, two Deuces and two treys.