KlinZha - Klingon Chess
| Description | KlinZha is best described as a kind of Chess. The Klingon version of Chess. It manages to provide the challenge and complexity of chess, while it is also completely different and alien - if you are not a Klingon. To begin with: the board is triangular. KlinZha beschreibt man am besten als eine Art Schach. Die klingonische Version von Schach. Das Spiel schafft es eine vergleichbare Komplexität zu Schach zu bieten, während es sich gleichzeitig komplett anders und fremd anfühlt - wenn man kein Klingone ist. Es fängt damit an, dass es auf einem dreieckigen Spielfeld gespielt wird. |
|---|---|
| Has website | http://www.chessvariants.org/shape.dir/klinzha/klinzha.html |
| Persons working on | Katzazi |
| Tags | Klingon, Chess, StarTrek |
| Located at assembly | StopWatchingUs Köln |
| Other projects... | |
Even while KlinZha is not a traditional human game and was designed in the context of StarTrek as an alien game, it is a really challenging game - like Klingon (tlhingon Hol) is a real and interesting and working language. It should be treated seriously.
If you want to describe the game and you are human, you just will describe it with Chess. It has the special feeling of chess and is about tactics and strategy and worth this comparision. But it is different on more or less every detail, beside of that the players move pieces alternating on a playing field with different moves for different kinds of pieces and try to capture a dedicated piece of the opponent. And that you can "kill" the other pieces.
It is played on a triangular board (3 is THE number for Klingons!) with 81 fields by two players (it is possible to play it with 3 players). Each player has a set of 9 pieces and the special piece, the "goal". A Klingon would call the "goal" a piece as well, even as it cannot move on its own and normally is carried by another piece. The target of the game is to capture the goal of your opponent.
What makes this game interesting is the movements of the pieces. They are easy enough described. There are only 6 different kinds beside of the goal, but this is enough to give the a kind of complexity like Chess.
Sounds easy? Well try it out...
I will bring some game sets and descriptions how to make your own one. So if there are not enough or you want to have one on your own, you can just print it.
I know you will ask this, so here are the answers:
- No, you do not have to be familiar with Chess to play KlinZha. I am not sure if it would help you or not.
- No, while I have been at three Klingon Language workshops, I do not really speak tlingan Hol (Klingon language). But I know the basics and can expolain them to you as well. I am a native German speaker and also familiar with English.
- KlinZha is spelled "tlhInja" in tlingan Hol (Klingon language), if you are using a latin alphabeth. And no, there is no apostroph.
- Yes, I am a member of the German Klingon Fan Club (Khemorex Klinzhai - klingons.org). Our motto is "Fun is honorable".
- My Klingon name is Kheylar tay SuD'a' DarkH.
- Yes, I will try to come to the congress as a Klingon, again.
- No, I am not the author of this game.
- Yes, there are Klingon words for email, encryption, breaking encryption and stuff like that.
- No, Klingon is not my main focus and I am at the 32C3 for a lot of other stuff. - But: Fun IS honorable, so I think we should have some :)