4 player bulldog chess variant

This forum is some brainstorming of a 4 player bulldog chess variant. A 4 player bulldog chess game with witch could start with the position below:

The pieces will move like in bulldog chess (example game). The order of moves is clockwise:

red -> blue -> yellow -> green.

If we're going to play a teams game, then the rules I suggest (which goes along the rules in 4 player chess) are:

Red and Yellow is a team against blue and green.

You cannot capture your teammate's pieces.
There is no en passant.
Pawns promote on your 13th rank
Checkmate only happens when a player's turn is reached allowing a player's teammate to intervene.
The first team to checkmate an enemy player wins!

We could also try some other ruleset if we want to.

Would anyone be interested in trying this variant?

I'll definitelly play!!!

{ text deleted which we won't use. Normal 3-day time-limit for moves will be used }

I did a quick comparison of piece density (% squares with pieces):

normal chess: 32/64 = 50%
4-player bulldog: 80/220 = 36%

This ratio is good and at most the game won't be more packed than a normal chess mid-game. Should work really well I think.

One more clarification (suggested): Although two witches are on the same team, they only make pieces of their own color transparent. (so for example pieces made transparent by the yellow witch are not transparent to any other color).

I know Matin0 to be a good player, so he can be on team "blue and green". I'll be on "red and yellow". Who else wants to play?

That witch rule sound fine to me. I can see it working either way, but it is good that you thought about it since it is important to be defined.

One additional rule I suggest is to not discuss strategies or tell your partner what to do. In regular 4 player chess communication within a team is very important to be successful, but since this is played on the forums where everyone can see all comments, I think it is best to play without discussing strategies. The players need to figure out what their partner is intending to do when they see their partners move.

Considering what I wrote above, I don't really like the idea of moving my partners pieces since that can be seen as an advantage. I'd prefer the usual 3 days and then a warning when the player has 24 hours to make a move. However, instead of loosing the game, maybe a new player could take over, so the game can keep going. Not sure how long time should be considered ok to wait until a new player appears, but I like the idea to keep the game going and keep all players to only control one army.

Also, I'm fine with being in the blue and green team. I guess we only need 2 more players then

What do you think of the diagram I made with these pieces? Are they fine, or would you prefer to modify all pieces, so they have the right colors instead of just a big square of their color to stand on.

Yay! I'll be on hitthepin's team!

Also, I agree with rules so far - no discussions about moves during the game. The diagram (by Martin0) is perfect, especially for a game in "play testing". Since not all players make board updates (which has nothing to do with playing skill) a game might go like this:

Team <A> - red pcs. vickalan makes move and updates graphic
Team *B* - blue pcs. Martin0 makes move and updates graphic
Team <A> - yellow pcs. hitthepin makes move (vickalan updates graphic)
Team *B* - greeen pcs. (open) makes move (Martin0 updates graphic)

Is this the best way?

Also, we need a 4th player. Who else wants to play?

ok, sounds good. I guess we are ready to start playing then as soon as we find a 4th player.

May I Play?

Yes, that's awesome. We have four players! Martin0 and Luke_Hands are on team "B".

All four of us need to understand this is a big commitment (at least as games go). If any one person disappears then it ruins the game for the rest of us. We will look for run-away players and shame them!

Martin0 already showed a link to an example game (2 players). It has all the rules, but to help understand the witch here is a diagram:

The witch (white) can move as a queen (orange lines), jump like a knight, or jump orthogonally and diagonally two squares (orange dots). The witch is transparent to friendly pieces and makes all adjacent pieces (friend and foe) transparent to friendly pieces. This means in the diagram the white rook can capture the black queen. If it's Black's move, then the d4 pawn can capture the witch.

(Also pieces made transparent can be captured. For example, the white rook could stop on d4, capturing the pawn).

Any more rules/clarifications before we start? If everyone is ok I'll post our first move for "Team A" (@hitthepin and me) tomorrow.

Sure, you can make your move @vickalan. And welcome to the best team @Luke_Hands, you will play with the green pieces.

@hitthepin and @Luke_Hands, have you read and understood all the rules? Feel free to ask questions.

Martin0 sent me a board diagram with the 4 players. The white border shows who's turn it is to move. The game begins! 😈My move:
1. i4

Good luck everyone!

1.. Wc7

Yeah, castling is like in bulldog chess. The king moves 3 spaces in both kingside and queenside castling.

Nn7