Cricket chess

This is starting to catch on in my chess club - not just with the kids but some of the adults too, rather sadly! I'm posting it here rather than in the chess variants section because it's got nothing to do with chess other than that it uses chess pieces and a chess board!

Rules:

> Each team consists of 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops and 2 knights. Toss a coin to see who bats first. That coin then becomes the ball. I find 20p works best.

> Set up the board. The wickets consist of 3 pawns, which go just off the board at each end, in line with the d and e files. The batter takes guard in front of his wicket. The fielding side chooses a bowler, which can bowl from either the square f7 (over the wicket) or c7 (around the wicket). The bowler can be changed at any point. The remaining 7 fielders are placed anywhere on the files a, b, g or h. Each fielder must be completely within a square, and no two fielders can go on adjacent or diagonally-adjacent squares. Within these restrictions, the field can be changed at any point during the innings.

> The bowler bowls. These are the possible outcomes:

- Coin hits wicket = out bowled

- Coin hits batter's fingers and was going to hit the wicket = out LBW

- Batter hits coin into fielder, and both the coin and the fielder remain on the board = out caught

- Batter's fingers hit the wicket = out hit wicket

- Batter hits coin into fielder, but either the coin or the fielder completely leaves the board = dropped catch, score 1 if the fielder is on b or g, 2 if fielder is on a or h

- Batter hits coin onto c, d, e or f = dot ball, no runs

- Batter hits coin onto b or g = 1 run

- Batter hits coin onto a or h = 2 runs

- Batter hits coin onto decoration on edge of board = 3 runs (note that if the coin is on the line between any of these boundaries, the larger part of the coin counts)

- Batter hits coin off board = 4 runs

- Batter hits coin off table = 6 runs

- Coin hits fielder or fails to reach wicket = no-ball, score 1 run

- Batter misses coin which goes past outside the c or f file = wide, score 1 run

> When all 8 batsmen are out, swap sides. Most runs wins!

Extremely silly but suprisingly fun. 30-40 is a decent score we find. 20 is poor, 50 is good.

Groan...

that was a lot of info to take in.

i'm off to get a cup of tea.

I'd personally take Go-Soccer anyday over this. It's just so much more elegant

great idea!