Handicapping in Knightmare Chess
by Steve Jackson
One advantage of Knightmare Chess is that
there are several ways to handicap it, giving the weaker player an
advantage to balance out the game. As explained in the basic rules, the
stronger player can take a smaller deck, giving up 25, 50 or even more
points. But what if it's a common-deck game? This article will discuss
several handicapping systems that can work in any Knightmare
Chess game, even if the players are drawing from the same
deck.
"I'll Spot You A Knight"
To start with, don't forget the classic handicap system from standard chess
. . . the stronger player can start the game "down" by a Knight, Bishop, or
Rook. The structure of Knightmare Chess actually makes it easier
for a player to recover from this situation, since standard openings don't
apply!
Reduced Hand
In any game, common-deck or individual deck, the stronger player can work
from a hand of four (or even three) cards. You can also let the weaker
player have a six-card hand. This is fine for adults, but younger players
may find six cards too many to deal with at once.
Panic Tokens
Give the weaker player one or more Panic Tokens - you can just use coins.
These work like the Panic card in the game . . . when you give your
opponent a Panic Token, he has 15 seconds to make his move. If he doesn't
move within that time, he loses his move!
The basic Panic Token must be played on your move, instead of a
card - you cannot use a card and play a Panic Token. You could
also allow a Super Panic Token, playable along with a card!
Each Panic Token can only be used once. A Panic Token cannot be
counteracted by any card.
This variant was suggested by Laz Zanger.
Vulture Tokens
These use the same basic idea as Panic Tokens, but they work like the
Vulture card. Play a Vulture Token when your opponent
discards a card, and take that card!
You cannot play a Vulture Token and a card on the same turn. But
most of your opponent's discards will be made on his own turn, and you are
less likely to want to play another card then.
Each Vulture Token can only be used once. A Vulture Token cannot be
counteracted by any card.
And Yet More Tokens
Any generally useful card can be "tokened" to give both
variety and game balance in one package. In particular,
Knightmare! or Fog of War tokens could
be very powerful. Challenge, Mystic
Shield, Hostage, Peace Talks,
Rebirth, and Resurrection are
generally useful. And Man of Straw, Hidden
Passage, or Under Elf Hill tokens would let a
weaker player escape the jaws of defeat again and again.
Reserved Cards
The weaker player picks from one to six cards before the game starts,
depending on how big a handicap you want to allow. He can use these cards,
and his opponent can't. The exact mechanism depends on the kind of deck
you're using.
Common Deck
If it's a common-deck game, he takes his reserved cards from the common
deck, and sets them aside in a separate stack. At any time he chooses, he
may draw from his reserved stack instead of from the common deck.
Standard Deck-Building
If both players are building their decks from the same 80-card set, the
weaker player pulls his chosen cards out, and then the players split the
remaining cards and build their decks. Note that the weaker player does
not have to use his chosen cards in his own deck - he may just
choose to deny them to his opponent!
Personal Sets
If each player has his own set, the weaker player simply names up to six
cards that his opponent may not use in his own deck. Note that Chaos,
Knightmare and Think Again! are all separate cards . . .
Theft
The weaker player may draw from the opponent's hand, rather than
from the deck, when he discards or uses a card. The opponent then replaces
his card by drawing from the deck in the normal way.
This makes it much harder for the stronger player to use card-based
strategies, since he can't depend on keeping a card to use it later!
If both players have this ability, you have a wild-and-wooly
variant in which advance planning becomes very difficult.
Beware: If your cards don't all belong to the same set, this is a really
good way to get them mixed up.
