X-Chess board game (pre-order)
Be the first in the world to own your very own X-Chess boxed board game! Pre-orders only - product will be shipped in August 2023.
All pre-orders will have the board signed by the creator of X-Chess, NZ Chess Champion, Paul Macdonald.
Customers will be given exclusive access to the X-Chess Advanced Strategy training guide by Paul.
Information
x-chess introduction video
back story
X-Chess is set in ancient greece during the height of the Trojan War. The war unfolded after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war extended for over 10 years and took place over 3000 years ago. The white army are the Achaeans. The black army are the Trojans.
In order to overwhelm their foes, the Achaeans and Egyptians formed an alliance, embellishing their armies with two dangerous creatures, the Minotaur and the Dragon. To control the ferocity of these creatures required significant training and some ancient wizardry. Only the General's had the strength to control them. And so the battles began.
product summary
X-Chess is fun, super-charged chess with new possibilities, yet still retains strong strategical foundations. You can learn the rules and play X-Chess online at www.xchess.live.
The product will include the game box, a full-size 50cm board, an instruction booklet and the achaean and trojan pieces. You will also receive a premium key to be a premium member on X-Chess.live.
This product can also be used to play traditional international chess.
Be the first in the world to have your very own X-Chess boxed game! Pre-order and secure your product. Shipping is expected in August 2023.
Join the X-Chess community to keep updated on shipment updates and the latest news.
How X-Chess got it's name
X-Chess was named by the Kelso family from Nelson as part of our YouNameIt naming competition. Some of their reasons for naming it X-Chess were:
- The X applies to a target, crossing the board and crossing swords / fighting.
- The word X-Chess also sounds very close to “express” and this is a fast game
- The X conjures ideas of X-citing, X-ceptional, X-quisite, X-calibur·
- A chess move can X-ray a piece, by attacking or defending indirectly (Wikipedia)
- The simple fact of taking another piece is represented by an X.
- The chessboard is made of diagonal lines of black and white.
We totally agree and loved the name they chose and all the reasons behind the name!
Features
GAME CONCEPT
X-Chess is super-charged exciting chess! Set in ancient greece, X-Chess extends traditional chess with powerful new characters creating a game with new possibilities from the very first move.
As a player, you are in full control of your X-Chess army. The game rewards creativity and active thought.
X-Chess has similar strategic themes as Chess with more creative possibilities. X-Chess is designed to develop problem solving, logical thinking and decision-making skills. You can also create blistering attacks with your new super-enhanced army.
ADVANTAGES OVER CHESS
Compared to traditional chess, there are many advantages:
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More creative possibilities,
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No need to remember hundreds of openings
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better chances to win
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less draws
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no cheating using chess engines
SPECIAL NOTE FOR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
Traditional chess is well known by educators to develop a child’s problem-solving ability, analytical skills, spatial awareness, focus and creativity. X-Chess has been built from the ground up to provide an accessible platform for extending a child’s cognitive abilities rapidly.
X-Chess is easy to learn yet engages a child's mind to a greater degree than traditional chess due to the greater number of possibilities in every position. Children thrive in X-Chess because the characters are interesting and fun and the way the pieces move are familiar.
X-Chess games are exciting and reward creative thinkers. X-Chess takes traditional chess to a whole new level and provides a valuable support platform to help kids prepare for a modern world.
By way of comparison, after 6 moves there are around 119 milliion possible moves in traditional chess. In X-Chess there are close to 600 million! The exact number is 597,070,589.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR CHESS ENTHUSIASTS
Over the last decade, predominantly due to advances in technology, traditional chess has encountered new obstacles. These obstacles will only become more severe and unfortunately are without easy solutions. Over 50% of chess games at the top level result in a draw. The percentage of draws continues to increase.
Modern chess play typically involves significant home-preparation using chess engines. Modern chess play typically involves significant home-preparation using chess engines. on chess engine analysis. This isn’t thinking - this is memory recall. Some players are using chess engines to cheat in chess. It can be difficult to detect people using engine assistance as humans can often play moves an engine would play.
In creating X-Chess we had a number of design goals:
A. It is easy to learn
B. You can use an existing chess set - no new equipment is required
C. The game feels familiar rather than completely foreign
D. Core strategic elements of chess are retained
E. There is a lower likelihood of draws
F. There should never be insufficient material to win
G. Black has as good a chance of winning as White
H. The game is balanced where neither white or black has a huge advantage
I. You are using cognitive thought from move 1 - not memory
J. There is a higher degree of cognitive thought required to master the game
K. The game has characters that people can relate too and a backstory that brings the game together
L. The games attacking potential is enhanced
M. It is easy to detect someone using engine assistance
N. The game rewards creativity and active thought
Our hope is over time you will see we have gone a long way to achieving these design goals.
Specifications
Piece Specifications
Piece material Polypropylene
Piece felt: Acrylic Black 1mm thick
Piece Heights (approximate):
King 97mm
Queen 84mm
General 77mm
Dragon 71mm
Minotaur 65mm
Pawn 53mm
Piece Weights (approximate):
King 38 grams
Queen 34 grams
General 29 grams
Dragon 42 grams
Minotaur 45 grams
Pawn 13 grams
Board Specifications
Board material: Greyboard with gloss lamination
Board dimensions 500 x 500mm
Individual square dimensions: 52.5mm
Board thickness: 1.5mm
King/square ratio: 68.5%
Box Specfications
Box width/height: 257mm
Box materials: 2mm thick greyboard with gloss lamination
Contents
Box Components
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1 White King
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1 White Queen
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2 White Generals
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2 White Minotaurs
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2 White Dragons
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8 White Pawns
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1 Black King
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1 Black Queen
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2 Black Generals
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2 Black Minoaturs
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2 Black Dragons
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8 Black Pawns
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1 White Blister Tray for piece storage
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1 Black Blister Tray for piece storage
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1 Game board
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1 Game instructions booklet with X-Chess.live premium key
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1 Game box
Associated Items
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