So yesterday @ChessMasterGS And @jackityjackjack both have created a variation ranking, but what is the most important part of a variation (apart from position)? The rules of the game, of course! So here is my variation rules ranking.
Before I begin, I will classify what I count as “gamerule”.
1. Rules that do not change the appearance/gameplay do not count, except for textures (e.g. Anonymous, Rooks are Sailboats)
2. Rules that are not present in the Rules window do not count (e.g. PawnBaseRank, Spell Cooldown).
3. Advertising opportunities do not count.
4. The rules are viewed from the perspective of a potential 14×14 4PC FFA custom variant.
This is my opinion. You may disagree with me.
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Okay, let’s get this over with.
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F-level
Chess960/Paridigm30 – Isn’t it great when there is a rule that you are not even allowed to apply?
Pieces point towards the center – This rule not only has no effect on the game, but also makes the pieces look uglier.
Ghostboard – Its sole purpose is to hide invisible stones.
1. = … – How can one even rise to the first rank?
Ox10000 – I doubt this will ever be used. Simply capturing an opponent’s pawn will give you more points than checkmate.
Counter-castling – Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t feel like this happens very often.
Allow to mix – This is the perfect recipe for mixing.
1+, 2+, 3+ – Too few lives in my opinion.
30+ and above – Too many lives. And no, Counterturn is not 99+, White has 23 (?) lives.
No en passant – but en passant is my favorite part of chess!
Setup 40 and above – Too much setup material.
D-Level
Blindness – This makes variants much more difficult, but the main problem is that no one knows whether you have balanced the game or not.
Diplomacy – This isn’t really useful except for testing. It doesn’t have a huge impact on gameplay, but that’s coming from someone who’s never drawn an arrow.
Fatal Capture – It’s useful. Sometimes. It weakens strong pieces, and now your king can’t capture. Yay!
Stonewall – Fatal Capture, but capture makes moving locusts easier and moving XiangQi horses harder. I personally haven’t experimented with this yet.
Any Capture – There are situations where Any Capture is useful, but I think it’s mainly used to stop premover.
Self-control – We all know that players should be rewarded for messing up their king.
+1, +3, +5 – Too few points. So few that you can’t even activate No Zombies.
+40 – Too many points. If you wanted players to try to checkmate, you could have just enabled Play4Mate.
C-Level
Seirawan – I don’t hate Seirwan, I just don’t find it very useful, but I’m sure it will prove useful.
Atomic – The only thing I hate about Atomic is the first move advantage.
16–30+ – That’s a decent number of lives, but maybe less, please?
Torpedo – I only used this once because I couldn’t get Pawnbaserank to work.
Sideways – This is another source for shuffling, but I have to include this here because my first accepted variation uses this.
Takeover – Great, the first person to checkmate gets a huge advantage.
Play4Mate – I personally prefer GoP, but it’s ok.
Regicide – I like knowing that you haven’t put your king in check.
Checky – It’s like Blindfold but easier because you know where the pieces are. However, it has the same problems as Blindfold.
Ox3, Ox4, Ox5, Ox6 – If it really is that hard to beat opposite colored stones, then yes.
Setup 1-39 – It’s only level C because I’m not a fan of setup chess.
Level B
Giveaway – A great twist on classic chess. I don’t know why Granulated Sugar hates it so much.
Crazyhouse – All pieces stay on the board, so you have to be more careful. The only problem is that you can remove a pawn from promotion by 1 rank.
Taboo – You can’t look up, which is pretty cool. The only thing is you need either an empty piece or KotH for it to do its job, otherwise it’s just a forced draw.
Ox2 – Reward players for rare catches of different colors. But only if they are rare!
2nd-14th – Passing. Glass maze, I forgot to turn on “Allow Passing”.
Duck – This rule is underrated, but mainly because it makes games go on too long. Check out The Lake (https://chess.com/variants/the-lake) to see how I countered this! (that was definitely not shameless self-promotion)
Fog of War – Another underrated rule, but mainly because it allows shuffling. Check out Sparks of Hope (https://chess.com/variants/sparks-of-hope) to see how I countered this! (I definitely wasn’t shamelessly self-promoting again).
Naked Figure – A quick way to end an otherwise tied game.
One level
Stalemate (win/lose) – One of the most important factors in any 4PC game.
+10, +20 – +20 is the default, and rightly so, while +10 is for fewer/cheaper parts.
No zombies – Random moves by the king are annoying.
Spelling Chess – One of the greatest rules ever added.
Crazywan – It’s like Crazyhouse, but less chaotic.
S-level
King of the Hill – Almost every FFA variant has this.
Self-partner – Makes testing easier, reduces waiting time, and makes gameplay less boring (e.g. Golden Ratio is SP, so you or your teammate don’t have to play regular chess.)
4+-15+ Just the right number of lives. Depends on the situation, of course.
S+ level
All Presets – If I were to name them all, they would be: 2PC, 4PC, Ambush, Amazon Jungle, Anti Tower, Arena of Legends, Ashtandrez, Battle of Castles, Behind the Looking Glass, Behind the Scenes, Best Friends Forever, Fracture Chess, Blind Box, BlindGold, Castle on a Hill, Caught in Obstacle, Chaturaji, Chaturaji Alt Teams, Chaturanga, Chaturdrez, Collateral Worlds, Colorblindness, Counter Rotation, Courier Chess, Mad Cavalier, Cross Derby, Detour, Diamond Wall, Emperor’s Tomb, Enchanted Forest, Euler’s Game, Every End, Find the Path, Giveaway UW, Glass Maze, Gothic Chess, Grasshopper Arena, Gustav’s Box, Inferno, Infiltration Hazard, King Safety, King Safety 9+11, Labyrinth 82, Mini Forest, Mini House, Phalanx, Pit Racer, Racing Kings, Rookmate, Rubicon, Redemption Bastions, Sergeant’s Checkers, Sergeant’s Lab, Simplicity, Spark of Hope, Stone Gravity, Storming the Castle, Surprise Attack, Tag Team, The Eyes of Horus, The Four Horsemen, The Hive, The Lake, The Triune Wasp, The X of Tricks, Thermopylae, War for the Throne Mini, Together, Captured Queens, Underground War, Unique, Unison, Village Chess, Village Chess II, War for the Throne, Warp Speed, Warui Shogi, XXL Chess and 𝕏 F̷i̷l̷e̷ ☣.
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Okay, Grammarly, stop saying I have 15 mistakes.
