This is a chess variant played with GO Stones on a 20x20 board.
The 3x3 pattern of Stones form the pieces within the game and the pattern denotes the move direction and power of the piece.
A 3x3 pattern without a Stone in its center may only move up to three spaces, a 3x3 pattern with a center Stone may slide across the entire board.
Only Stones of a single color may form a 3x3 pattern and any Stones which land on the outer ranks and files of the board are immediately captured.
The movement of a 3x3 pattern is accomplished in two phases. First by selecting the center of the pattern. The 3x3 pattern will then be high-lighted. Next move its center the desired number of cells.
Captures are accomplished when the 3x3 pattern encounters any other Stones, friend or foe.
Each player must maintain a King 3x3 pattern, an empty space surrounded by 8 Stones. A player may have more than one King.
The game is won when an opponent has no King pattern at the end of a move. A player at the end of their turn who does not have a King pattern automatically loses, regardless of the opponent's condition.
GESS was invented by the Puzzles and Games Ring of the Archimedeans Mathematics Society, which is the mathematical society of Cambridge University (UK). The rules were first published, together with a sample game, by Paul Bolchover in Eureka, Vol. 53, the periodical of the Archimedeans. |