# Has this been done? Chess with dice rolls added **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game, chess\ **Created:** [November 17, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520 "2021-11-17T17:03:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/1 "2021-11-17T17:03:03Z")
Ordinarily in chess the outcome of a confrontation between two pieces is predetermined: whichever piece gets the jump on another wins, even if somehow it can be contrived to have a pawn take a queen. The “strength” of the pieces is in the freedom of moves they can make. But suppose you make the outcome non-determined? Let’s say that each class of piece has offensive and defensive stats, so an “attack” by an opposing piece has a greater or lesser chance of succeeding? So for example a queen would have a significant chance of fighting off a pawn, with the pawn being taken as a result; while a pawn would have a tiny but non-zero chance of defeating an attack by a queen. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/2 "2021-11-17T17:05:02Z")
You should check out… > **[Dice chess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dice_chess)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Dice chess can refer to a number of chess variants in which dice are used to alter gameplay; specifically that the moves available to each player are determined by rolling a pair of ordinary six-sided dice. There are many different variations of this form of dice chess. One of them is described here. > The players alternate rolling the dice and, if possible, moving. On each die, the 1 represents a pawn, 2 a knight, 3 a bishop, 4 a rook, 5 a queen,... Also, this game is at least as old as the 11th century: > **[Chaturaji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturaji)** > > Chaturaji (meaning "four kings") is a four-player chess-like game. It was first described in detail c. 1030 by Al-Biruni in his book India. Originally, this was a game of chance: the pieces to be moved were decided by rolling two dice. A diceless variant of the game was still played in India at the close of the 19th century. > The ancient Indian epic Mahabharata contains a reference to a game, which could be chaturaji: > Presenting myself as a Brahmana, Kanka by name, skilled in dice and fond of p... ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/3 "2021-11-17T18:44:55Z")
This also reminds me of the old computer game Archon. > **[Archon: The Light and the Dark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon:_The_Light_and_the_Dark)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Archon: The Light and the Dark is a 1983 video game developed by Free Fall Associates and one of the first five games published by Electronic Arts. It is superficially similar to chess, in that it takes place on a board with alternating black and white squares; however, instead of fixed rules when landing on another player's piece, an arcade-style fight takes place to determine the victor, and each piece has different combat abilities. The health... ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/4 "2021-11-17T19:30:05Z")
Oh I remember Archon, that game was fun! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/5 "2021-11-17T22:38:32Z")
Slightly related: there’s a version of chess where players write down their next move on a scrap of paper. They reveal simultaneously. Like regular chess, the moving piece always removes the piece it lands on from the board. (If both moving pieces move to the same square, they both get removed.) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/6 "2021-11-17T22:57:27Z")
Different wrinkle: On your turn, you can simply remove one of your own pieces from the board instead of moving a piece. It’s gone, out of the game. This might sound like you’re weakening your board but getting a pawn out of the queen’s way can be a huge win. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/7 "2021-11-17T23:00:38Z")
Or, do it the other way around. When playing craps, rolling a queen beats a knight every time. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-been-done-chess-with-dice-rolls-added/954520/8 "2021-11-17T23:36:26Z")
These are all interesting, but none of them compare to [chess boxing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing). mmm [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/nU7QKJS.jpeg "Imgur: The magic of the Internet") ](https://imgur.com/nU7QKJS)