Congo

Congo

Designer: Demian Freeling
Publisher: MindSports
Type: Board
Status: Free
BGG entry: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/18813
Available at: http://www.mindsports.net/Arena/Congo/

The scenery is Africa. The Lion is king, confined to a 3x3 area as in XiangQi. There is this river as in XiangQi (well, almost...). There are pieces: he had set out to make a set of 8-square leapers, pieces able to jump to 8 target squares, without being hindered by intervening pieces. So here's a Zebra who, by any other name, is still a knight. There's a Giraffe, a kind of 'square knight', able to jump to the second square in 8 directions. There are two Elephants. They unconditionally cover the first and second square rookwise, that is: they jump to the second square without being hindered by intervening pieces. Then there's the Crocodile, the only non-jumper, using the king's move. Finally a real surprise: the Monkey, moving as a king, but capturing as an 8-directional draughtsman!

There are pawns too. Demian didn't know anything about Shogi at the time, but his Pawn and Superpawn (the promoted version) look a lot like Shogi's silver and gold. The pawn moves and captures straight and diagonally forward, which struck me as very logical. Once across the river, it has the right to retreat one or two squares straight backward, without the right of capture. Promoted, it adds the sideways squares for movement and capture, and the unconditional right to retreat one or two squares, either straight or diagonally. These are exeptionally strong pawns!

More surprises came: the object of the game, Demian insisted, was to capture the opponent's Lion. Consequently, Lions may move into check: if they do, they are simply captured and the game is over. Stalemate does not exist.

There is one exception to a Lion's confinement: it may capture the other Lion if it faces it along a file or diagonal, with no piece in between!