Nation Database: Alphabetical List

Your pawns cannot promote.

Once per turn, after moving your opponent may summon a militia in your 3x5 starting area. A militia can move like a king, but may only capture diagonally, and is destroyed two turns after it is summoned. A militia may make a move outside your 3x5 area only to capture a piece.

You have a wall partially enclosing your 3x5 starting area as shown. Enemy pieces may cross the wall. Your pieces, including your king and knights, may not cross it in any way.

Your kings can also move like a bishop, and can jump two squares diagonally, but cannot capture.

Whenever an opposing piece moves to a square within two squares of an Armenian king and does not check any player, it can move again that turn. This ability can only be used once per turn.

You may only have one knight in play at a time: if you have more than one knight at any time, you must remove all your knights except for one from the board. Whenever you capture a piece with a non-pawn non-king piece, your opponent may permanently convert a bishop or rook you control into a knight.

On your turn, your bishops may not move to any square where they put an opponent in check.

At the end of your turn, each of your opponents can sink or raise (un-sink) one unoccupied square. Sunken squares may not be entered or crossed by your pieces except royal pieces or pieces whose only moves would require them to move through sunken squares. There may not be more than 10 sunken squares at any time.

You can only move a knight every other turn

Whenever an Austrian knight moves to a position where he is threatened by two enemy pieces of the same time your piece is immediately removed from the game.

At the start of each of your opponents' turns, if that player has at least three pieces in play, he may target any of your pieces in his 4x4 area and roll a six-sided die:

1. Misfire. If any of his pieces is horizontally or vertically adjacent to the target, it is destroyed; otherwise, nothing happens. If more than one of his pieces are adjacent, he chooses which piece is destroyed.
2. If the target is a pawn or knight, it is destroyed.
3. If the target is a pawn, knight, or bishop, it is destroyed.
4. If the target is a pawn, knight, bishop, or rook, it is destroyed.
5. If the target is any non-royal piece (including special pieces), it is destroyed.
6. The target piece is automatically destroyed. If it is a royal piece, you are checkmated.

Whenever one of your pieces captures an opponent’s piece, it cannot move again until one of your pieces ends a turn within two squares of it.

Whenever an opponent captures one of your pieces that piece cannot be captured by you until it moves or until three of your turns pass.

Whenever you capture an opponent’s piece, he may choose another player. On the chosen player's next turn, he must capture a piece belonging to you, if able.

Ministers can move like kings and like knights, and are royal but cannot capture.

On their turn, instead of moving a piece normally, your opponents can move any of your pieces to any open square in your 2x4 starting area.

Every other player may, twice per game, take any piece that he lost at some point in the game and place it anywhere in his 2x4 starting area.

Elephants can move up to three squares horizontally or vertically each turn.

When you move a non-royal piece, your opponents may vote to “censor” that move, with a majority vote required to censor. If the move is censored, you must move the piece back, and redo your move, but the piece that was censored may not move that turn.

Your moves may not be censored if you have three or less pieces, or if any of your opponents captured one of your pieces on their last turn.

You ignore the powers and special abilities of other players.

Your pawns cannot promote.

Your king moves by jumping two squares diagonally.

You may only move every other turn. On your turn, you may sacrifice a piece to move, if you otherwise cannot move.

After an oponent moves, that opponent can choose to push any number of pieces belonging to you, provided that these players are on the same rank or file and of the same type as the piece that was moved, and there are no other pieces between them. Each chosen piece is pushed two squares away from the piece you moved, stopping if another piece or obstacle (but not the edge of the board) is in its way. If a piece is pushed off the edge of the board this way, it is destroyed.

On your turn, before you move, one of your opponents may take a group of your pieces that forms a horizontally/vertically connected chain and move the whole group of pieces anywhere on the board. The pieces within the group must be placed on unoccupied spaces and retain the same arrangement as before. This ability may only be used once by each of your opponents.

(In the diagram at right, the red group of pieces can be moved into the position outlined in blue.)

This ability may not be used to move a pawn to a square where it would promote or to move a piece into a square where it would cause check.

At the start of the game each of your opponents, starting with the player clockwise from you and proceeding clockwise, chooses a piece you control. Each piece chosen is destroyed. You may not lose more than two non-pawn pieces. You may not lose your king.

You may only move a rook every other turn.

When a one of your rooks is captured, the piece that captured it cannot be captured by one of your rooks on your next turn, but can be captured on later turns.

At the end of your turn, if any opponent’s non-royal piece is horizontally or vertically adjacent to your bishop, knight, or king, remove your piece from the game. If your king was removed this way, the owner of the piece that was adjacent to your king has checkmated you (if your king was adjacent to pieces belonging to more than one opponent, you can choose which of them gets the checkmate).

At the end of your turn, each of your opponents may choose any unoccupied square on the board and visibly mark it. Until the start of your next turn, non-royal pieces you control cannot move into or through that square.

If any of your opponents' pieces is the only piece of its kind on the board, that piece may move twice in one turn. However, if a piece’s first move results in a check, the turn automatically ends.

At the end of each of your turns, you may choose a non-royal piece that an opponent controls and that has not moved that turn. Until the start of your next turn, the chosen piece may not be captured or destroyed, except by royal pieces.

Only your opponents' kings and pawns may capture your pieces. However, whenever your piece is within the standard capturing zone of any of your opponents' non-pawn pieces, that piece may not move.

Whenever on of your pieces is "frozen" by three or more enemy pieces, remove it from the board.

Cannons move and capture up to three squares away horizontally and vertically, but must jump over exactly one (friendly or enemy) piece to reach its destination. A cannon can only capture a king if it jumps over a friendly piece, not an enemy piece.

Chinese pawns capture forward, not diagonally.

Your bishop moves by jumping up to two squares in any direction.

Whenever a player moves a piece into a position that borders two other pieces that themselves both border the same piece (so that moving the piece creates a "square" arrangement of four pieces), all of your pieces in the square are captured.

Generals move one square either diagonally or forward. Japanese pawns capture forward, not diagonally.

Japanese pawns do not promote normally. If any Japanese piece moves into the final three rows (determined in the direction that your pawns go) it becomes a king.

Your opponents start the game with four points. Whenever they capture a piece, you gain one point.

At the start of any opponent’s turn, they may pay one point to take back your last move. They may pay one additional point to immediately make a move, interrupting the current player’s turn. If a move is taken back, so are all of its effects (i.e. captured pieces are brought back into the game), and after the interruption, play resumes normally starting with the play clockwise from whoever used this ability.

You have no power.

Mycenaean knights may not capture but may carry other pieces.

At the start of the game, your army is carried inside the knights. The army consists of one king, one rook and five pawns. Secretly write down which pieces are inside which knight.

On your turn, instead of moving, you can load or unload any number of your pieces to or from a knight. Loaded or unloaded pieces must be horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent to the knight.

If one of your knights is ever captured or if another player takes control of one of your knights, all pieces inside of it are automatically destroyed. If your king was inside it, you are automatically checkmated.

Whenever a Dutch piece moves to a space horizontally or vertically (not diagonally) adjacent to an enemy piece, one enemy player takes control of your piece. If a Dutch piece moves to a space adjacent to pieces controlled by two or more enemy players, you can choose which of these players takes control of your piece.

Neither your king nor enemy kings can be traded. You cannot trade on your first turn. If trading is not allowed in any situation, you may still make the move, but no trade occurs.

At the start of each of your opponents' turns, that player can switch the places of your knight and a piece he controls, but may not check any player by doing so.

At the start of your turn, roll a six-sided die. If it lands on 1, 2, 3, or 4, you do nothing, unless you are in check, in which case your turn proceeds normally. However, if it lands on 5 or 6, do the following:

First, roll another die. If it lands on 1 or 2, you can move one piece this turn. 3 or 4: up to two different pieces. 5 or 6: up to three different pieces.

Then select the piece(s) you wish to move. For each piece, roll a die. If it lands on 1, that piece moves and captures as a pawn this turn, 2 – knight, 3 – bishop, 4 – rook, 5 – queen, 6 – king. After this, you can move your piece(s), ending your turn. You must select all of the pieces you wish to move before rolling dice for them.

Even if a piece temporarily moves as a king, you are not checkmated until your actual king is captured.

At the start of your turn, one of your opponents (selected as follows: on your first turn, the player clockwise from you, and on every subsequent turn, the player clockwise from the last player to use this ability, skipping you) chooses any 2x2 square in the center 4x4 area. At the start of that player's next turn, all pieces within this 2x2 square are removed from the board.

You do not start with any pieces, but with four deployment squares (represented as ?’s in the diagram), and have one king and seven pawns in reserve. On your turn, you have the choice of either moving a piece or placing a piece from your reserve onto an empty deployment square.

If you don’t have any pieces in play, and it is not your first turn, you lose the game automatically. However, your pieces may not be captured until the end of your second turn. One of the first three pieces you play must be the king.

Your bishops, instead of moving normally, can only jump two squares diagonally.

If you are in check, instead of moving you must exchange the positions between your king and any piece you control.

Your king moves by jumping two squares diagonally.

Whenever you capture a piece you must form an "alliance" with that player for two turns: for the next two turns you may not capture his pieces, but he may capture yours.

Opposing players may move their pieces as though the top and bottom sides of the board are connected, and the right and left sides of the board are connected. In this manner, bishops can also move as though opposite corners are connected. No one may capture while crossing a side or corner of the board.

Whenever an opponent’s piece moves, that opponent may choose to pull pieces. If he does, all pieces that are on the same rank or file as it, and are within three squares of it, are pulled as close to the opponent’s piece as possible (i.e. without passing obstacles or other pieces).

You must move a pawn every other turn if able. You may not move pawns two turns in a row.

Whenever a Russian non-royal piece stands for two turns without any other pieces horizontally or vertically adjacent to it, it is automatically destroyed.

At the start of the game, take 8 small square cards (6 labeled “Pawn,” 1 labeled “Bishop,” and 1 labeled “King”) and put one facedown under each of your pieces. The piece named on the card determines what each of your pieces actually is, but only you can look at the cards.

On your turn, you may move a piece wherever you want. However, any player may choose to challenge your move: reveal the card under the piece; if the move that you made was illegal, you lose that piece, but if the move was legal, then the player who challenged your move skips his/her next turn.

If you ever put an opponent’s king in check, or if an opponent’s king moves into check by one of your pieces, you must reveal that that player’s king is in check. If you do not, you may not capture the king with that piece.

Whenever one of your pieces is captured, the card underneath it is revealed. If it was the “King” card, you are checkmated, all of the cards underneath your pieces are revealed, and your pieces are replaced by their cards' equivalents and are under the control of the player who checkmated you.

Whenever you capture a piece, all of your opponents may place an additional pawn under their control horizontally or vertically adjacent to their king.

The warrior can move as a queen and as a knight, but may not capture.

Whenever you move your king, you may not move your king on your next turn, unless you are in check.

Whenever you move a non-royal piece, you may not move a non-royal piece on your next turn.

You may only capture a enemy piece if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

1. The enemy player captured one of your pieces at some point in the game.
2. You have already either captured or lost at least three pieces.
3. You are in check.

Each of your opponents starts the game with five influence points.

On their turn, any player may give any player one influence point to move one of that player’s pieces instead of one of his own pieces. If that piece is captured before its owner’s next turn, the user of this power must give the owner another influence point (if they have no more influence points, they skip their next turn instead).

On their turn, instead of moving, your opponents can change one of your knights into a rook, or vice versa.

Once every other turn you must choose a player. That player receives a free pawn which may be placed anywhere in their 3x5 area.

All of your pieces, instead of moving normally, can only jump two squares in any direction that they normally move in, but when using a jump move you must jump over a piece. Thus, a king must jump two squares in any direction over a piece, a bishop two squares diagonally, a rook two squares horizontally or vertically and a pawn two squares forwards into an open square or two squares diagonally to capture a piece.

Delegates can move like kings but can also jump 2 squares horizontally or vertically. Every time a delegate starts a turn within one square horizontally or vertically of a nonroyal enemy piece, your delegate joins the enemy army.

At the start of your turn, roll a six-sided die. If it lands on 1, 2, 3, or 4, you do nothing, unless you are in check, in which case your turn proceeds normally. However, if it lands on 5 or 6, do the following:

First, roll another die. If it lands on 1 or 2, you can move one piece this turn. 3 or 4: up to two different pieces. 5 or 6: up to three different pieces.

Then select the piece(s) you wish to move. For each piece, roll a die. If it lands on 1, that piece moves and captures as a pawn this turn, 2 – knight, 3 – bishop, 4 – rook, 5 – queen, 6 – king. After this, you can move your piece(s), ending your turn. You must select all of the pieces you wish to move before rolling dice for them.

Even if a piece temporarily moves as a king, you are not checkmated until your actual king is captured.

At the start of each turn you get a token. On your turn, before moving, you can use tokens to upgrade any piece enemy other than their original king by giving it the movement capability of another piece:

• 2 tokens – king (non-royal), knight, or bishop
• 3 tokens – rook

The Valkyrie moves like a knight. On your turn, instead of moving normally, you can move a valkyrie anywhere on the board where it does not give check, but you may not use this ability two turns in a row. You cannot promote pawns to valkyries.

Whenever the valkyrie captures a piece put it by your side of the board. At the start of each opponent's turn, instead of moving they may put one of these pieces on the board in their 2x4 starting area, as long as your valkyrie is still on the board.

Once every other turn, you must move either a king or a pawn, if able.

You may not capture pieces from further than two squares away, except with your knight.

Your bishops and rooks may only move up to three squares each turn.

You can only capture your opponent’s pieces within their 2x4 starting area.

If your piece cannot move at the start of its owner's turn, and at least one enemy is horizontally or vertically adjacent to it, that piece is removed from the game.

You are checkmated only if any opponent moves at least three of his/her pieces into your starting area.

At the start of your turn, roll a six-sided die.

If the die lands on 5 or 6, choose any other player. For the remainder of your turn, you can use that player’s special ability (except of course the starting configuration).

If the die lands on 3 or 4, roll again. If it lands on 1 or 2, you “steal” the ability of the player clockwise from you, as outlined above. If it lands on 3 or 4, you “steal” the ability of the player across from you. If it lands on 5 or 6, you “steal” the ability of the player counterclockwise from you.

If the die lands on 1 or 2, you have no power this turn.

You may not the abilities of a country with special units (i.e. Sparta or the Carthagian Empire) or one that requires special setup (i.e. Guerillas or the Soviet Union). If the second roll gives you one of these countries, you must roll again (unless there are no valid countries among all the players in the game).

Once every other turn, starting on your first turn, you must counter an opponent’s power at the start of your turn. Any power may be countered, including Egypt’s. The opponent will regain his power at the end of your next turn. If a player is put in checkmate because of this, then the person who had his power cancelled retains it.

At the start of each of your opponents' turns, he can secretly write down the location of any unoccupied square in the center 4x4 area; that square is trapped.

When a jumping piece you control (i.e. a knight) ends its move on the trap square, that piece may not move until two of your turns pass (not counting your current turn).

When a non-jumping piece you control (i.e. a rook) moves through the trap square without stopping there, that piece may not move until two of your turns pass (not counting your current turn).

However, if a non-jumping piece you control ends its move on the trap square, that piece is immediately destroyed.

On any player's turn, instead of moving, that player can choose to take a piece you control off the board as long as it is within two squares of another piece you control. They may not cause check doing so, and they may not use this ability two turns in a row.

At the start of your turn, instead of moving you may place a piece removed from the board with this ability onto the board, as long as it is placed within two squares of a piece you control. You may not use this ability to cause check.