6.5

Martian Chess (1995)

Capture your opponent's pieces before they cross the Canal and become yours.

Rank: 6173
2-4 Players
20 Min
Age: 8+
Complexity: 2.45/5

Designer: Andrew Looney

Artist: Andrew Looney, Eileen Tjan

Publisher: Looney Labs

Martian Chess is a 2-4 player game that uses Icehouse pieces, requiring one stash per player, and a chessboard. It was one of the games included in Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set and Pyramid Arcade.

Much like its namesake, Martian Chess is a game of capturing pieces. Like Chess, Martian Chess is turn based, and played on a chessboard. In both games, players move and capture individual pieces, and each type of piece has distinct moving rules.

However, Martian Chess differs from Chess in critical ways:
  • Piece ownership is determined not by color but by location.
  • Instead of capturing a specific piece, winning is determined by points, making it possible to force the end of the game and still win with no pieces left in that player's control.
  • Lastly, Martian Chess easily supports 4 players as well as two, and can also be played with 3, 5 or 6 players if you use geomorphic chessboard sections; see this photo for an example.
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Ratings & Comments

6.5

Total 305 ratings

10

4 (1.31%)

9

16 (5.25%)

8

50 (16.39%)

7

97 (31.80%)

6

87 (28.52%)

5

30 (9.84%)

4

13 (4.26%)

3

5 (1.64%)

2

1 (0.33%)

1

3 (0.98%)

6.5

Total 305 ratings

10

4 (1.31%)

9

16 (5.25%)

8

50 (16.39%)

7

97 (31.80%)

6

87 (28.52%)

5

30 (9.84%)

4

13 (4.26%)

3

5 (1.64%)

2

1 (0.33%)

1

3 (0.98%)

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