The Chess Variants Pages

Apparently, the answer to the question "how many ways are there to play chess" is similar to that of "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin." At least, that's the impression you get when visiting The Chess Variants Pages.

There are Three Dimensional Chess Variants like that chessish game played on Star Trek, and Hexagonal Chess Variants, and chess that's played on round boards, and chess that more than two can play, and, well, an entire heavenly host of variants, some of which one could classify by theme, others by the unequalness of their armies. One of my favorites is Fairy Chess, an exploration of the apparently endless varieties of new chess pieces that can be created by combining the moves and powers of others - like the Princess, Archbishop, Cardinal and Paladin that combine the powers of knight and bishop.

Even if you don't play chess, a brief visit to these pages can open you to a world of player-empowerment. If people can do this with chess, surely you can do the same with checkers, or bridge, or Scrabble, or even Tic Tac Toe. Taking this "variants" approach, any game you know becomes a treasury of game possibilities, and the more games you know, the wealthier you become.