Anyone for a game of Cyvasse?

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I've been rereading ASOIAF in prep for the release of season 4 (OK, going beyond, since I'm in ADWD), and decided to write up my own version of rules for the game of Cyvasse. There are a couple of good versions available on line, but what I found seemed either too complicated or not quite in the spirit of what I was looking for, hence another version.

I've posted the rules for download here at EN World, and they're also available free at No Name Publishing's website.

Deploy your army of Dragons, Elephants, Cavalry and Infantry to defeat your enemy's army and capture his King!

Cyvasse is a game of Battle Chess inspired by a game in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire. Originating in the Old World of Essos, it is a game of skill played by the clever and educated. Martin described it as a “mix of Chess, Blitzkrieg, and Stratego.”

The 12-page Cyvasse rules available free here provide three rules levels plus optional rules and an alternate game. Basic Cvyasse plays very much like chess. Advanced Cyvasse introduces piece ranking and attacks much like Stratego or Blitzkrieg. Expert Cvyasse adds terrain, ranged fire, and special King rules. Hex Cyvasse uses an alternate hexagonal chess board and can be played using any of the three versions of the rules.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Bumping to get this moved to the new Boardgames Forum.

Here's a video demonstrating the Basic version of Cyvasse which uses a standard chessboard and chess-like rules:

[video=youtube_share;jvhnDih4xNw]http://youtu.be/jvhnDih4xNw[/video]

Here's a video demonstrating the Expert hex board version of Cyvasse -- it has a larger hexagonal chessboard, terrain, and differing unit values (somewhat like Stratego).

[video=youtube_share;Bw4KZ6wIG2Q]http://youtu.be/Bw4KZ6wIG2Q[/video]

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

Cyvasse

cyvasse - Google Search

In particular, I could help to discuss and clear up the many differences between the various attempts to write a complete set of rules.

One query is: does cyvasse have catapults and also trebuchets as two sorts of pieces? This seems to depend on one piece of book text about cyvasse that mentions catapults and also trebuchets. To me, that may mean one of:

(1) Catapults and also trebuchets are two sorts of piece.

(2) Catapults are trebuchets, one sort of piece, and the evidence has been damaged by that literary nuisance called "elegant variation" which encourages writers to use two or more words for the same thing.

Elegant variation - Wikipedia

There are 2 discussion threads about cyvasse in "A Forum of Ice and Fire", but they have both been closed.

The older thread's last message was in September 2014. That thread has been archived and closed. It ran to 17 pages.
I saw a set of rules where the pieces have ranks 1 2 3 4 etc, and if a piece's rank is x, then it can capture any enemy piece whose rank is (x+1) or less.
I am tempted to offer a rule that the dragon can fly over the heads of pieces between, except that as it descends and lands it is vulnerable to attack by pieces near where it lands.
Are there any takers for an idea that a dragon flying could pick up and carry (assumed to be on its back sitting behind its pilot), one man of a sort who can walk on foot carrying all his kit (king, rabble, archer/crossbowman, spearman)? The man carried would have to move to an adjacent square when the dragon has moved and landed.
Some sets of rules seem to have a rule that a catapult can kill a piece without moving to where that piece was.
Is there a piece representing a man who is expert with a sword but is not on a horse/etc? The term "Rabble" to me suggests a poorly-trained new recruit.

 

[Lady Tarth]

classic cyvasse:
kingsandcatapults.com