There certainly are a lot of worthy games to consider, and this fabulous
website makes it both harder and easier to decide. Harder because so many
interesting games can be found here. Easier because you can read their
rules at a click, and in some cases read what others have thought. I
looked at the games suggested by others, and a few games I am partial to
myself, and came up with this list:
Among newer variants:
Rococo certainly looks very interesting -- perhaps a better Ultima.
Separate Realms is new and promising enough to warrant some play.
Take Over has an interesting mechanic that I'd like to see explored.
Crazy 38s is so original and innovative that it begs to be played.
Caissa also has a unique and interesting mechanic and I've always
wondered how well it plays.
Flip Shogi looks interesting.
Cannon Shogi looks likes an interesting shogi variant with added power
on the board.
Among large variants:
Centennial Chess looks fascinating, and for the adventurous, perhaps
even Millenial Chess by the same inventor.
Some form of Grand Chess seems like a good idea -- I think perhaps
Grander Chess might even be the best choice.
Reniassance Chess also looks to be a worthy entry in the large variant
category.
Among hexagonal games:
Hexagonal Chess by Shafran has always struck me as perhaps better than
Glinski's game -- it would be intersting to find out.
Hex Shogi by Duniho -- perhaps a small board variant is called for, but
that all look intriguing to me
Among established variants:
Extinction Chess has always struck me as a great, simple idea.
Chessgi is an acknowledge classic, a great game.
Rifle Chess has always intrigued me.
And I guess I better stop there, since I've already listed more than 10. I
could easily go on. I'll resist the temptation to list my only TCVP entry
(Biform Chess) since I've recently had second thoughts about the starting
array. And it's too bad that this is all happening just a few weeks
before my own new games come out, but I suspect that interest in them will
be a little limited anyway, since they're both big-board variants (10x10
and 11x11) and one of them is very unusual and Ultima-like.
What kind of time frame has been proposed for these games? A move per
day? Will there be a time limit? I'd love to play, but some days I'm so
swamped I can't afford to think about chess.