Larry Smith wrote on Sun, Oct 5, 2008 03:53 AM UTC:
One of the positive things about the computer is the ability to present an
extremely large variety of games in a single package. And with the proper
programming, it can 'prove' the playability of such games(or at least
the non-triviality of the game).
With a printer, a player can run off the necessary graphics for the
real-world. The set can be kept simply paper, or with a little more effort
these can be affixed to more durable material.
I have done some research into the viability of manufacturing material for
chess variants, and have come to the following conclusions:
1. Playing fields and pieces should be made available as individual units,
allowing a player to pick and choose the needed material for their
particular variant.
2. The cost of designing and manufacturing, not to mention maintaining a
stockpile for sale, of all the potential piece types is nearly prohibitive
if applied to the Staunton-style appearance. Thus the use of simple
colored discs with either letters or symbols embossed or painted.
3. Playing fields could be simply printed on light-weight durable
material. I am leaning toward cloth, mainly for its compact nature(a
player could literally carry a set around in their pocket).
The start-up cost of such a project could be in the thousands of dollars.
Does anyone around here have the disposable income that allows for such an
investment? And the manufacturer would be hard-pressed to realize a simple
return on their investment, much less realize a substantial profit. In
other words, they would be doing all this for the love of Chess variants.
The best direction would be to simply inform players about how they can
create their own sets. Instructions, graphics and a list of sources for
raw materials would be all that is necessary to assist in the
dissemination of real-world Chess variants.
