I suggest we add the themes here as Tags instead, as appropriate.
I was thinking of creating a new database column for themes, but using tags may be the better solution. It allows members more control over the themes, and it saves us editors the trouble of updating this page with new games. Once tags are set up, we could replace this page with the tag page for Theme: https://www.chessvariants.com/tag/theme. Before we begin on that, though, we might want to agree on a nomenclature for common themes. We can use the themes on this page as a starting point, but some of them group related themes together, and the question arises whether we want to split them apart or combine them into a single term.
Mathematics & Science might be combined as STEM, or they might be split apart as Mathematics and Science. If so, we should probably use the full word Mathematics to avoid conflicts between people who follow the American usage of calling it Math and people who follow the British usage of calling it Maths. Different fields of Science could be handled like Theme:Science:Physics, Theme:Science:Astronomy, etc.
I'm not sure we need a Miscellaneous/Novelty theme. These could probably be replaced with more specific themes.
Naval or Nautical. I suppose Nautical is more encompassing.
Political/Spy/Thriller. Maybe split this into Political and Espionage. I'm also not sure about at least one of the games listed. Chess II adds Princes, but if that makes it a Political themed game, then any variant with a King and Queen would have a Political theme, which I think is a stretch.
SF/Fantasy/Futuristic. I'm thinking of splitting this into Science Fiction and Fantasy, which are really distinct themes, and rolling Futuristic into Science Fiction.
Wargames/Roleplaying. I know that wargames inspired RPG games like D&D, and these may share in common things like simulated combat. Of the two, Chess variants are usually more like wargames than they are like RPGs. But we do already have a Wargame category. So, I'm wondering whether a Wargame theme would serve any purpose that the category doesn't already serve.
I was thinking of creating a new database column for themes, but using tags may be the better solution. It allows members more control over the themes, and it saves us editors the trouble of updating this page with new games. Once tags are set up, we could replace this page with the tag page for Theme: https://www.chessvariants.com/tag/theme. Before we begin on that, though, we might want to agree on a nomenclature for common themes. We can use the themes on this page as a starting point, but some of them group related themes together, and the question arises whether we want to split them apart or combine them into a single term.
Mathematics & Science might be combined as STEM, or they might be split apart as Mathematics and Science. If so, we should probably use the full word Mathematics to avoid conflicts between people who follow the American usage of calling it Math and people who follow the British usage of calling it Maths. Different fields of Science could be handled like Theme:Science:Physics, Theme:Science:Astronomy, etc.
I'm not sure we need a Miscellaneous/Novelty theme. These could probably be replaced with more specific themes.
Naval or Nautical. I suppose Nautical is more encompassing.
Political/Spy/Thriller. Maybe split this into Political and Espionage. I'm also not sure about at least one of the games listed. Chess II adds Princes, but if that makes it a Political themed game, then any variant with a King and Queen would have a Political theme, which I think is a stretch.
SF/Fantasy/Futuristic. I'm thinking of splitting this into Science Fiction and Fantasy, which are really distinct themes, and rolling Futuristic into Science Fiction.
Wargames/Roleplaying. I know that wargames inspired RPG games like D&D, and these may share in common things like simulated combat. Of the two, Chess variants are usually more like wargames than they are like RPGs. But we do already have a Wargame category. So, I'm wondering whether a Wargame theme would serve any purpose that the category doesn't already serve.