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Rollerball is a chess variant invented by Jean-Louis Cazaux in 1998. The game was inspired by the 1975 science-fiction movie Rollerball, specifically the futuristic and violent sport (similar to Roller Derby) portrayed in the film.
Contents
The board comprises 7×7 squares with the central 3×3 section missing. Pieces generally move clockwise around the board. Each player starts with one king, one bishop, two rooks, and two pawns.
Game rules
The initial setup is as shown. White moves first. Pieces move and capture the same as their chess counterparts, except where explained differently below.
Objective
There are two ways to win in Rollerball:
- Checkmating the enemy king.
- Bringing one's own king to the starting square of the enemy king on the opposite side of the board (but only when having travelled to that side of the board in a clockwise direction).
The same as in chess, stalemate and threefold repetition of position are draws.
Piece moves
In general, forward movement means clockwise direction around the board; backward movement means counterclockwise direction. The squares comprising the board's inner and outer perimeters are called rings. The ring a rook or pawn currently stands on determines its orthogonal forward direction, and for a rook, its orthogonal backward direction. An orthogonal rook move in a direction immediately off its ring is called sideways movement.