"Chess: A “Gateway Drug” into Miniature Wargaming?" Topic

"Chess is an ancient game of tactical strategy. It is one of the oldest and most revered board games you can play. Even in this modern, digital age of video games, chess remains as popular and relevant as ever. I've been trying to teach my daughter how to play chess. As a result several questions arose: Is chess for kids? Is there a chess age limit? How do you start teaching chess to a child or anyone really? But, I think the real reason I want to teach her how to play chess is because the game might be the "gateway" to the bigger hobby of tabletop miniature gaming…."

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Armand

I used to play chess daily as a child, and later as teacher I ended up coaching chess to kids, one of whom ended up in the junior national team.

I'd say its abstract nature makes it a really hard game to inspire anybody to take an interest in if they aren't already, but a really easy game to teach to those who are interested in it.

As for being one of the oldest games… I'd give a shout out to hnefetafl; an ancient potential forerunner to chess in terms of abstract battle strategy games… certainly one for the board games geeks out there.

It is a good way to help push kids to think strategically – watching The Queen's Gambit on Netfix got No 4 son into it; we play every week (and he beats me, every week)

Well, chess was the 'gateway drug' for me – got a chess set for Christmas when I was 9 … Unexpected. Surprise. Changed my life ;-)

Hadn't played it before, seen a couple of chess sets, thought they looked interesting, but hadn't heard of game before.

Thanks!

Armand

I played chess for a while in my youth, mostly because it was what smart boys were expected to do. I never really liked it and one day I just stopped.

I had already discovered Risk and Stratego, but had no opponents. A few years later, I had a group who liked those games, as well as poker. Those three were really my gateway games to a lifetime of wargaming.

I played a bit but it never caught my imagination too hard and to abstract for me. Sitting pondering for ages was not my style. Even as a kid I wanted to recreate in some way what I read.

As for kids, the girls were not really that game oriented, they dabbled in RPG but it was not a longterm thing. The Lad liked RPG's and Data driven games not spatial games like Chess or DBA. His interest is still in the weird and wonderfull not the historic or the "simple" games like Chess.

I think one could use Chess as a gateway to wargaming, by playing games with a few alterations to the rules.

For example:

1. Make succeeding in taking a piece subject to a die roll; if the attack fails, either the attacking piece 'bounces back' to its previous position, or gets taken itself.

2. Have different chances of success in taking, depending on the opposing pieces, so that a pawn might have only a mall chance of taking a queen, but the latter will almost always succeed in taking a lower ranking piece.

3. Allow players to deploy standard chess 'armies' if different ways on the two ranks.

4. Allow players to create their own chess 'armies' of different combinations of pieces, perhaps using a points system so that one could have three knights but only one rook.

5. Replace the traditional chess pieces by suitable groups of small scale figures which fit on the squares, but can later be used on a tabletop battlefield.

6. Add some terrain which blocks or reduces movement across those squares, or confers defensive bonuses on pieces/troops occupying them.

If my now adult children were younger, I'd give these ideas a try. Sadly, neither have developed any interest in wargaming…

Thanks also…

I was big fan…

Armand

Chess changes quite a lot when certain squares are designated as mine-fields (unmarked!). First piece to land on them is out of the game,and the square is then clear for future pieces to land on.

Use 1-4 landmines per player.