| Bosworth
Frequently Asked Questions |
| In a 3 or 4 player game,
may a player move a pawn diagonally, from his or
her field camp, into an opponent's field camp in
order to capture? |
| |
Yes, in a 3 or 4 player game, pawns
are allowed to capture diagonally from their own
field camp into an opponent's field camp. In fact,
this is frequently used as an opening move. Remember
that once a pawn has left it's own field camp it
can never return. |
| |
| In a 3 or 4 player game,
if a player's pawn is situated in an opponent's
field camp in such a way as to be able to capture
diagonally into another opponent's field camp, may
the player move the pawn back and forth, capturing
each time, as often as the player likes, one move
per turn? |
| |
Yes, in a 3 or 4 player game pawns
are allowed to capture diagonally from an opponent's
field camp, into another opponent's field camp.
If possible, and desired, this capture move can
be repeated, with the pawn moving back and forth
between the opponent's field camps. |
| |
| An opponent just moved
a piece out of my field camp on their turn. Do I
have to fill that space right away with a piece
from my hand? |
| |
No - You are only required to fill
space(s) in your field camp on your turn, and only
after you have first moved a piece. |
| |
| I just moved one of my
pieces, and there are now two spaces open in my
field camp. Do I fill one or two spaces with pieces
from my hand? |
| |
Two - In fact, after you move a piece,
you are required to fill all open spaces in your
field camp with pieces from your hand . If you do
not have enough pieces in your hand to fill all
of the open spaces, you must then fill any remaining
open spaces with face down pieces from the discard
pile. (Movement is no longer allowed in these spaces.)
|
| |
| Do I have to replace
open spaces in my field camp after I move? |
| |
Yes. |
| |
| Do I have to move a piece
on my turn? |
| |
If you have a piece that may move
legally, yes. |
| |
| All of my pieces are
off of the board, but I still have pieces in my
hand. Am I out of the game? |
| |
No - You are only out of the game
when your King is captured. If you temporarily have
no pieces on the board, or if you can not move a
piece, simply skip the movement phase, and go to
the reinforcement and recruitment phase of your
turn. |
| |
| I am playing a four-player
game, and I just captured one of my opponents' Kings.
The King's Queen was already captured and removed
from the game. Do I still get the Queen as a reward
for capturing the King? |
| |
Yes - Find the Queen in the discard
pile, and place her into your hand. She will re-enter
the game through your field camp during the reinforcement
phase of your turn. |
| |
| I just received a Queen
into my hand after capturing a King, but my all
four field camp spaces are filled with face down
pieces. Can I still bring the queen back into the
game? |
| |
Yes - Simply pick anyone of the four
face down pieces and remove it to allow the Queen
to re-enter the game. |
| |
| After I deal four pieces
for my hand, can I look at them? |
| |
Yes - You are always allowed to look
at the pieces in your hand. |
| |
| I realize that a Pawn
can always move toward an opponent's field camp.
What if my opponent has been eliminated from the
game; can I still move my Pawn toward their field
camp? |
| |
Yes - You may always move a Pawn toward
an opponents field camp, regardless of whether they
are currently in the game or not. |
| |
| In Chess, a pawn can
move 1 or 2 space on their first move. Do Pawns
in Bosworth get to move 1 or 2 spaces on their first
move? |
| |
Yes |
| |
| In a four-player game,
the rules say that I can use my Pawn to capture
in all four directions. Isn't that a violation of
the movement rule that preventing me from moving
toward my own field camp? |
| |
No - Because Pawns are capturing
diagonally, you are still (in part) moving toward
an opponent. However, your own Pawn may never capture
back into its own field camp. |
| Top
of Page |
| Tips
and Strategies for Bosworth |
| 1. Try to limit the number
of pieces that you have on the board at one time. |
| |
Remember that the Bosworth
board has half as many spaces as a regular chess
board (32 rather than 64). So, when you are playing
four player Bosworth
you have twice as many players, and only half as
many spaces as in normal Chess. Unlike Chess where
lots of maneuvering is possible, most of the moves
in Bosworth will involve
a capture because of the limited space. |
| |
Therefore, If you play aggressively,
you will certainly be strong in the beginning of
the game. However, your opponents will still have
lots of strength in reserve. Typically, players
who start strong and control a large part of the
board, will quickly find themselves under attack
from all sides. It is usually better to measure
a players relative strength by the number of pieces
they have left to play, rather than what they have
on the board. |
| |
If possible, it is best to keep your
pieces in reserve, and off of the board. This assures
that you will be strong towards the end of the game.
Note too, that when an opponent's piece occupies
your own field camp space, you do not have to reinforce
that space. Often, this is an advantage, because
your pieces cannot be captured if they are not in
play. |
| |
| 2. Force your opponents
to bring pieces into the game early, and often. |
| |
If possible, do this by moving your
pieces out of your opponents field camp as soon
as possible to force them to reinforce. The new
pieces they bring into the game will often be under
attack as soon as they are played. |
| |
| 3. Pawns are more powerful
in Bosworth. |
| |
Because Pawns can always move in three
directions, and can capture in all four diagonals,
they are much more powerful than in normal chess.
Knights are also quite powerful, because they can
reach virtually any area of the board by jumping
over congested areas. |
| |
| 4. Suggestions for opening
strategies: |
| |
a. On your
first move, use one of the pawns in your field camp
to attack an opponent's pawn in their field camp.
On your next move, move your pawn back onto the
field, which puts it in position to attack the same
opponent's field camp on your next turn. Keep attacking
with the pawn, and pulling it back to attack again,
until your opponent figures out how to stop you. |
| |
b. Another
opening strategy (especially if you have the first
move, and if you have a Bishop in your hand) is
to move one of your center pawns forward one space.
Reinforce with a Bishop from your hand. On the next
four moves, try to move the Bishop all the way around
the board (clockwise or counter-clockwise), returning
on the fourth move to its original field camp location.
You do this by attacking in order, pieces in the
field camps of your three opponents. Of course this
only works if you are not blocked or attacked first
(however, you would be surprised at how often this
works - especially with new players!) |
| |
| 5. If possible, try to
bring your King into the game before your last piece
is played. |
| |
This gives you more options to bring
the King in safely. If you wait too long, you may
be forced to place your King into an "unsafe" field
camp space, only to have him killed on the next
turn. Try to anticipate your Kings interest into
the game! |
| |
| 6. You must employ diplomacy
to win at "Bosworth". . . alliances usually work. |
| |
|
| Top
of Page |
