The game is drawn when either Chief is taken by a piece other Opponent's Princess, or a Chief takes a Chief. The game is won when any piece is placed on same square with after that he had been contacted by fans in a prison claiming to have adapted that info into a playable game-it was after this point in time that ERB refined his language regarding the rules of jetan and presented it as a playable game for those who care to try such things.-that said-Here are the rules of the game as they were intended to be observed by their creator: i will go out of my way to make the statement that THIS version of the game-aside from the circular board and associated compensatory mechanisms-is played adhering to an absolutely strict interpretation of the appendix rules written by burroughs as it was meant to be the final authority on gameplay-the information presented in the story represents an imperfect and sparsely described gist of the game meant for literary entertainment purposes. Since there is *for some reason* a good deal of belief among some that the jetan rules as they stand in the appendix of the chessmen of mars are flawed or unclear.
The piece has the same moves and power that the Flier has in the game." here is a quote from the book explaining my varied game etymology."Instead they call him who stands next to the Chief or Princess, Odwar. *note* in a certain barsoomian city-state "Manator" they have no knowledge of flying machines and they call the flier "Odwar"( and hereafter so do i) and he is synonymous with an earthling general. Panthans: (8 of them): 1 feather 1 space, forward, side, or Thoat: Mounted warrior 2 feathers 2 spaces, one straight and one This move is called the escape.Īnd in the second row from left to right: She is entitled to one ten-space move atĪny time during the game. *The Princess may not move onto a threatened square, nor may she Princess: Diadem with one jewel same as Chief, except may jump Padwar: 2 feathers 2 spaces diagonal in any direction orĭwar: 3 feathers 3 spaces straight in any direction orįlier(Odwar): 3 bladed propellor 3 spaces diagonal in any direction orĬombination and may jump intervening pieces.Ĭhief: Diadem with ten jewels 3 spaces in any direction Warrior: 2 feathers 2 spaces straight in any direction or THE PIECES: In order, as they stand upon the board in the first On the circular board this causes the pieces "warrior" and "thoat" to be in direct adjacent 'contact' with their enemy counterparts and meaning that the thoats on both sides can open the ball for casualties right away on two fronts and if done correctly can prevent a good deal of movement by the opposing team by behaving as a 'blocker.' SECOND:(a2)thoat-(b2-i2)panthan(x8)-(j2)thoat(*example notation for black team) in this version(for the sheer ease of setup) the black team is started on the first and second rows (A-J,1&2) and the orange on the tenth and ninth.(A-J,10&9)įIRST ROW: (a1)warrior-(b1)padwar-(c1)dwar-(d1)odwar-(e1)chief-(f1)princess-(g1)odwar-(h1)dwar-(i1)padwar-(j1)warrior orange starts on the northside of the board and black on the south. all the rules and piece movement for this game are identical to traditional jetan with the exception of the circular board and a few associated compensatory rules necessary to adapt the board to the game itself.ĭISCLAIMER: i would strongly urge anyone who is interested in this game to play and spread standard jetan first if they havent already as this article in itself relies on a somewhat predisposed knowledge of the base game. This game is meant to be a "circular chess" version of Jetan-the classic edgar rice burroughs chess variant appearing in his highly popular 1922 installment of the barsoom series' "the chessmen of mars". This page is written by the game's inventor, donald henry. Sculptures by James Killian Spratt - Three New Chess Variations.