Zillion Adventures (mini-review)

I already wrote about how easy it is to develop your own game using Zillions of Games , but I did not mention one important consequence of this fact. The set of applications for ZoG is not limited to 375 games and puzzles included in the distribution kit. There are really a lot of games developed for Zillions of Games . Dozens of enthusiasts from around the world replenish this list using both ZRF and native extensions. Today, its size has already exceeded 2000.

Of course, I can’t talk about everything that was implemented as part of the ZoG project. Today, I will try to talk about applications that seemed to me especially interesting.

Of course, you should start with a game consideredthe progenitor of all modern types of chess. The game can be played by four people using dice to complete moves. It is curious that already in such an ancient game there is a figure “Horse” that is no different from a similar figure in modern Chess.
Of course, Shatrange , considered a direct descendant of Chaturanga, is also available in several versions . Among other “historical-national” varieties, mention should be made of the Thai Makruk and the Mongolian Hiashatar . The latter is not much different from modern Chess.

Different varieties of Chinese and Koreanchess should be separated into a separate family. The moves of the pieces are again similar to the rules of traditional chess, but there are also important differences. For example, pawns go and eat only forward, there are no diagonal captures. A horse cannot “jump over” pieces, and the General (an analogue of the King in Chess) cannot leave his “palace”. A very interesting figure is the Cannon. She walks like a Chariot (an analogue of the Rook in Chess), but she can take pieces only provided that between the starting and ending points of the move there is another piece (her own or someone else's).
ZoG can offer us traditional variants of both Xiangqi and Changi . There is also an option with an additional figure of the "Dragon", mini options , option on 3dand hexagonal boards. Quite interesting is the game with a traditional set of figures, against Korean. Most of the game, the “Korean” side has some advantage, but in the endgame the situation is radically changing.

There are many options for Japanese Shogi , good and different. The Japanese were perhaps the most inventivein the development of a variety of chess games. An important difference between most Shogi variants from Chess is the ability to "reset" pieces. Removing the opponent’s piece from the board, the player does not take it out of the game completely, but saves it “in the hand”. Subsequently, this figure can be placed on any free field of the board (subject to a number of rules) already under its “color”. This feature makes Shogi an incredibly dynamic and combination game, despite the fact that Shogi’s pieces are weaker than their chess counterparts.
Of course, Shogi did not remain deprived of attention by the ZoG community. Beginners can be advised on a set of game options with different types of “handicap”, traditionally provided to a weaker player. Game options are also available.on mini-boards. The options for playing on a one-dimensional board can be considered quite exotic (it should be noted that due to the possibility of "resetting" the figures, the game does not become less interesting). The “historical” options are presented by Tori Shogi , Wa Shogi , Chu Shogi and Dai Dai Shogi . The latter, by the way, is not the “biggest” version of the game. The famous Taikyoku Shogi variety was played on a 36x36 square board. There is the possibility of playing on non-square and three-dimensional boards. Cannon Shogi adds a Chinese Chess Cannon to the game. Pretty interesting synthetic game Chessgi, which uses a set of pieces of traditional Chess, but the rules are supplemented by the ability to "reset" the pieces taken, by analogy with Shogi.

There are a lot of options for playing chess on non-square boards. 3D is not a limit to the dimension of a board; there are four and five-dimensional analogues of it. There are options for playing on really large boards. Options with an expanded set of shapes are very numerous, such as Alekhine Chess , Capablanca's Chess and Omega Chess Advanced . There are even chess with airplanes . Variants with changing shapes are very interesting: FlipChess , Fusion Chessand Assimilation Chess . Original and numerous options for playing on hexagonal boards . There are even chess for three . There is a game on the board rotated 45 degrees. LadderChess offers to play on the “stairs”. Fortresses is dedicated to the intricacies of battle tactics on a narrow "isthmus" between two "fortresses." DarkChess offers to play "blindly." A very elegant game on a "star-shaped" board. There are also a number of mini-games with chess pieces: Caïssa , Maharadscha , Hunt ,Towers , Chad and HexChad .

Particularly noteworthy are the games “based on” various fantastic works. The founder of the “chess” genre in literature is, apparently, Edgar Burroughs , who described in detail the Martian Chess . Of course, Jetan on the ZoG website is in stock . There is even a " War of the Worlds " with the participation of Martian chess on the one hand with the combined forces of the Earth on the other. Fans of the work of George Martin can please Cyvasse . The world of Dungeons & Dragons also did not leave us without a game.. StarTrek , as it should be, gives us a whole galaxy of games. We can feel like the Klingons by playing Klin Zha and its three-dimensional counterpart . There is a game with original figures based on the series. Famous three-dimensional chess is also present , but I honestly did not understand them.

I find it difficult to attribute a number of games to a specific group. First of all, it is certainly nothing like Hnefatafl . There is an implementation of Gala , which, although it usually refers to chess, in my opinion, has little in common with them. Various options for combining Halm and Chess rules alsopopular . I really liked Andalusia , shown in the picture on the right. There are several games that turn a chessboard into a real maze. Some games just don't look like anything. Of course, many varieties of Checkers , Go , Reversi and Renju are also present. Hex , described in immemorial times by Martin Gardner, evokes nostalgic memories in me . there is a versionThis game uses a plug-in engine and plays noticeably better than its honest ZRF counterpart. For most of the above, you can find many 3D, hexagonal and other clones.

ZoG is not limited to logic and board games, as you might think. She has something to please casual people. There is a good implementation of the well-known Minesweeper . FreeCell offers us painfully familiar solitaire. There are many labyrinths, with and without lasers, including three-dimensional ones . You can play Bulls and Cows . Special mention deserves the training application section . Along with the well-known " Life " (including its one-dimensional version ) and "Langton's ant ", here you can find the implementation of the summing and logical machines, as well as a couple of implementations of Turing machines, and something to calculate the CRC . Here you can find a solver of problems Pentamino . And fans of" abnormal programming ", I am sure, it will please the implementation of the Calculator .

In In general, there is something to see on the ZoG website , all with the upcoming weekend!