Curse of the First

A Rico original variant on the classic game of Chess.

The First pawn to strike leaves a booby trap.

Curse of the First

A Rico Variant on the classic military game of 2 fierce armies attempting the capture the opposing king, with one special super soldier Pawn.

SET UP

The game requires a tabletop and chairs.
1 x 8x8 modular board. A checkered pattern is optional.
2 sets of classic chess pieces.
2 bottlecaps
The game starts with preset positions mirroring their opposing counterparts.
Player to move first is randomly selected.
Players take alternating turns.

Number of Players

2

Objective

The goal is to checkmate your opponent’s King, meaning the King is under attack and cannot escape capture.

Rules

The rules of Chess apply, below, with one special addition.
- The first Pawn to attack, leaves a bear trap (a bottle cap), in the space it vacated.
- Other pieces with their own movements, can step over the death trap without penalty. But if any piece lands on the bear trap, they are immediately eliminated from the board.
- A bear trap is indiscriminate, any piece , including your own, will be killed if it lands on the cursed space.
There are different movements and attack vectors for each Chess piece in their rank.

Kings can move and attack one space in any direction orthogonally, in all 8 directions.
Queens can move and attack any number of spaces in any orthogonal direction.
Rooks can move and attack adjacently in any number of spaces.
Knights can move and attack in an ‘L’ pattern, two spaces in any adjacent direction, with an additional space to either side.
Bishops can move and attack diagonally in any number of spaces. Note, if played on a checkered pattern, one Bishop resides on one color of the pattern.
Pawns are my favorites characters because they have special powers. They can move one or two spaces forward on their opening advance. They move one space forward on each turn thereafter, but they attack one space to their forward diagonal spaces on either side. They also have a special attack not commonly known called ‘En passant’ (in passing) for when they breach into enemy territory, they can attack an empty space behind an enemy pawn if it tried to bypass it. Its the only piece that can attack thin air and capture an enemy pawn. If they reach the enemy’s back line they can also be promoted in rank to any other game piece, except another King. (This is a monarchy empirical game).
Special moves:
- Castling: a King and Rook move together under certain conditions.
- En passant: is a special pawn capture.
- Promotion: pawn reaching the opposite side becomes another piece (usually a Queen).
The Game ends by checkmate, stalemate, resignation, or draw.

Player Variations

Like this element? Try adding this super soldier ability for the second, third, or the last pawn to attack. You will just need additional bottlecaps.

History

This new variation is a Rico original, in 2026, when the Witch Doctor dared to put a little chili pepper sauce on it and he asked , “What if.. a pawn left a voodoo curse behind as an ambush?” Hey, why not?
Chess originated in India around the 6th century as a game called Chaturanga.
It spread to Persia, then Europe during the Middle Ages.
The modern rules on Chess were standardized in the 19th century.
Today, Chess is a global game with world championships and online platforms.

Game Theory / Game Dynamics

Think about how this could play out. You control your own pieces, and can purposely set your first pawn up strategically.
- Your pawns have an addition ability available to the one that draws first blood.
- Will you try to set your bear trap close to the enemy King, potentially preventing his escape?
- Or try to force the placement in the middle of the board, limiting one of the bishops movement positions, and affecting all other pieces that dare to trespass into it.
- And what about that opposing counterpart pawn? It’s left with a death trap in its future, and saying,’ WTF? What kind of raw deal curse is this?’ At least it can advance up to it, and form a singular wall of 3 spaces being threatened.
- As the pawn that draws first blood, do you also have an influence on the opposing first pawns move, and where its bear trap will be placed?
- Are you more or less willing to sacrifice a pawn?
- There is only one way to find out.
Traditional Chess defies conventional logic, with the complications of movements of different ranks, special condition rules, and the deep strategic thinking needed, it is surprising to find it is still so popular worldwide.
If you are beginner to Chess, be patient. It will take playing a few games to get the hang of it.
There are plenty of books dedicated to this game and strategies to play.
The dynamics behind this game and almost all its variations are straight forward. Two fierce armies square off in a battle of annihilation with the mission of defeating the opposing King.
This game only resides on my Head Games and The Predators Tract shelves.
If you really want a checkered pattern board, I’ll make you one, but I’d suggest playing on 4 4x4 modular boards for a much better deal. Pieces are sold separately.
This game teaches many valuable lessons, such as pack hunter tactics work. This game is a classic of military and combat strategy, this variant has an additional twist.