Unit 1 Assignment

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The Goal of the Modification The goal of my modified chess game was to create an almost impossible to win game of chess since the queen can move as many squares as it wants in any direction per move. I was hoping my modification would create a feeling of frustration because it will be almost impossible to win since “Games affect our moods: Games can make us feel satisfied, or enraged, or thrilled…” (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al., 2020). I imagine that two players trying to beat each other and spending a long time on only one game would start to become frustrating and enraging. Therefore, I changed a rule that would make one game of chess take much longer and it would be almost impossible to win unless the opponent makes a mistake. This alteration also aims to reduce the potential for early checkmates and prolong the game, allowing for more intricate and thought-provoking play. The modification was also meant to test players’ patience. As Huizinga is discussing the theories of play, he writes, “According to another it serves as an exercise in restraint needful to the individual” (Huizinga et al., 2004). I expect the game to take a very long time, and this will cause players to start becoming frustrated and enraged. However, this will cause players to play carelessly and could potentially cost them the entire game. A player must be calm and collected throughout the entire game of chess otherwise they might make a move they might later regret. This theory of play will be crucial in this modification of chess because strategic thinking requires patience and restraint. Description of the Modification My modified chess game modified a rule that completely changed the flow of chess. The modification was that in order to win, one must take out the opponent’s queen instead of taking out their king. The queen is the most powerful piece in chess, and it would make sense that if one takes out the opponent’s strongest piece, then they would automatically win. This would also change the traditional strategies that chess players would use in a normal chess game because the focus has shifted from the king to a powerful and more valuable queen. Sirlin states that “In competitive games, there is little more valuable than knowing the mind of the opponent, which the Japanese call yomi” (Sirlin, 2012). This change would add unpredictability to the gameplay, encouraging players to adapt their strategies, thus decreasing the advantage of yomi. This version of chess can be unpredictable because the queen can move in any direction and as many squares as it wants, so there will be multiple ways a player can defend their queen due to the availability of multiple moves. In addition, it would also create a more dynamic and strategic game of chess

because it would be immensely more difficult to checkmate a queen than it is to checkmate a king. Egenfeldt-Nielsen talks about how rules that limit the freedom of players are what creates satisfaction when a player is victorious. He states that, “These limits on our freedom as players are actually what give a shape and a drive to the playing of the game; they are what challenge us in the game world, they are what enable us to feel satisfaction when we win” (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al., 2020). Since it will be almost impossible to win, if a player wins in this modification of chess, it will be very satisfying to the victor and all feelings of frustration and rage will immediately go away. Results of Repeated Testing of the Mod To test this modified game of chess, I played it with a friend, who is an experienced chess player. We were playing in his room, where it was a comfortable and quiet setting conducive to focused gameplay. As we were playing, I noted our observations throughout each game we played. My friend has modified many aspects of chess before, so he created my modification of chess on a digital platform. The modification managed to achieve most of its intended objectives. As expected, the games generally took much longer than traditional chess matches. Some games never ended, and we both agreed to call a stalemate. I noticed that we often got extremely frustrated as our matches took more and more time. Since my friend is an experienced chess player, he often had more patience than me, but I sensed some frustration from him as well. There were heightened emotions during games, particularly in the late stages when the outcome heavily relied on queen interactions. Excitement, tension, and anticipation were all a part of every game we played. The only way one of us won was when the other player made a mistake or did not anticipate a certain move that would cost them the game. These mistakes often happened towards the late stage of our games because focus was maintained for a very long time, and we were starting to lose focus and patience. I noted that this version of the game demanded a higher degree of thought and foresight, particularly in terms of the positioning of the queen. We tended to be more defensive with the queen but much more aggressive with the other pieces because we know that the queen can escape almost any situation on its own without the help of other pieces. Due to my friend being more experienced, I tended to lose more often because of a move I made without noticing that it would endanger my queen. At some point in the game, we had to use the queen to attack each other, otherwise the game would not have ended. However, attacking the opponent’s pieces with the queen imposed a heightened degree of thought and

foresight. I was surprised to find that winning was only possible through mistakes that the opponent makes. This is a significant departure from traditional chess, where checkmate often results from strategic play rather than mistakes. Even in this version of chess, experienced players have an advantage in anticipating moves and avoiding costly mistakes because they are already trained to use yomi and can adapt more skillfully. Reflection on the Mod and Its Goals For the most part, my modification accomplished its intended goals. The games took much longer to complete, and a feeling of annoyance arose towards the late stage of the game. I initially thought that yomi would play a smaller role due to how powerful the queen is in chess. This was not the case as my more experienced friend tended to win more often due to my occasional mistakes. Depending on what pieces we had towards the end of a game, it was sometimes impossible to win for either player, in that case, we ended in a stalemate. If I were to do this again, I would implement another rule that the queen may only move every two turns only. This would reduce the occurrence of a stalemate and make players think even deeper on the positioning of the queen to ensure that the opponent’s next two moves will not put the queen in danger. This will require an intense level of yomi and critical decision-making. I learned that although a simple modification to a rule may sound small and will not change much of the game, it can have a big impact on how the game plays out. A simple modification to the rules resulted in a significant departure from the traditional game of chess.

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In this picture, the white queen is in check because the black queen is able to take the white queen and win the game.

Works Cited Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2020). Understanding Video Games: The Essential Introduction (4th Ed.). New York: Routledge Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens: A study of the play-element in culture. London: Routledge & K. Paul. Sirlin, D. (2012) Yomi: Spies of the mind. In Constance Steinkuehler, Kurt Squire, Sasha Barab (Eds.) Games, Learning and Society: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Unit 1 Assignment

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