Wanted to take the opportunity to post up some excellent work from a friend of mine. Too good not to show-and-tell.
At the end of last year i got into my head to get an oversized chess set for my partner as a birthday present (which turned into an xmas present, which turned into a joyous-back-to-work-tidings present). Whenever we (infrequently) go away and stay at hotels there's often chess boards around and we end up having a game.
After a brief look around i only found one place that does 'large' sets locally but none of their stock had that 'it' factor. Obviously, online search followed and there were some (but not a whole lot of) intriguing works.
So talked to a mate of mine who does art-level woodworking (...that's high btw) about perhaps having one made.
Plans were set and i whipped up a concept in sketechup, which received a counter sketch, and some design discussions.
BTW, this is based on an existing set from someone on... etsy (...possibly... maybe). There are several modifications, similarities as well, but IMO enough to make it not flat-out plagiarism.
This turned into objects over the subsequent weeks...
Resulting in a (currently) unique work of art.
In situ...
We have played several games, and i'm yet to lose a game, but suffice to say that we're both getting used to how chess works again.
Game 1; didn't last long...
Game 2; was a brutal bloodbath...
About Chess...
While i'm here... historically i've never really been a huge chess fan. Possibly the abstract aspect of the game engine lacks the fluffy flavour that stimulates my imagination in the way that tabletop war games do.
That said i've played more chess in the last few weeks than the prior two or three decades and have very much enjoyed the experience.
My biggest gripe with Epic is irreconcilable imbalances between various factions - this is entirely absent with chess (equal pieces, equal abilities).
Previously i'd found the chess environment restrictive, but treating the game as more of a logic puzzle rather than a battle narrative is making it quite enjoyable.
Additionally the absence of dice (which i inevitably roll poorly) is actually a nice change. If a gambit fails it's due to poor decisions and placement rather than shitty luck... which rates in as a big thumbs up.
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment