Does Chess need a bit of pep? Some abilities dropped onto the board to introduce new ways of playing, new strategies to master? If you think it does, you're not alone. There are untold numbers of Chess variants out there to spice things up. I up a couple of physical variants myself, and the 1001 list wants to take you back in time to the days of Flash and Quadradius.
Chrome and the Internet of 2020 have other ideas, however...
Frustrations
On the still live Quadradius website, you can play the fancy updated version of the game, which I can't because it just links to a download Flash button and seems to have nothing else going for it, or you can play the classic version, which I assume to be the version this 1001 list wants us to pay attention to.
That, thankfully, does actually run in Chrome, after all the alarming security notices about running Flash, loading up into whatever you'd describe this window to be, a kind of old grubby computer terminal from long, long ago.
Quadradius is a game for two players, so it helps immensely if you have another player to go head to head against. The lobby here is incredibly empty, though a 'STRONG Guest' popped in just long enough to trigger our first game of Quadradius.
The rules are... well, I don't know, really. I skimmed them. Something about power-ups doing different things... I'm sure I'll get the hang of it as I go along.
Here, then, is the arena for our bout. My squadron of Roomba, or whatever they are, line the bottom of the screen, awaiting their marching orders, which seems to be little more than "move on space but not diagonally". We can get the hang of that, right?
The first power-up to appear landed on my side of the board, and it was an Invert Column thingymajig, which does what its name suggests, I suppose. Elevations of pieces are inverted. Hmm. I guess that means we'll be fighting over three dimensions, not just two. Interesting.
It doesn't appear to have any use right now, though, so I'll keep it in reserve until later. This STRONG Guest is taking a while to decide what to do. Perfect opportunity to rea-
A small victory on my part?
Final Word
No other guest appeared and I couldn't get any other version of Quadradius up and running. I could watch videos of how amazing it was, but to be honest with you didn't watch very much of them, for the simple reason that I wasn't interested in this game at all.
I could be, I suppose, but not in its current form of not working for me, and all that. The idea of taking a familiar game to people and making it into something else happens all the time, but this one, in particular, seemed to find some success. Skim reading the Internet about it, it looks like some of the power-ups were reserved for members to use, which sounds a bit irksome, but I simply wouldn't know.
I have come to Quadradius more than a decade late, and while it still has a community somewhere, probably, I'm not likely to be part of it to see what it's all about. Maybe, one day, but on this first impression, I'm in no rush.
Fun Facts
1 to 6 players now, the aim of the game to eliminate your opponents by landing on top of them somehow. Chess and then some indeed... if I ever get to play it.
Quadradius, developed by Jimmi Heiserman, first released in 2007.
Version played: Classic Quadradius, Flash, 2007.