Even though chess is one of the oldest games in the world, it has been a staple for most board game closets around the world. People have played it competitively and casually since it was invented. Chess was invented in India, and legend has it that the Gupta Empire from 600 CE was where it originated from. Yesterday, a member named John Bishop from the Gupta Empire went live on Twitch.tv and had an incredible announcement to make:
“After thousands of years of chess, players have started to get bored of my game, and it broke my heart. It might be a surprise to some of you that the developer team and I are finally releasing a new update. We are adding 2 NEW pieces to the game, and we are making a big change to the user interface!”
The Horse
The knight in chess looks like a horse, and that’s what a lot of people call him. Now, to elevate the complexity of the game, they are adding a piece that is called “The Horse,” which also looks a lot like the knight.
Unlike the knight, the horse has not been through years of military training. He is a literal horse, so his only goal is to eat the hay out of the Rook, so your own Rook is the only piece that your horse can capture. Each player has 2 horses that are placed in the far corners.
The Tax Collector
The Tax Collector is the most innovative, brilliant and creative piece added to chess. Using him, you can sacrifice up to 5 of your own pieces and legally fine your opponent for up to 5 dollars. If they refuse to pay you, they will instantly lose the game because they didn’t pay their taxes.
Each player has one Tax collector that you can choose to place in front of any of your pawns. The tax collector is unable to move, so you have to place him somewhere he will not be in the way.
UI changes
“Before this update, chess has been a free-to-play game, excluding the cost of the board,” said John Bishop. “However, it has been hard for us to keep up with the game when we aren’t making any extra money other than the first purchase you make.” In the new update, chess is implementing a new way to support the developers. You can now pay 4.99 at the beginning of the game to replace a pawn with a queen. If you want a discount, you can buy a bundle of 34.99 to replace EVERY one of your 8 pawns with a queen. Additionally, when you lose a piece, you can pay 3.95 to go back a turn and rethink your decision.
Some players might want to uninstall chess after this update, but the update drops in a week, so you can still enjoy the game. In my incredibly humble opinion, I think this update really reforms and evolves the experience that we call chess.