Jetan
 Jetan,
the Barsoomian version of Chess, was first described by Edgar
Rice Burroughs in The Chessmen of Mars and is mentioned
occasionally in later books in the series. It is played on a
10 x 10 square board, using pieces similar to Earthly chesspieces,
but having unique movement qualities. The pieces are black and
orange, and traditionally the orange player sits at the north
end of the board and the black player sits at the south. The
game is supposed to reconstruct a historic war between the yellow
race of the north and the black race of the south.
The object of the game is to capture
the opposing player's Princess, or to capture the opponent's
Chief with the player's own Chief. Any piece can capture the
Princess or Chief, but if any piece other than the Chief captures
a Chief, the game is drawn.
Jetan is played by virtually all people
of Barsoom except, possibly, the green race. Characters in a
game should have at least some skill in playing Jetan.
The Gameboard
The gameboard below illustrates the
positions of the pieces at the start of the game. Note that the
positions of the Princess and Chief are slightly different from
those of the King and Queen of ordinary chess. The pieces are
set up from left to right of each player, and the capital pieces
occupy the same relative positions for both players.
Movement:
The pieces of Jetan have different movement
qualities from ordinary chesspieces. No piece, except the Princesses,
may move more than three spaces at a time, and all pieces can
move in any combination of directions according to their unique
movement patterns.
The illustrations of the pieces on the
board are an attempt to describe the movement of each piece.
First Row, from left to right of each
payer:
- Warrior - 2
feathers straight; 2 spaces straight in any direction or combination.
- Padwar - 2
feathers diagonal; 2 spaces diagonally in any direction or combination.
- Dwar - 3
feathers straight; 3 spaces straight in any direction or combination.
- Flier - 3-bladed
propellor; 3 spaces diagonally in any direction or combination.
May jump intervening pieces. In at least one variation, this
piece is replaced by a piece called Odwar with the same
movement and power as the Flier.
- Chief
- Diadem with ten jewels; 3 spaces in any direction, straight
or diagonal, and combination.
- Princess
- Diadem with one jewel; same as Chief, but may jump intervening
pieces. May not capture any pieces. Additionally, may make one
ten-space move at any time during the game. This move is called
the escape and may only be done only once.
- Flier - See
above.
- Dwar - See
above.
- Padwar - See
above.
- Warrior - See
above.
Second Row, from left to right of each
player:
- Thoat
- Mounted warrior with 2 feathers, one straight and one diagonal;
1 space straight and one space diagonally in any direction or
combination.
- Panthan (8)
- 1 feather; 1 space in any direction except backward, straight
or diagonally.
- Thoat - See
above.
The moves, explained:
- Straight moves are due north, south, east or west.
- Diagonal moves
are northeast, northwest, southeast or southwest.
- A piece may move in any combination
of allowed directions, as long as it does not cross the same
square more than once. Thus, a Dwar might move three squares
north, or two north and one east, or two east and one south,
so long as it moves its full distance of three spaces and never
crosses the same space twice. A Flier might move northeast, northwest,
then southeast, and thus finish in the square to the northwest
of its starting position. This is legal, as long as it moves
across three squares during its move.
- When a piece lands on a square occupied
by an opposing piece, the opposing piece is removed from the
board. No two pieces may occupy the same square, except when
the Princess is captured and the game won.
Gambling
Martians often gamble on the outcome
of the game. This is done in many ways, but the most common is
by placing monetary values on each piece. The point values are
arbitrary, but here are some guidelines:
- Panthan
- 1 point each.
- Thoat - 5
points each.
- Warrior - 2
points each.
- Padwar - 5
points each.
- Dwar - 7
points each.
- Flier - 10
points each.
- Chief - 20
points.
- Princess - 50
points.
The total value of each side is thus
136 points.
Variations
In at least one variant, the two pieces
called Fliers are replaced by Odwars, retaining the same capabilities
and strengths of the Fliers. This variant game is played in the
region of Manator and its subject cities.
A live version is played in the kingdom
of Manator, on a large scale field. Each square is probably about
2 x 2 ads (19.5 feet). Each "piece" is a warrior selected
for fighting ability and tactical knowledge. The moves of each
piece are the same, exept whenever a piece enters an occupied
space, in which case a duel for possession of the square is fought.
The winner can be decided by combat either to first blood or
to the death, depending on previously-arranged conditions. The
game can be commanded by either the Chief of each side, or from
an observation tower. In the former case, the Chief is usually
mounted on a thoat to give him a better view of the field.
The live game is played for many reasons.
In Manator, it is most often played as punishment for crimes,
in which case the pieces are criminals or slaves sentenced to
die. All duels are fought to the death, and the game is usually
commanded by the Chiefs. Sometimes games are played to settle
disputes between nobles, in which case each side is carefully
selected by the disputants and each duel played only to first
blood, unless the dispute is particularly nasty. Other variations
are possible; for example, if there is a major dispute between
nobles who wish no blood be spilt among their men, the game can
be played to first blood between the ordinary pieces but to the
death between the Chiefs (who would be played by the disputants).
In The Chessmen of Mars, a particularly
famous game was played with Tara of Helium as the Black Princess
and the prize of the game. The game was ordered by O-Tar, Jeddak
of Manator, and was fought between criminals and slaves of Manator.
The black side was commanded by Gahan, Jed of Gathol (in disguise
as a noble of Manatos) and U-Dor, a Manatorian noble commanded
the yellow. The game was ordered by O-Tar as punishment to Tara
for rejecting his advances.
Yano
Yano is a game of chance similar to
craps or yahtzee. It is popular with troops, as a Yano set does
not require special care or handling to carry. It is played by
rolling numbered spheres across a small tray dimpled by numbered
holes. No further description is given in the Martian Tales.
A complete description of the rules
of Yano is available at Bill & Sue-On Hillman's ERB
Motes & Quotes.
|
