A chess/checkers-like game that lets you play in whatever style you prefer.

Game Type:  Strategy   -  Chesslike
Players:  2
Playing time: 30-60 minutes.

Played on an 8x8 Chessboard, this game features many different kinds of pieces, unique pieces designed just for the game, as well as Chess and Checker pieces-Which behave exactly as they do in their respective games.

Before the game starts, you place your pieces as you like, in your own formation anywhere on your half of the game board.  This alone allows for quite a bit of unique player decision making, but we add another layer of depth on top of that:

Before you create your formation, you need pieces.  In this game you get to decide the pieces you'll use, and the pieces you won't use.  Each player is allotted a certain amount of points to spend on pieces, and each piece given a price in points.  A pawn, for instance, is worth 1 point, while a Queen is worth 8 points.

To summarize, you spend your points purchasing your unique selection of pieces, then place them in any formation you like on the game board.  Then the game begins in a turn based fashion as Chess would with White being the first to move. 

Some players may prefer a larger number of cheap pieces, while some may prefer more powerful but fewer pieces.  Others still may go for a balanced approach similar to a standard chess layout (which would certainly be an option.)

The Chess Pieces move like they do in regular Chess, as well the Checker pieces also remain unchanged.  Checkers capture by jumping over the enemy pieces.  While their limited movement may seem underpowered compared to the other pieces available, their ability to potentially capture multiple pieces in one turn makes them a dangerous piece to have in your army.  

Our piece selection consists of Checker pieces, all standard Chess pieces, as well as the following specialty pieces-

1. Shield:  May move 1 square forward or backward, left or right.  May not be captured if attacked from the front.
2. Movement:  May move 1 space in any direction.  Any piece directly adjacent to this piece (both friendly and enemy pieces) has its movement range doubled, if applicable.
3. Lancer:  May move 1-2 spaces in any direction, but not backwards.  If this piece captures another piece from the front, it also captures any enemy piece that is directly behind the captured piece.
4. Witch:  May move diagonally  up to 3 spaces per turn.  May switch places with any friendly piece you control (doing so counts as your turn).  Each Witch piece can only perform a switch once per game.
5. Sacrifice:  May move 1-2 spaces forward per turn.  Cannot move in any other direction.  If this piece is captured the capturing piece is also removed from the board.         

All specialty pieces capture in the standard way.  That is, moving onto a square that is occupied by an enemy piece.

The Win Condition:  Each player has 1 Nexus piece that they must place.  It would be wise to place it within the safety of their formation.  There is no checkmate mechanic in this game, however, the Nexus piece can be captured in the same manner that any other piece can.  It would have to be protected well.  The Nexus may move 1 space in any direction per turn.

Each player has 40 points to spend purchasing their army before the game starts.

Pawn-        1 Point  (Limit  8 per side)
Checker-    2 Points (Limit 8 Per side)

For all Chess and specialty pieces below, there is a limit of 5 for each piece.

Knight-       3 Points
Bishop-      4 Points
Rook-         5 Points
Queen-       8 Points

Specialty Pieces
Shield-        6 Points
Movement-  6 Points
Lancer-       5 Points
Witch-        5 Points
Sacrifice-    5 Points

Again, once the pieces are purchased, players begin the formation phase, placing their pieces in any way they see fit on their half of the board.  The game then begins.