Works just like regular checkers, except that kings from the future can suddenly appear on the board (at the discretion of the player). The player must later remove a real king before the end of the game for each future king created. Failure to complete each time loop results in “loss by paradox”.

The player must use a move to bring a king in from the future, and another move to send it back into the past.

The king that is removed has to be a real king that was promoted in the usual fashion. To distinguish real kings from future kings, future kings have three chips, and real kings two. When a real king is removed, completing a time loop, one chip is also removed from one future king.

Kings can only be created of chips removed from the board during normal play. (This keeps the board uncluttered.)
-- pluterday, Jan 19 2003

Is the winner known as a Paradigm?
-- egbert, Jan 19 2003


Sounds entertaining. Have you tried it?
-- egnor, Jan 19 2003


Yes, next week. Perhaps yamahito can be the referee.
-- pluterday, Jan 19 2003


[yama] that would be a paradox checkers checker.

The rules are changing all the time! So are the anno's!! I think I'll come back earlier when everything's settled down.
-- egbert, Jan 19 2003


I do like this one, but it might be quite challenging to keep on top of what's going on - perhaps a referee?
-- yamahito, Jan 19 2003


I assume the "once and future king" must appear on an unoccupied spot. Can there be as many as I wish to risk?
-- lurch, Jan 19 2003


I’m reluctant to make more rules than absolutely needed. But consider, if you go all out, throwing a slew of future kings at your opponent, you are more likely to lose by paradox. [Rule reserved. May change at any time.]
-- pluterday, Jan 19 2003


Would these future kings have to be "kinged" on the exact square they appear in the past? That could be quite a challenge, as your opponent will know which square to guard.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 19 2003


[2 Fries] Good point. Right now the rule reads that the future king can appear anywhere the player wants it, assuming she’s got at least three pieces already off the board, and before the end of the game a real king has got to disappear from that same square. But maybe it would be better to allow the real king to be retired from any square. That would eliminate the need to put a marker on the board. That marker has been troubling me. [And I've now made that change.]


-- pluterday, Jan 19 2003


Can you jump into the past more than once, making a 3-piece king a 4-piece king? Not that I can think of an advantage to doing this, other than adding flare to your playing style. (adds 8-piece king to board)
-- Worldgineer, May 21 2004


Can you send kings back in time if they've not appeared in the past yet?

I have a feeling that it would be very difficult not to cause a paradox, or at least quite easy for your opponent to beat you by paradox if you play the time option. But what if the game ends when one of you has a paradox which causes a paradox for the other player? Who wins? More importantly, who's going to clean up the timeline afterwards? Next time you get the set out you're liable to discover that half of your pieces are in the past.

Anyway, I think it's about time checkers/draughts had an additional dimension.
-- Thod, May 21 2004


//Can you send kings back in time if they've not appeared in the past yet? //

Or into the future?
-- Worldgineer, May 21 2004



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