Prior to gameplay, each player writes down on a piece of paper the location on the gameboard of a secret "trapdoor". If the opposing player moves there, they lose the piece. Once sprung, the square can be used normally. Trapdoors cannot be set in the opposing player's home rows.

Variations can include:
- multiple trapdoors
- trapdoors which remain open even when sprung
- trapdoors which spring on both players
- falling through a trapdoor sends the piece to the homerow
- etc.
-- FlyingToaster, Jan 20 2011

how about a trap door that promotes the opposing piece and must be placed be each player?
-- Voice, Jan 20 2011


Trapdoor sequence, where each can only be used once, but is replaced with a new one. (You wouldn't be allowed to locate your sequence under home rows, though). An additional variant on this would be that trapdoors affect all players.

This would produce two effects, first that players might strategically trigger their own trapdoor to activate the next one in sequence, or an oponnent triggering one might result in a chain reaction. Both of these assume that a piece on a new trapdoor would instantly fall.

An alternative would state that only pieces that move onto an active trap door fall, in which case strategic drops would be less useful, and chain reactions disappear entirely, this would also eliminate the home row issue.
-- MechE, Jan 20 2011


The ability to put a trapdoor in an opponent's homerows won't fly[edit: hmm, or maybe have it so the King is invulnerable to trapdoors]. However putting a trapdoor in one's own homerows sounds viable.

I like the idea of a sequence of trapdoors (determined pregame).
-- FlyingToaster, Jan 20 2011



random, halfbakery