Vassal
Vassal is a game which mixes elements of chess and card games. Each nation has its own approved variation of a Vassal deck, and many other cultures, tribes, and groups do, as well, though these are less likely to be officially sanctioned. A vassal deck consists of ten pawn cards, four pair cards, one general, and one tactician. Vassal cards are arranged with pawns in the front row, pairs placed symmetrically about the back row, and the general and advisor centered in the back row.
Five spots lie between the two players' rows. Pawn cards are standardized across all decks, and may by default move forward. They may attack diagonally, but not directly forward, a position referred to as 'matched.' Other pieces on the board may have their own movement patterns (and may take anything in their path), or affect the movement patterns of those around them. The tactician is capable of moving to any spot on the board, and purely impacts the movement of pieces around him, but cannot attack. The general can only move sideways, and his death causes all other pieces (except those matched, those with specific exceptions, or those impacted by the advisor) to go out of play as morale breaks.
There are official rules and calculations to create an approved Vassal deck, though for tournament play they must be approved and considered by the tournament chair. As such, most Vassal decks are the national Vassal decks, which are widely acknowledged. A standard Vassal deck sums up to 42 points. Some example point distributions include:
- All pawn cards have a cost of 1, and do not permit rule variations.
- Specific general cards are typically flavored after famous soldiers, but do not permit rule variations, and have a cost of 2.
- A pair card that can move diagonally or in an L-shape is, individually, considered to be a cost of 2.
- A pair card that can move along a row or column is, individually, considered to be a cost of 4.
- A pair card that can make an adjacent pawn move sideways is, individually, considered to be a cost of 3.
- A pair card that can make an adjacent pawn defeat its opponent when matched is, individually, considered to be a cost of 3.
- A tactician card that can make an adjacent pawn move sideways is considered to be a cost of 8.
- A tactician card that can make an adjacent pawn defeat its opponents when matches is considered to be a cost of 8.
But others exist as well, including cards with combinations of rules, and cards which are referred to as 'muzzled,' or 'muzzlers,' which behave as a pawn to allow stacking of points onto specific pair cards (or the tactician).
Satrap
Satrap is a popular variation on vassal, which allows for multiple people to play. It can be expanded to an arbitrary number of players, so long as both teams have an equivalent amount, and so long as there are at least three on each team. Players face a single opponent on the enemy team, with the added catch that one player (the 'Emperor') may intervene to take a player's move on their behalf, so long as the player has not yet made their move. When doing so, the Emperor may only move cards across boards, and may only do so according to their appropriate movement rules. When a card enters another player's board, that player becomes its controller. If a player is eliminated with their general intact, then that player's cards may move onto another board alongisde that board's player's turn (rather than instead of it). If a player is eliminated without their general, then their forces are out of play. This leads to the strategical move of 'protraction,' which sees a player delay a killing blow so that the Emperor may move his cards to another board. This can sometimes be risky, since you are skipping your turn, but even a couple of extra cards not out of play are helpful.
Messenger
Messenger is a variant of vassal for two players on either team. The win condition is to kill both the opponent's general and tactician. One players calls out a specific card each turn, and the other player must choose where to move that card (and, in the case of pair cards, which of the pair to move). Players typically swap in between rounds, though a match is typically considered a draw unless each team has at least one victory in each role, which can lead to a player playing twice in a row in the same role if the other player has already won.
