Chivalry
Opening Position
Alternate Names
A simplified version of Chivalry published by Parker Brothers in the 1930's was called Camelot. Another version of Chivalry was published in 1985 under the name Inside Moves.
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
A Chivalry board, twelve each of red and yellow counters called pawns, and eight each of specially marked counters called knights are required for play. Here, the knights are larger and diamond-shaped. On each end of the board are two special cells marked with a black star. These represent the stronghold of the player commencing on that side of the board.
History
Chivalry was invented by the American board game inventor George S. Parker and originally published by Parker Brothers in 1887 or 1888.
Objective
The objective is to be the first player to occupy the two spaces of your opponent’s stronghold on your opponent’s side of the board with any two of your own counters. A player that has reduced his opponent to only one counter while himself retaining at least two also wins the game. A draw is declared if both players are reduced to one counter.
Play
The game commences with the counters positioned as shown above with one player controlling black and the other controlling white. Alternating turns commence with Red moving first, then Yellow, moving one friendly counter per turn. Pawns move in one of three ways on a turn.
Pawns may move to any orthogonally or diagonally adjacent cell.
Pawns may “canter” over any orthogonally or diagonally adjacent friendly counter in a straight line to a necessarily vacant cell just beyond. Multiple canters are possible in one turn, changing direction after each cantor if desired but cantors are never compulsory, nor is a player compelled to canter as far as possible. Circular canters, i.e., cantors that return to an already visited square, are not permitted.
Pawns may diagonally or orthogonally jump and capture an opponent’s counter in a straight line to a necessarily vacant cell just beyond. When jumping over an enemy counter, it is captured and removed from the board for the rest of the game. Multiple jump-and-capture moves are possible in one turn, changing direction after each jump if desired.
Knights are entitled to all of the same moves as pawns, but are slightly more powerful in that they may combine cantering and jump and capture moves in one turn, called a ‘charge”. If doing so, however, a knight must make all of its canter moves before making any jump and capture moves. A knight cannot combine the basic move to an adjacent cell with a cantor or jump and capture move in one turn.
Whenever it is possible for a counter to jump and capture an enemy counter, it is compulsory to do so. If there is a choice between different captures, it is not compulsory to take the larger number of opposing counters, but a series of jumps, whether an enchained jump or Knight's Charge, must be continued until no further capturing jumps are available. Further, just because a Knight's charge is possible does not mean it is compulsory to make a capturing move. However, a Knight cannot perform a Canter which takes the Knight past, or ends on, a square where a Jump is possible; instead, either another move must be made, or the canter must be followed by a jump to make the move a Knight's Charge. Thus, capture becomes compulsory when it can be achieved only by a jump, but the canter which makes a Jump possible is never compulsory.
Upon entering the enemy stronghold, a counter may not then leave. It is, however, permitted to move laterally, staying in the stronghold, twice during the game. A counter may never enter its own stronghold except through capture. This counter then must be moved out as soon as possible, either as a continuing series of jump and capture moves on that turn, or immediately on the next turn.
Variations
Camelot (above), also released by Parker Brothers more than 40 years after the release of Chivalry, used fewer pieces on a smaller board. Camelot was sold commercially until 1968.
Grand Camelot (above) is a four-player version sold in 1932. The colors of the four teams are, in the order they move, Red, White, Blue, and Yellow. Red and Blue are partners against White and Yellow. Pieces can canter over their partner's pieces without capture. Any combination of two pieces in an opposing goal area wins the game for that team, either two from one partner of one from each.
Cam (above) is a smaller version of Camelot sold in 1949. In Cam, a player only needs to have one counter left to win the game.
Sources
Provenzo, Asterie Baker and Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. Play It Again, Historic Board Games You Can Make and Play. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-13-683367-5
World Camelot Federation. http://www.worldcamelotfederation.com/