Jeksey is a board game similar to chess, played on a red and white checkered board. There are four types of game pieces, and one side plays red, the other black. The object of the game is to get the Messenger to the other side of the board.
History
The game was invented by Seygrid Jek in the time of the Befores. The intent was to use the game board itself as a means to encrypt messages. Jek penned his poem Ballad of Tulneth West to be used as the key. The game has since been forgotten by all but a few scholars, and the cipher (which was called the Jekseyan Cipher) has also nearly passed completely into obscurity.
Game Pieces and Movement
There is the Jeksey Board and twelve game pieces per side:
- Messenger x 1 - one of the following pieces is secretly designated as the messenger
- Litus x 3 - can move diagonally up to three spaces, can capture
- Caval x 4 - can only jump one square in any direction, can capture
- Ward - x 5 - can move forward/backward and side to side up to 3 spaces; can only capture by one space side to side
If a piece is captured, it sits out for two turns before "escaping", where it starts back at the beginning star spot. The game is over if the Messenger gets captured.
Setup
Each side sets up all their pieces within the first three rows on their side of the board. One piece must start on the starred tile.
Special Moves
There is only one special move, which is called a Jekstrum. Once per game, each side may swap any two pieces for position as long as there is clear line of sight.
Winning Conditions
The game is over in either of the following:
- either side maneuvers the Messenger to the opposing side's starred tile
- the messenger gets captured