Of late I have picked up some smaller war bands and boxes of miniatures. Because of the covid situation, they’re not getting much use… can’t get those pesky players to the table.

This morning I had the idea to use some of them for chess… which I’ve not played in years… but which is one of those games that can easily be played virtually… voip, text, email etc.

So the basic idea is this… choose your favourite army that’s gathering dust (or not assembled)… assign the miniatures to the various pieces on the chess board… paint them up…

Then find a suitable rival faction from you collection and get them ready.

All you need then is a chessboard and a friend who’s just as bored as you.

For example:

Star Wars-Rebels
King: Luke, Queen: Leia, Bishops: Yoda & Obi Wan, Knights: Han and Chewie, Rooks: Heavy Weapon Rebel, Pawns: Rebel Troopers

Star Wars-Empire
King: Emperor, Queen: Darth Vader, Bishops: Royal Guard, Knights: Imperial Officers, Rooks: Heavy Weapon Troopers , Pawns: Storm Troopers

Or if you want to upscale the board a bit… use some vehicles… Snow Speeders, AT-ST etc.

Or mix in some of your ships for X-Wing or Armada.

Switching genre to fantasy…

Daughters of Khaine
King: Morathi-Khaine, Queen: The Shadow Queen, Bishops: Melusai, Knights: Doomfire Warlocks, Rooks: Khinerai, Pawns: Witch Aelves

Lord of the Rings
King: Aragorn, Queen: Arwen, Bishops: Gandalf & Galadriel, Knights: Legolas & Gimli, Rooks: Ents, Pawns: Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and 4 more hobbits.

And if you don’t like basic chess rules… I’m sure we as a community can find a way to add some random element to the game, or some variant rules.