I thought it would be fun to share the variants we play over the board casually or at the club.
Two player Bughouse with Kibitzing:
We sometimes play four-player bughouse to relax at the club. If you win a piece you can give it to your partner, and they can put it anywhere on the board (except a pawn can't be on the promotion square). We argue about whether you can talk during the game, for example saying things like "a rook! I just need a rook to mate!". As soon as one player mates, that team wins.
Piece Reverso:
This an easier variant than blindfold chess. At the start of the game you set up the board with the pawns and pieces swapped. So pawns on the first row. Pieces on the second row. But... you play those pawns as if they were pieces, and the pieces as if they were pawns. It means you have to remember where each "piece" or "pawn" started in order to know what it actually is. After a few moves it gets pretty hard to remember what everything is. And if somebody comes and looks at your game , they will be VERY confused if they don't know its Piece Reverso.
Two player Bughouse with Kibitzing:
We sometimes play four-player bughouse to relax at the club. If you win a piece you can give it to your partner, and they can put it anywhere on the board (except a pawn can't be on the promotion square). We argue about whether you can talk during the game, for example saying things like "a rook! I just need a rook to mate!". As soon as one player mates, that team wins.
Piece Reverso:
This an easier variant than blindfold chess. At the start of the game you set up the board with the pawns and pieces swapped. So pawns on the first row. Pieces on the second row. But... you play those pawns as if they were pieces, and the pieces as if they were pawns. It means you have to remember where each "piece" or "pawn" started in order to know what it actually is. After a few moves it gets pretty hard to remember what everything is. And if somebody comes and looks at your game , they will be VERY confused if they don't know its Piece Reverso.