Play Secret Queen Chess to celebrate Halloween!
Here's how:
- Read the story
- Read the rules
- Play the special game with your kiddos
Watch the instructions instead!
STORY:
It was Halloween in Chesslandia, one of our chess friends' favorite holidays! The pawns were excited to go trick or treating, Chef Squishyfeet was carving decorative pumpkins for the town, and Queen Bella was preparing to host the most exciting event of all – her famous Costume Contest. Every year, she hosted a big Halloween party at Chomper Castle where everyone had to dress up in their most creative costumes! The outfits were sometimes very disguising, and her favorite part of the costume contest was to guess who was behind each costume.
As Queen Bella hung spooky decorations at the castle entrance, her good friend Queen Allegra passed by. "Hi, Queen Allegra! Are you ready for my Costume Contest today?" asked Queen Bella.
"Absolutely, Queen Bella! This year, I made myself the best costume ever. You'll never guess what it is! Haha!" Queen Allegra teased, with a playful grin on her face.
Early evening came, and Queen Bella got ready to receive her guests. She put on her special detective costume! She was so curious to guess who was who – especially which one would be Queen Allegra!
The first guest came in. They were wearing a big, fluffy pillow costume that looked a lot like a marshmallow. She knew exactly who it was… King Shaky!
Next, another guest walked in wearing a giant pancake costume. She was confident it was the silly king who ate ten pancakes for breakfast every morning… King Chomper!
Then, the third guest entered the castle. It was Clop the knight! Wait… Where was his costume?!
"Clop, did you forget this was a costume contest?" she said. "I guess you can still join us… But don't forget it next time!"
"Sorry…" said Clop, entering the party. Queen Bella noticed his voice sounded a bit different than usual but she didn't think much of it.
All other guests arrived, and still nothing of Queen Allegra! Queen Bella was intrigued.
At one point, Queen Bella noticed Clop moving straight across the dining hall to get some treats. "Huh, since when can a knight move straight?" she wondered.
Then, Queen Bella saw Clop moving diagonally through the living room to talk to King Shaky. "How did Clop do that? He can't move diagonally!" she exclaimed.
At this point, Queen Bella was getting suspicious of Clop, so she decided to test him. "Hey everyone, let's all have a dance party!" she announced, putting on music.
She looked at Clop, wondering if he was going to do the knight's special dance: gallop, gallop, step to the side. But Clop was not able to! Instead, he kept moving straight and diagonally!
Immediately, Queen Bella figured it all out. "Hey! You are not Clop, are you?!"
Seized, Clop took off a mask, and underneath it was… not Clop! It had been Queen Allegra this whole time, wearing a knight costume. "I told you it was going to be the best costume ever!" she said, proudly.
Queen Bella was so impressed. Queen Allegra was an architect, and building costumes was one of her special talents. For this Halloween, she had decided to trick everyone into thinking she was a different chess piece! Queen Bella thought it was the smartest idea and started thinking of pretending to be a different piece herself too. More than anything, she wondered what it would be like to play chess like that. Imagine how fun it would be to pretend to be a different piece in a game?!
RULES:
SECRET QUEEN CHESS
Supplies:
- Chessboard;
- 4 white pawns and 4 black pawns;
- 1 white rook and 1 black rook;
- 1 white knight and 1 black knight;
- 1 white bishop and 1 black bishop;
- 1 white king and 1 black king;
Game:
In this game, each player will have a piece that is secretly a queen!
- Each player has 8 pieces: a rook, a bishop, a knight, a king, and four pawns. The board should be set up like this:
- Before the game starts, each player chooses either their knight, bishop, or rook to be their "secret queen". In the game, this piece will move like a queen even though it looks like one of the other pieces.
FOR BEGINNERS: Reveal to your opponent which piece you have chosen to be your secret queen at the top of the game! Mark them so they stand out. *Craft Alert!* Keep reading to learn what it is.
FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS: Don't share with your opponent who your secret queen is! Guessing who the other player's secret queen is based on how they move the piece becomes part of the game.
How to Play:
- Just like in chess, players take turns moving their pieces. When it’s your turn, move one piece to an empty square or capture an opponent’s piece.
- Each piece moves like it normally would, except for the secret queen, which moves like a queen.
- Players try to capture the opponent’s king while keeping their own safe. Keep an eye on the squares that your opponent's secret queen is attacking, even if it looks like a different piece!
- The game ends when one player captures the other’s king. That player wins!
BONUS CRAFT OPTION: Make a ghost costume for your Secret Queen!
To make it easier for kiddos to remember which piece is the Secret Queen, make a cute costume for it with a coffee filter and a rubber band!
Supplies:
- 1-3 coffee filters per player;
- 1 rubber band per player;
- Black marker for face drawing (optional).
How to make it:
Wrap the coffee filter(s) around the piece you chose to be your secret queen and tie it up with your rubber band! Draw the face with your black marker.
Happy Halloween!