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Encyclopedia WinterCampica - Suggest Change
Current Entry: Battle Chess
A human chess game has become a Winter Camp favorite, debuting at Winter Camp XIV. Campers play the parts of chess pieces, and each team chooses a captain who is ultimately responsible for move selection. When pieces attempt capture, the battle begins. In order to complete a capture and remove a player from the board, the attacking player must defeat the other player in a mental or physical challenge, with the choice left to the defender. The physical challenge has traditionally been a wrestling match in an improvised battle square, where the first person knocked off his feet or stepping out of the ring is the loser. Mental challenges usually involve answering some sort of trivia question, which have ranged from Winter Camp history to general knowledge.
Winter Camp XV was a particularly memorable game for two participants. Dave Woods started play as a rook, got captured by Steve Donohue and lost in the Square, became a knight, got captured again by Steve, became a bishop, and fell to Steve a third time. His frustration was evident and he returned to harassing participants with a cracker flinger. At Winter Camp XXV, the fourth Battle Chess game matched Winter Camp veterans against relative newcomers and proved the most competitive of them all. The game stretched on so long that three pawns-Paul Kupser, Dave Oakley, and John Howey-promoted to queens. Newcomer King Jon Semetko directed his team against this relentless assault for over an hour before succumbing to Paul Kupser in a final battle. At Winter Camp XXIX, the rules were modified. Steve Donohue proposed that each side be allowed three "tag outs"-after the type of challenge was chosen, either team could switch out its representative for any teammate. The tag out rule was retained at Winter Camp XXX. At Winter Camp XXXI, the mental challenge was "Greek or Roman?" trivia, in keeping with the Ancient Rome theme. Contestants were given a historically significant noun and asked to identify whether it was of Greek or Roman origin. (SD)