Buttchess Review

This new release from up and coming games makers Ralbru Fun and Games is a refreshing twist on the age old game of draughts (or checkers for our American friends). Why is it called Buttchess, you might ask? I also had this question and asked the company, who told me that it was named by the boss’ two twelve year old sons, and honestly if I was twelve again I would probably describe this as Buttchess!

How to Play

Whilst Buttchess clearly has its origins in draughts, with two opponents moving their pieces one space forward and removing pieces by jumping over them, there is much more to this game than this. The aim of Buttchess is to get three of your pieces to the opposite side of the board or take out four or more of your opponent’s pieces, making it impossible for them to do the same. Buttchess is played on a hexagonal grid, opening up the moves that pieces can take, allowing them to move both forwards and sideways, although your first move for each piece can only be forward. However, as you get better at the game you can choose to close up the board, as it is made in two separate halves, to reduce the number of passing places in the centre, increasing your risk of getting taken out before you can get your pieces across. To take out an opponent's piece, you jump over it with your own piece, and jumps can be combined to take out multiple pieces in one go. You can also jump over one of your own pieces without taking it out to line up a shot at your opponent’s piece(s). Unlike in draughts, once pieces get to the other side, they are not made special and cannot return the way they came, although it is unclear whether they are intended to still be able to move sideways and take pieces this way, or whether once they have reached the other side, they have earned their rest and are retired from the rest of the game.

I Say Yes to Buttchess

Draughts has been around for thousands of years (since 1400BCE according to the International Draughts Federation!), and honestly, matches can feel like they’ve been going that long when the aim is to take out all of the opponent’s pieces. Buttchess’s new rules definitely help to refresh this classic and streamline it for the modern-day 6-second-attention-span audience. With fewer pieces, a smaller board and an easier win condition, Buttchess takes all the delights of draughts and doesn’t let it wait around long enough to go stale. But (Butt) Buttchess doesn’t stop there, it also adds two new components. The changeability of the board layout and the addition of jumping over your own pieces adds another level of strategy that shakes things up. You have to be a lot more aware of where each of the pieces are and how many moves they actually are away from taking out others. What seems like a safe spot, may actually have opened up the ability for your opponent to take out a chain of your pieces.

The rules booklet is also nicely laid out with minimal text and lots of diagrams. Aside from the one note about end abilities of pieces, the rules explain everything really well. I also like how it builds on the new rules as extra “Levels”, allowing you to tweak the difficulty of the game that you want to play easily, and not be bombarded with all of the rules at once.

Buttchess has probably become one of my go-to’s for a light strategy 2-player game. It has a really compact box, making it easy to drop into a bag and take on-the-go. The pieces and board are sturdy, so won’t blow away or get damaged easily, but this isn’t designed to be a travel game and so you will need a flat table to play.