Knight’s Bridge court
The Knight's Bridge court is a huge game board belonging to the game of the same name, appearing in Ultima VII.
Description[edit]
This enormous game board stands south of Empath Abbey, directly at the road and close to the house of Nicodemus. Since he has also written the rule book, he may have also invented the game as well. Everything is already set for the next game for whomever passes by, though considering the complicated rules and the difficult to move life-sized game pieces – at least without magic – a game can be a challenge to setup.
The Rules[edit]
The rules, according to the book Knight's Bridge in a Nutshell by Nicodemus, are as follows:
This is a board game for two players. Each player begins with three pieces. The object is to move thy three pieces in concert in order to force the treasure from the center of the board to thine own side. All the while, thine opponent shall be attempting to do the same. Each turn consists of a player either "moving" or "pushing" a piece followed by a similar action by the opposing player.
A legal "move" consists of placing one's piece in any adjacent, unoccupied black or white square. A legal "push" is performed when a player forces a piece, either an opponent's or the treasure, one space directly away from his piece. The exception to the latter rule, making a "push" illegal, occurs when a player wishes to "push" a piece into the space from which it just left in the preceding turn.
If any piece, excluding the treasure, is "pushed" onto a blue square or off the board, that piece is considered lost, and is removed from play. The treasure may not be "pushed" off the board. To win the game, a player must "push" the treasure to the back row of squares on his side of the board.
Trivia[edit]
- In The Ultima 6 Project, Nicodemus also has a Knight’s Bridge field in front of his house, and the rule book in his library.
- Unless there are additional rules not yet described, this board game has a guaranteed draw if the second player rotationally mirrors the first player's moves. Under that strategy, the first player will not have an opportunity to push the chest because it's blocked by another piece.
Gallery[edit]
The rule book
