Camelot
Visão Geral

Camelot (initially, the name of the game was Chivalry) is a two-player board game played on a special board that was invented by George S. Parker in 1882.  His goal was to invent a game not as difficult as Chess, but considerably more varied than Checkers.  Parker created a game that was a tactically complex, but easily learned and quickly played mixture of American Checkers (British Draughts) and Halma (Chinese Checkers).  When finally published by Geo. S. Parker & Co. in 1887 (and then by Parker Brothers in 1888), Chivalry won the raves of Chess and Checkers experts, but the game that Parker called "the best game in 2,000 years" did not catch on quickly with the general public.

Parker never lost his enthusiasm for the game though.  In 1930 he made a few changes to the game, and Parker Brothers published the game under the name of Camelot.  A few rule changes followed in 1931.  Camelot enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 1930s.  There were over 50 different editions of Camelot issued, including a gold-stamped leather edition and a mahogany cabinet edition.  There were tournament editions, regular editions, and low-cost editions.  There were different game variants, too.  Point Camelot, a tournament variant that counted and scored points, was released in 1931.  Three-handed Camelot, Four-handed Camelot, and Grand Camelot, a variant for four players on a special large board, were released in 1932.  Cam, a variant played on a miniature board, was released in 1949.  There was even a variant called Camelotta, of which no known information survives.  Camelot players included such famous individuals as Jose Raul Capablanca, World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927, and Frank Marshall, U.S. Chess Champion from 1907 to 1936.  Sidney Lenz and Milton Work, two world famous bridge players, also played the game.  Camelot was eventually discontinued in 1968, then reissued as Inside Moves in 1985, and finally discontinued again in 1986.

Tabuleiro

The game is played on a special board containing 160 cells.  There are two pairs of cells called Castles.  The White Castle is composed of the cells F1 and G1, and the Black Castle is composed of cells F16 and G16.

There are two players: White and Black.

At the beginning of the game each player has 14 pieces: four Knights and ten Men.

The board shape, the Castles and the initial position of the pieces are shown in the following picture:

Objectivo

Existem várias maneiras para vencer este jogo:

  • O jogo é ganho quando um jogador movimenta duas das suas peças (Cavaleiros e/ou Homens) para o  Castelo do adversário;
  • O jogo é ganho se um jogador captura todas as peças do adversário e se possuir, no tabuleiro, duas ou mais peças suas; 
  • O jogo é ganho quando um jogador tem duas ou mais peças e o seu adversário está impossibilitado de fazer um movimento válido.

O jogo está empatado quando ambos os jogadores possuem uma peça, no tabuleiro.

Como Jogar

Os jogadores movem as suas peças, alternadamente, começando a partir do jogador que controla as peças brancas.

Existem três tipos de movimentos que podem ser excutados tanto pelos Cavaleiros como pelos Homens: o movimento plano, o trote e o salto (para proceder à captura). Existe um movimento adicional que só pode ser  realizado pelos Cavaleiros  - the Knight's Charge.

  • No Movimento Plano - uma peça (seja ela o Cavaleiro ou o Homem) podem mover-se para a célula adjacente, na horizontal, na vertical ou na diagonal, que não esteja ocupada por uma outra peça.
Um exemplo de movimentos planos válidos
  • No Trote - uma peça (seja ela o Cavaleiro ou o Homem) pode saltar sobre uma outra peça, do mesmo jogador (seja ela o Cavaleiro ou o Homem), para a célula adjacente, na horizontal, na vertical ou na diagonal, que esteja vazia e no seguimento da direcção tomada pela peça.  As peças que foram alvo do trote não são removidas do tabuleiro. Se essa mesma peça puder continuar o trote sobre outras peças, poderá realizá-lo (mas não existe obrigatoriedade).  Quando se realiza um trote sobre mais de uma peça, num movimento, a direcção desse movimento pode ser alterada após cada trote, mas esse trote não pode finalizar na célula que deu início a esse movimento ("trote circular"). O  trote não é obrigatório (isto é, o jogador pode preferir realizar um movimento plano, em vez do trote).
Um exemplo de trotes válidos
  • No Salto (Captura) - uma peça (seja ela o Cavaleiro ou o Homem) pode saltar sobre uma outra peça, do adversário (seja ela o Cavaleiro ou o Homem), para a célula adjacente, na horizontal, na vertical ou na diagonal, que esteja vazia e no seguimento da direcção tomada pela peça. As peças do adversário que foram alvo desse salto são capturadas e de imediato removidas do tabuleiro.  Se essa mesma peça puder continuar a saltar sobre as peças do adversário então  deverá fazê-lo.  When jumping over more than one opponent's piece in a move, the direction of the move may be varied after each jump and it is allowed to begin and end the jumping on the same cell ("circular jump").  Jumping is mandatory, i.e. if a player has an option to jump over an opponent's piece on his turn then he must do it.  If there are several ways to jump over opponent's pieces, a player can choose any way he wants.  When required to capture an opponent piece, a player can perform the capture by the Knight's Charge (see below) if possible.  The only situation in which a player may ignore his obligation to jump is when, on his previous move, he has jumped one of his pieces over an opponent's piece into his own castle, ending his turn there, and must, on his next turn, immediately move that piece out from his castle.
An example of valid jump After the jump
  • The Knight's Charge - A Knight (only) may combine a canter and a jump in a single move.  When making such a move a Knight must do the Canter(s) first and the Jump(s) afterwards.  The Knight's Charge is not mandatory.  The only situation in which a Knight must do the Knight's Charge (i.e. to jump after cantering) is when a Knight canters next to an opponent's piece that can be jumped over.  In this situation the Knight must capture the opponent's piece unless the Knight can continue cantering and capture one or more opponent's pieces elsewhere during the same move.
An example of a valid
Knight's Charge
After the Knight's Charge

It is forbidden to move a piece to one's own Castle by a Plain Move or a Canter but a player may move one of his pieces to his own Castle by jumping over an opponent's piece standing next to the Castle.  It is also forbidden to move a Knight into a player's own Castle during the cantering portion of a Knight's Charge.  A player who ended his turn by jumping into his own Castle must immediately move that piece out from his own Castle on his next turn (either by jump, if required, or by plain move or canter).

A piece that has entered his opponent’s castle cannot come out, but is allowed to move from one castle cell to the other (castle move).  A player is limited to two castle moves during a game.

Ligações Externas