The creator explores the concept of playing chess on a hexagonal board, which is not a common practice. They order a book on "Hex Chess" from the UK, published in 1973, and attempt to build their own hexagonal board. After completing the board, the book arrives, along with a pamphlet to join the Hex Chess Association.
The creator explains the rules and movements of the pieces on a hexagonal board, noting that some pieces have more freedom of movement, while others have limitations. They discuss the unique characteristics of each piece, such as the pawn's ability to capture diagonally, the rook's ability to move along files, and the bishop's ability to move diagonally.
The creator notes that the hexagonal board changes the way the game is played, with some pieces being more powerful and others being less so. They also mention that the king has more freedom of movement, making it harder to capture.
The creator plays a game of Hex Chess against themselves, finding it "brain-bending" and making mistakes that lead to a loss. However, they conclude that playing chess on a hexagonal board is possible and interesting.
Finally, the creator offers a Patreon reward of a signed hexagon and mentions bonus videos available on their Patreon page.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. A hexagonal chessboard requires three colors for no touching.
2. In square chess, pawns move forward one space at a time and can capture other pieces on the forward diagonals.
3. In hex chess, pawn movement is mostly unchanged, moving forward one space at a time and capturing to the forward sides.
4. Pawns have two special moves: promotion to any piece other than a king when reaching the back row, and the ability to move two spaces on their first move.
5. Pawns also have an "en passant" rule, allowing them to capture an enemy pawn that moves forward two spaces past theirs.
6. In hex chess, there are nine pawns needed to complete the defensive structure, compared to eight in square chess.
7. The Rook is the most similar piece in both square and hex chess, moving any number of unblocked spaces horizontally or vertically and capturing anything in its way.
8. In hex chess, rooks can move along any "file" (straight line through neighboring spaces).
9. Knights in hex chess jump straight to and then over one space, allowing them to skip over any pieces in the way and capture what they land on.
10. Bishops in hex chess move along diagonal lines, but the concept of diagonals is different on a hex board.
11. The hex Queen moves in straight and diagonal lines, similar to the square Queen.
12. The hex King can move one space in any direction, including diagonals, and has an additional escape move.
13. Castling does not exist in hex chess due to the piece setup.
14. The starting setup for hex chess includes three Bishops, with the Queen to the left and the King to the right.
15. A book on hex chess was published in the UK in 1973, which included rules and a pamphlet to join the Hex Chess Association.