Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 483 - 482 Let’s Play a Game

Chapter 483: Chapter 482 Let’s Play a Game

"Right." Richard looked at the Clown and asked again, "Mr. Clown, are you planning to invite me again to stay and watch the wonderful performance of your circus? I saw it yesterday in the village, and unless today’s show is different from yesterday’s, watching the same program twice isn’t a pleasant experience."

"You might be disappointed, I’m afraid I really can’t invite you again," the Clown said, apologetically, "Today’s performance is the same as yesterday’s. After all, a new program cannot be created just by thinking about it. We perform the same program over and over again in one area, until everybody has seen it, then we move to another place. That’s the way we survive."

"By the way," the Clown spoke again, "although I can’t invite you to watch the performance again, I can invite you to play a small game with me, just for fun."

"A small game? Now?"

"Yes, right now," the Clown nodded, confirming.

"What kind of small game?" Richard asked, squinting at the Clown. At this moment, he knew very well that he couldn’t refuse; although the Clown seemed to mention it casually, if Richard was not mistaken, this was the main event that the Clown had prepared.

Today, he had encountered multiple hidden hunter traps along the way, narrowly avoiding breaking his horse’s legs several times, and also encountered a few beast attacks; all probably orchestrated by the Clown, or rather, the man pulling the strings behind the Clown.

The purpose of these actions was to have him appear in this town at the right time to meet with the circus, and then let the Clown take the opportunity to do certain things, just as yesterday the Clown tried to persuade and educate him.

Yesterday’s persuasions and lessons, he had forcefully countered with philosophical knowledge; Richard wondered what it would be today.

What would it be? Richard thought, somewhat curious.

The moment later, the Clown responded, "Here it is!"

Saying that, the Clown magically pulled a chessboard and two boxes of chess pieces from his chest.

Placing the chessboard on the ground, the Clown squatted down and quickly placed the black and white pieces on the wooden board, taken from both boxes.

Richard saw that many pieces were carved with animals: lions, tigers, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, wild buffalo, antelopes, monkeys, chimpanzees...

There were also pieces carved with various human figures: Kings, Ministers, Knights, Soldiers, Farmers...

The chessboard was a typical square board, and the Clown continuously placed pieces on the grid, quickly filling up a large section. Then, the Clown took out the last black and white clown-shaped pieces from the boxes and placed them in the middle cells at either end of the board.

Looking up, the Clown turned to Richard and slowly said, "Let me introduce you to something called Clown Chess. It’s my invention. You might see it as a children’s version of Beast Fighting Chess. However, compared to actual Beast Fighting Chess, it has a few more pieces, and the rules are a bit more complex."

After a pause, the Clown began explaining the rules, "First, there are the Clown pieces, which are the most important in the game. Initially, the Clown piece moves diagonally three spaces, like this. Then, it has three lives. Each time it ’dies’, its way of moving changes, respectively...

Apart from that, are the human pieces. Among humans, the King is the most powerful piece, but you should note that he cannot directly capture an enemy piece. He must be surrounded by his own human pieces to attack and capture. The adjacent pieces vary in strength and determine which enemy pieces they can capture. For example, if a Minister is here, then it can kill an enemy Farmer positioned here...

Then there’s the Animal Card. It can be used to attack any opponent’s piece—the success depends on calculating the strength. Moreover, you must maintain a balance between the numbers of animal pieces and human pieces. If the animals outnumber the humans by too much, it will trigger a Beast Tide. Even if humans outnumber the animals, you can’t let all the animal pieces gather together; that will trigger a small Beast Tide...

The safest way to handle animal pieces is to keep each animal piece separate; for example, a lion and a monkey must be separated. If they were together, the lion would directly eat the monkey, and for the next twelve turns, it wouldn’t be able to eat anything else because it would be full..."

After a long while, the Clown finally finished explaining the rules. If it were someone else, they might have directly slammed the chessboard onto the Clown’s mask and questioned, "Is this what you meant by the pieces being slightly more numerous and the rules slightly more complex?!"

The phrase ’slightly more’ was an understatement; it was indescribably complex!

Even after hearing it once, Richard had only managed to memorize the rules by a special mnemonic method, barely knowing how to move the pieces.

Rubbing his temples, trying to digest the rules, Richard looked at the Clown and asked, "Mr. Clown, you are really prepared to play this game with me?"

"Yes, how do you feel about it?"

"A bit complicated, but somewhat interesting."

"That’s good," the Clown clapped his hands, "because my game considers many real-life rules, providing an immersive experience. How about it, it’s not dark yet, why not play a game with me?"

"What if I refuse? Mr. Clown would surely be quite upset, right?" Richard asked.

"Not upset," the Clown shook his head, "but definitely disappointed. My game is somewhat unconventional, and in my view, only smart people can play it. Smart people are very rare, and it’s not easy to find one like you. Yesterday, our conversation left a deep impression on me; if you don’t play, I might not find another player for a very long time."

"Well then, I’ll play a game with Mr. Clown," Richard squatted down, looking at the Clown and asked, "So who will make the first move? Should we toss a copper coin to decide?"

"No need, I’ll go first," the Clown said.

"Hm?"

The Clown explained, "In Clown Chess, whoever is on the west goes first, and I am currently in the west. Of course, you can switch places with me if you want. Would you like to switch?"

Richard blinked at the Clown, caught in a subtle psychological struggle. Without knowing more information, he couldn’t determine whether going first or second had a greater advantage. Although it seemed that the Clown wanted to choose the first move, what if it was a ruse?

After a moment, Richard did not stand to change positions but made a gesture indicating, "Since that’s the case, Mr. Clown, please make the first move."

"Alright." The Clown nodded, unreservedly began moving the pieces, and Richard followed suit.