Coding Chess Variants

Coding Chess Variants is a Kotlin chess library used to easily create a wide range of different chess variants. It is intended to be used by both for beginner programmers and for those who are more experience and are looking for a framework to develop different chess-based games. It can be easily integrated with different chess frontends including those which support networking.

Features

The library was designed for extendability and adaptablity. It is possible to create a large range of interesting and unique variants using the library.

Features of our library include:

• Adaptable board: The board used in the variant is not limited to a rectangular board, but can be in higher dimensions, or a non-rectangular board such as a hexagon.

• Simple Piece Creation: The library provides a simple abstraction for adding new fairy pieces, that have unique movement rules.

• Simple, yet powerful Move Generators: Complex and simple moves are easy to implement using the clear abstraction the library gives.

In addition, the library has support for FEN notation, and an example desktop application and console application.

As part of the core codebase, KChess provides 12 different variants by default which are readily playable including both Western and East Asian chess variants, as well as 3D and Hexagonal chess games. Their components are all completely reusable, so all the implemented pieces and rules from these variants can be used in new variants.

Getting Started

• Coding Chess Variants
• User Installation
  • Desktop Application
  • Console Application
• Developer Setup
  • Using The Engine With Our Frontend
  • Using The Engine For Your Own Projects
• Supported Variants
  • Implemented Variants
  • Potential Variants
  • Images of variants implemented
• Quickstart
  • Step 1. Create the initial setup for a new chess variant.
  • Step 2: Add a new Game type
  • Step 3: Add the frontend

Tutorials

• Tutorial Introduction
• Creating New Pieces
  • Creating The Berlin Pawn
  • Creating The Alfil
• Initialise the game variant
• Set up Board
  • Step 1: Creating a board
  • Step 2: Implementing initBoard()
  • Step 3: Overall
• Creating Special Rules
  • Step 1: Implement the SpecialRules interface
  • Step 2: Implement the getPossibleMoves() method
  • Step 3: Overall
• Creating the new End Condition
  • Step 1: Create a new file
  • Step 3: Implement the evaluate method
  • Step 4: Overall class
• Completing the Game
  • Step 1. Add Special Rules
  • Step 2. Add Win Conditions
  • Step 3. Overall
• Integrating Into a Frontend
  • Step 1: Add images for new pieces
  • Step 2: Map these images to textures
  • Step 3: Map textures to pieces
  • Step 4: Add the button for the variant in the menu screen
  • yay

Engine API

• Boards
  • Board
  • Board2D
• Coordinates
  • Coordinate
  • Coordinate2D
• Moves
  • Move
  • GameMove2D
• Game Types
  • GameType
  • SpecialRules
  • Win Conditions
• Move Generators
  • MoveGenerator
  • Region
• Pieces
  • Piece
• Players
• Utils
  • FENUtility
  • ChessNotationInput
• API documentation
  • API library functions documentation