Board Game Arena

Hello everyone,

Evil Jester is a chess like game of pure luck and hidden risk. Two players each have 12 pieces on a 5x5 board, and exactly one piece per player is secretly marked as "loaded" at the start. No one knows which piece it is, not even the owner.

The game is built around a single mechanic: every capture is a lottery. If you take the opponent's secret piece, you win instantly. The average game lasts about 5 minutes, but a single game can end on the very first turn.

I am looking for a volunteer developer to bring Evil Jester to BGA.
If you're interested, please reply here or send me a message.

BGA Studio Licensing Page: https://studio.boardgamearena.com/licen ... me_id=2013
BGG Entry (Rules & Details): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/472457/evil-jester

Thank you!
Vadrya Pokshtya

Since you say on BGG that all pieces are the same and can fly, I think it's more like a Chekers stile game than a Chess like game (much easier to program, I think). BGA already has some Chekers variants, so it might be possible to start with them.

How is the setup? If each of the 2 players has 12 pieces on a 5x5 board (25 squares), there is only 1 open square, correct? How are the pieces positioned?

How does the moving actually work? "It can move up to 2 squares in any direction (orthogonally, diagonally, or like a knight)" differs from "It can reach any of the 24 surrounding squares in one move". A piece in the corner needs to move 4 squares to get to the other side.

How does capturing work? Capturing any piece you cross? And how exactly do you capture when you move like a knight or diagonally?

I still can't imagine how this works. And if I try, I think the players would prefer to know where their secret piece is, in order to protect it. Will people like to play a game with exactly 100% luck? I doubt it.

By the way, I don't think this game qualifies as a party game, since "they can accommodate large groups of people", according to BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecate ... party-game.

Just my 2 cents... (I am not a developer.)

cigma wrote: ↑22 June 2026, 06:32 Since you say on BGG that all pieces are the same and can fly, I think it's more like a Chekers stile game than a Chess like game (much easier to program, I think). BGA already has some Chekers variants, so it might be possible to start with them.

How is the setup? If each of the 2 players has 12 pieces on a 5x5 board (25 squares), there is only 1 open square, correct? How are the pieces positioned?

How does the moving actually work? "It can move up to 2 squares in any direction (orthogonally, diagonally, or like a knight)" differs from "It can reach any of the 24 surrounding squares in one move". A piece in the corner needs to move 4 squares to get to the other side.

How does capturing work? Capturing any piece you cross? And how exactly do you capture when you move like a knight or diagonally?

I still can't imagine how this works. And if I try, I think the players would prefer to know where their secret piece is, in order to protect it. Will people like to play a game with exactly 100% luck? I doubt it.

By the way, I don't think this game qualifies as a party game, since "they can accommodate large groups of people", according to BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecate ... party-game.

Just my 2 cents... (I am not a developer.)

This is not checkers. The Evil Jester does not jump over pieces to capture them. It simply moves to a target square within its range and removes whatever piece is there. I call it "chess like" because it uses a chess board and the concept of pieces that move and capture. The Jester itself is a fairy chess piece, combining the king's and the bear's movement (two squares in any direction).
The Evil Jester can move up to 2 squares in any direction (orthogonally, diagonally, or like a knight), and it can jump over any pieces in between. There is no blocking. It simply lands on the chosen square.
The Jester captures exactly the same way it moves. It chooses a target square within its range and lands on it. If an opponent's piece is there, that piece is removed. The Jester does not capture pieces it passes over. Only the target square matters.

From the corner, it cannot reach the far side in one move. The phrase "any of the 24 surrounding squares" applies only when the piece is in the center of a 5x5 board.

Setup and the empty square. Correct. 12 pieces per player = 24 pieces on a 5x5 board (25 squares). One square remains empty. It can be anywhere. There is no fixed starting position. The pieces are placed randomly.

About knowing the secret piece and 100% luck. You are right that knowing your own secret piece would make the game strategic. But that is a different game. Evil Jester is deliberately designed as a pure luck game. Some players enjoy the thrill of a game where no skill is involved, just hope and risk. It is not for everyone, but those who enjoy it, enjoy it a lot.

Will people play it? That is the big question. I believe there is a niche for fast, luck driven, no brain games. Not everyone wants to calculate. Evil Jester is that game.

In any case, you can see how it all works here
https://gridgrove.gg/games/379