Monday, January 21, 2013

No, "Dratp" Is Not A Typo

So I found out recently while looking into chess variants (yes, really-turns out that I'm a huge chess nerd, and this is surprising how?) that there was a commercial board game called Navia Dratp that was heavily inspired by chess and shogi, but playing into the then-current anime monster craze and the popularity of miniature wargaming.

And it had promos in Japan which apparently were not only for the game, but a possible planned anime.

And they're modestly cool and completely hilarious. (Note: Some moderately intense and cartoonishly bloody violence and at least a little bit of fanservice.)



(I am aware that I may be the only person to find this actively funny. I don't care.)

So what does all that anime stuff have to do with a chess/shogi-based board game?

Other than the fact that the monsters therein are the same character designs as the collectible pieces and the "Navia" are the "royal" pieces (i.e. you lose it and you lose the game), not... anything, that I can tell.

If you're wondering what "Navia Dratp" is supposed to mean, in-game the pieces that are less like pawns (which aren't collectible pieces) need resources in order to be promoted or "Dratped" (pronounced "dropped" or "DORAPPUUED") to activate their abilities and enhanced movement. If you gather enough resources to "Dratp" a Navia (which is quite a large amount), it's an instant win-hence one of the important features of the game is a "Navia Dratp." (Elegantly, the pawn-type pieces generate your resources. Also, I presume that crazy big magic thing that the Navia did at the end of the first segment in the video is supposed to be a "Navia Dratp.")

It's interesting enough that I might well hunt down a couple of sets.

-Signing off.

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