Rhythmomachy

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AKA The Philosopher's Game, Arithmetical Chess

One of the most strategically challenging games of all time, Rhythmomachy is a positional board game where each piece has a number, and captures are made through a combination of numbers and positions.

Rhythmomachy appears to have been popular in intellectual circles for much of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but died out completely in the 17th century.

Variants

Reconstructions and Other Discussions

The Battle of Numbers (Reconstruction) -- An overview of Rhythmomachy, focused on the mathematical aspects, published by the American Mathematical Society. (more)
A Medieval Battle of Numbers (History, Reconstruction) -- An overview of Rhythmomachy by Peter Mebben, one of the more serious students of the game. (more)
Rithmomachia, the Great Medieval Number Game (History, Rules) -- Article published April 1911 in The American Mathematical Monthly. (8 pages) (more)
Rithmomachia Canada (Links, Vendor, Overview) -- An organization that promotes Rhythmomachy
Twitter feed
Store (more)
Laser-cutting a Rhythmomachy Board (Equipment) -- Pictures of a board made with modern laser-cutting tech, with links to the necessary files so that you can make one yourself if you have the right equipment. (more)
Period-style Elizabethan Rhythmomachy Rules (Reconstruction) -- An Ace's Boke rewrite of my reconstruction of 16th century Rhythmomachy (more)
Dagonell on Rithmomachy (Reconstruction) -- (more)
Android implementation of Rhythmomachy (Computer Play, Vendor) -- I haven't tried this out yet. Does it still exist? (more)
A (now-ancient) Windows implementation of Rhythmomachy (Computer Play, Vendor) -- From StarGraphics (more)
Illustration of the Kings on a Rhythmomachy board (Equipment) -- From Fulke's book (more)
Transcription of William Fulke's book (Transcription) -- This is a complete transcription (without images yet) of a 1563 translation of Boissiere's 1554/56 description of Rhythmomachy. (more)
16th century Rhythmomachy (Reconstruction) -- A reconstruction of the later form of the game described in Fulke. (more)
A Rhythmomachy Summary Handout
Rhythmomachy Basics (Reconstruction, Equipment) -- An introduction to the common concepts of the game (more)
Period illustration of a Rhythmomachy board (Equipment) -- From Fulke's book (more)
Benedetto's *Trattato Delle Proportioni Et Proportionalita* (Facsimile) -- A 16th century MS describing the Rithmimachia Pytagorae -- Rhythmomachy. (more)
Rithmomachia on Game Cabinet (Reconstruction) -- (more)
Period-style intro to Rhythmomachy (Reconstruction) -- From the Ace's Boke (more)
Aritmomachia Blog () -- Short-lived but interesting blog about Rhythmomachy. (more)

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