Why chess? I just think that the two games have a lot to say about each other. To put it in another way, the rules of roller derby didn’t develop in a vacuum, separate from every other game in existence. New games are built upon mechanics, themes, and conventions featured in the games that came before.
Games are a system, a logic engine, as I like to say. Their designers like using proven models that are rigorously tested so they don’t implode when they’re applied. Games are actually really hardy logic engines with memes, tropes that get used over and over. Some games have been around long enough to have the rules thoroughly thought out, and have remained stable for centuries, like chess. Roller derby is clearly still in development, but they still have a lot in common.
If you’re just getting started in roller derby, but know something about chess, I can offer some insight as to how roller derby strategy works, and perhaps make the process of learning to play easier. A lot of what I’m about to say comprises of chess metaphors I created to help me make sense of roller derby in the last year or so. Maybe you’ve even heard me refer to someone as an “isolated pawnâ€, to refer to a blocker who acts alone, or otherwise isn’t working with her teammates. I say that one a lot, m