How to play Paco Ŝako (Peace Chess)

Learn the rules to the board game Paco Ŝako quickly and concisely - This video has no distractions, just the rules. For a refresher of the original rules of Chess, check out this video: • How to play Chess (202...
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RULES:
The rules are the same as regular chess except for these changes. For a refresher of those rules, check out this video. The object of the game is to be the first player to create a union between one of your pieces and your opponent’s king.
Pieces do not capture opponent’s pieces. Instead, they form unions by connecting the pieces together on the same square. Pieces in unions may be moved by both players, however, each player may only move the union piece with the movement ability of the piece they control in the union. Union pieces may not join in union with other pieces and pieces may not leave a union unless the union is taken over.
To take over a union, move a piece that isn’t in a union to a union space and replace your piece in that space with the new one, now immediately move that freed piece to another available space using its normal movement, which may include forming a new union or taking other another union. You can chain together as many take over moves as you want that are available in a single turn, however you may not endlessly chain an infinite loop. You are only allowed to take over a union with your own piece, you may not replace an opponent’s piece.
Pawns can only join a union with a diagonal attack move. If a pawn is returned to its starting 1st or 2nd row, it regains its double step move option. En passant is allowed like normal by creating a union on the passed over space. A pawn already in a union may not perform en passant. Pawns promote like normal. Pawns in unions promote like normal regardless of which player moved them to their farthest row.
The king is not allowed to create new unions, take over existing unions, or partake in a union chain. When you threaten to unite with your opponent’s king on the next turn, whether directly, or through a chain, that king is in “Sako”. Players do not need to inform their opponent of “Sako”. If the threat of union is inevitable, then the king is in “Paco” and they lose. Castling is allowed like normal so long as the King isn’t in Sako, passes through Sako, or ends in Sako.
The first player to unite one of their pieces with their opponent wins. If this is impossible for either player, then the game ends in a draw.

[@CmdrMartinThompson]

I actually played this against the inventor during a boardgame gathering. It is quite fun and has totally different logic from regular chess.

[@extremlylongnamethatyouwon1358]

Nice

[@RandomDude1487]

Yessir

[@bearsgeography8330]

QHAT?!?!!??!

[@dremego7566]

"Paco Ŝako" is in Esperanto language and is actually pronounced like "Patso Shako"

[@fanamatakecick97]

I love learning language trivia

[@sailor5853]

Shame, I thought it was from an actual language

[@mariasirona1622]

​​@@sailor5853 being constructed doesn't make it any less real. It exists, therefore it is real, period.

[@mariasirona1622]

Bruh why does the hat point upwards? There's already Š which makes the exact same sound 💀

[@matt92hun]

@@mariasirona1622 Because it's not a real language.

[@BioHzrd0010]

The object of the game is to hug your opponent's king.

[@nugg-py7sd]

Wholesome

[@atulit]

69 perfait

[@colonelcorn9500]

No homo

[@concernedviewer2887]

the kings are anti-social and you must show them love

[@Zerolusa]

No the objective is to separate the king from the queen though a new relationship

[@BobChess]

Chess but pieces are hugging each others

[@thegnarledpirate9198]

Or something else if you're dirty minded.

[@Boba_Mopap]

Chess with homies

[@flickingbollocks5542]

​@@thegnarledpirate9198Queen Catherine the Great had union with a horse.

[@Wall_nut77]

Or -kissing-

[@joaquindumlao9780]

im gonna kill you with kindness

[@qubix27]

The name "Paco Ŝako" is in Esperanto. It is pronounced 'patso shako' and means 'Peace chess', although "Paca ŝako" would be more grammatically correct in Esperanto. Creators probably chose this constructed language for the name as its primary goal was peace and unifying nations through the means of auxiliary common neutral language.

[@3c3k]

Esperanto only works as a united language for europe

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Esperanto sucks tho

[@qubix27]

@@philiphunt-bull5817 For many reasons, yes. The original goals and thoughts turned out to be wrong or unachievable, and the lingua franca of today is English, just like French or Latin were back then. Although it doesn't make English suck less. Everything has its own advantages and flaws.

[@Petr.Fedosov]

It may be «pacoŝako» in one word, so not as incorrect as it could seem.

[@spelcheak]

@@3c3k Oomoto would like a word

[@quochoangnam5454]

The way he says “union” made it sounds like “Yuenyeung” which, ironically, is a symbol of conjugal love in Chinese culture. This word can also be traced to “yin-yang”, which is represented perfectly by the feet of black and white pieces because when they are united they create a yin-yang symbol.

[@C4pungMaster]

That's quite interesting...

[@GetHype_]

The definition of "I have no enemies."

[@ChadWSmith]

I was literally just learning about this game in the last week or two, and looked for your video on it - which didn't exist until now. I'm so happy! I love this chess variant. It is so elegant. The unions look like Yin Yang symbols. ☯ I don't know how it would ever be "impossible" for one player to take the other's king as no pieces ever leave the board, I would assume it would always be possible. However, I think that rule is there just so people can quit playing without feeling like they gave up. Or as a "just in case!" rule for some weird fringe impossible-to-predict situation that may show up if this game becomes popular enough to have millions of plays.

[@MechagirlSachiko]

If all pieces except the kings are in a union, then winning is impossible, since pieces cannot leave a union unless a lonely piece takes over their union, and the king can't do that.

[@WackoMcGoose]

@@MechagirlSachiko There could also be a case where unions are "mutually softlocked", where neither moveset of the component pieces can take them to a valid square because they're all blocked (a rook-pawn being surrounded on the four sides but no diagonals to let the pawn tag out, for example)...

[@fastbreak333]

Winning wars by hugging it out

[@user-cq8mb9os9o]

Chess variant without piece elimination? It has a potential to be better than chess! The more pieces on the board, the harder to evaluate position on the board, the rarer the resignations are.

[@Your2ndPlanB]

...have you considered playing Shogi?

[@revimfadli4666]

​@@Your2ndPlanB or hostage chess?

[@deadersurvival4716]

Bughouse? Maybe Crazyhouse?

[@user-cq8mb9os9o]

Also played Bughouse and Crazyhouse. Technically, they have temporal elimination of pieces which can become permanent if one player has big advantage. For me these games are okay.

[@VieneLea]

I love your smile when you say "For refresher of those rules" :)

[@arktype586]

Beautiful and super original variant, love it!!!

[@kroeterichNo1]

A friend showed this to me not long ago- Pretty fascinating take, but very brain-straining.

[@arrowghost]

That will be a nice variant of chess game to play with. And it'll be a struggle between union pieces to fight for control with each other.

[@cmyk8964]

me: “Oh wow, an Esperanto name for a Chess variant” the video IMMEDIATELY: *pAhKoW sAhKoW* me:

[@DovonMac1]

I love this version so cool

[@Mr._Dooter]

Me when chess

[@tango_mondo5751]

Yep, thats him right there. Thats chess

[@Mr._Dooter]

@@tango_mondo5751 thanks for the confirmation

[@plingvivin3032]

As a chess,I can confirm

[@An_animator9743]

Thats him when chess

[@leroyspeelt]

He when he chess

[@fluk_power0]

Pawn(White):Please i want to hug you,Pawn(Black):I want to hug you too:). Rook(Black)I want to hug you,King(White):No please no No NOOO.

[@djangel3108]

Maybe the kings have social issues with everyone outside of their army so the queen is asking the army to try and help the other king get over thier spcial issues so that the 2 armies can unite and ensure peace between them.

[@leroyspeelt]

​​@@djangel3108 the king still has war flashbacks, he has ptsd or something

[@djangel3108]

@@leroyspeelt and essentially the goal is tk give them therapy by hugging them with another piece so they realise that the opposing army isn't that bad after all

[@TheTerranInformed]

I love this!

[@atlekristiansen4975]

This made me think about Chessplus, from an earlier video. I think one should use the pieces from this video to play that game. Those halved pieces from Chessplus looks just weird to me. By the way... keep up the work. Always interesting to watch...

[@alper9089]

Nice video!

[@naynorth9947]

chess, but romantic

[@kenshinmazahua9946]

Esta, sin duda alguna, es la variante más peculiar y divertida que he visto y me encantaría jugar...

[@caioxlive1318]

I just realized one thing about this variant: Opposition of kings are non-existant because like in atomic, you can hug your opponent's king. Remember, it cannot unite with your king using their own king. But i think you could use an auto-draw rule: You could unite your king with another king and that forces a draw because both kings united.

[@AbsoluteTrans]

I legit wanna try this

[@leroyspeelt]

Basicly every piece are extroverts and the king is an introvert

[@chefdeadpool8481]

Chess, but it's for that one over protective helicopter parent who sees any conflict as unacceptable violence. 😂😂

[@versuzzero5335]

This is actually interesting.

[@danieldishon688]

So you can't capture pieces at all even after unionizing? You can only set up favorable chains to swap unions?

[@yapyeeheng6024]

Can you cover a Chinese board game like "Land Battle Chess". It could be interesting

[@PacoPeter61]

Felix, the inventor of this game PacoSako is at the Origins Game fair in Columbus Ohio this week (21 june - 25 june 2023) ....

[@LightmareShadow]

For some reason this game feels incredibly wholesome

[@overman138]

Is castling still allowed if the other players piece formed a union with my rook?

[@lukatolstov5598]

Cool chess variant.

[@cheesetonk]

a peaceful way of chess and don't mind if I do and take this to championship chess events

[@joshyycute5823]

Well, they're mating each other then

[@gauthiervergison6332]

The king is an introvert

[@byeguyssry]

But what happens if you form a union with a piece already in a union, so you detach the prior union, but you have nowhere to move the detached piece to?

[@elicenyne]

you just Don’t (that’s what i would guess anyway)

[@superagaming_064]

I have a fun challenge for you Bowling the Abdallah nation strike challenge The objective of the characters is to perform a strike starting from either end of the bowling lain without having it go in the gutter Spares can be used for the challenge if your ball reaches the gutter Fouls dosnt effect the challenge either If you foul it’s ok the challenge is still continues If you make the short you win the challenge

[@Average_Yuri_Enjoyer]

This is definitely gonna be fun and frustrating at the same time .

[@m.a.r.i.a.9861]

Chess love scene

[@guillermorolandoferradaven9]

My therapist: Saibaman chess is not real, it can't hurt you Saibaman chess:

[@Jokars_Bizzar_Adventure]

I'm waiting for a video with the rules of the omega chess game

[@ericcottle4571]

Can you explain how to play Horizon Zero Dawn: the Board Game?

[@irp3ex]

does the name mean checkmate check then?

[@user-wj8es7tq1u]

The chess for people, who dont like the og variant of chess with war and adore the peace

[@floppy8568]

every time i see a chess variant like this i tell myself "Chess battle advanced."

[@32.baotin22]

"Make love not war"?

[@khangtrantan9756]

Gayness in question:

[@walter3953]

I'm here to see Paco

[@alexo.1554]

Let 5D Paco Sako!

[@nicholaskehler9169]

So the ultimate objective is to perform an intricate ballet ending with one of your people catching the opposing king and forcing him to dance. I could have worded this crudely I chose not to.

[@drenz1523]

if the king isnt supposed to be united with other pieces, then why does it have the "nesting" shape?

[@pigcatapult]

Because the win condition is hugging the opponent’s king

[@phillipanthonytsai4851]

Wow

[@fourtrifiveo4350]

mood

[@falnica]

When he says "union" I can only think of the marriages in Fear and Hunger

[@dat1onegamar]

when you dont want to get unfriendly rivalries

[@stavros222]

I feel my head be in pain. This is the most complex sh*t ever

[@UyenVuong-bx1wz]

chess is awesome

[@ZillaSupreme]

“All’s fair in love and war…”

[@DanceNightAtDiscoFright]

You lose when the king is hugged because he has anxiety

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

Seems a shame to me that most of the comments are jokes because what I see is a beautifully elegant and fascinating variation on chess. Chess has literally thousands of variants, and I think Paco Sako is one of the very best.

[@BryndanMeyerholtTheRealDeal]

The name rhymes, which is cool…

[@elicenyne]

they’re all dancing together uwu

[@elicenyne]

owo

[@kentwinaguillon2144]

hm looks like yin and yang when you put 2 pawns together 😂

[@letter_o_hyphen_letter_o]

Chess but you can glue a piece to another piece to inconvenience your opponent

[@thedarkenigma3834]

The name of the game is in Esperanto. It's correct pronunciation is "patso shacko". 'c' is pronounced 'ts' as in tsunami 'ŝ' is pronounced 'sh' as in shake

[@vincentandre8500]

Wasn’t expecting to see “Homewrecker Chest, l let’s seduce the King” on my feed, but I’m digging it.

[@caddyshack4977]

What happens if both kings form a union?

[@TripleSGames]

Kings aren’t allowed to form unions with other pieces.

[@caddyshack4977]

@@TripleSGames Neat!

[@TakenPsion]

I have a simple question, why are there so many different versions of chess

[@nodus1735]

Lonely to be King

[@SimpleSlipper]

it's like chess+, but chess++ extended: definitive edition?

[@user-ez5jd4fs1s]

I'm waiting for this video (and other video from unusual chess) to be translated into Russian

[@melvingomez9052]

0:08 he made a different voice "the rules are the same as regular chess😮"

[@spelcheak]

The cap adds an h sound in Esperanto so it’s “sh”.

[@spelcheak]

Also it’s pac-o like in pacify

[@troublemakingloons5783]

Chess but it's wholesome

[@wherestheerror]

rook + bishop = queen

[@pie1538]

Aww, cute.

[@askapk]

Very interesting... but not for $150 CAD including shipping... For reference, that's like 120ish USD.

[@gabrieljudd3200]

so basically you do checkmate by threatening... peace on the opponent's king?

[@SAVUFILMS]

I felt dirty playing this game

[@LobotomyDashBeLike]

Chess but pieces love each other on first glance

[@elrien591]

If you could union your own pieces then you can make an amazon

[@patahgaming]

chess but it have no enemy and just need a warm hug

[@iris_drawssandwiches]

Chess 2?!

[@baotan774]

Why does it looks like the pieces are kissing?

[@PauxloE]

Looks like an interesting game, but you could have looked up how to pronounce it properly. (All Esperanto speakers out there are crying out at 0:00.) (Though in actual Esperanto one wouldn't really use two nouns together, except when the second one is a name specifying the first more, like "city Berlin", it would be "pacŝako", or maybe "pacoŝako".)

[@imkingnoobuwu4326]

so sako is check, and paco is checkmate

[@qinop]

Hugs :)

[@georgebernard5783]

This is like the opposite of ChessPlus

[@user-qj3cq5hr7l]

Wow. They made chess dancing.

[@user-qr4jf4tv2x]

this game is best played with a family in an open relationship

[@LeotheTiger1234]

So many chess variations. I lost count at this point.

[@XorbityXorbGlowbe]

Chess but the pieces are having multiple love affairs instead of fighting

[@Muho_is_me]

The objective of the game is making king sotialise for once

[@komcharn69]

This just like north and south Korea they want to unite together but under one regimes different of the opposing side

[@redmoon_gaming216]

how to play ying yang chess

[@tenderquirkydragon8643]

Chess if both sides are partaking in a ball and both Kings are introverts :p

[@coldbluebrownie]

Chess but pieces can share a square

[@_.-Slash]

"make peace not war"

[@NooberTheGooober]

1:31 google en unionant