Occupy the Game

What if chess was played with 7 billion pieces, and each piece moved and thought for itself?

What if you were just a piece in my game, and I was just a piece in your game? What piece would I be? What piece would you be? Would we be on the same or opposing sides? Would there be sides at all in our game? Would the sides be even, or strong on one side and weak on another? How many sides could there be? Would it be one on one, or consist of a large or small amount of pieces?

Would we play with all queens or all kings, or more likely a mix of pieces in between the pre-defined extremes? How big would the playing area be? What would happen if my piece were knocked out of the game? What would happen if yours were? What would the rules be, would rules be necessary or unnecessary?

How strict would the rules be, and could we cheat the rules? Would we want to play honestly? How would our pieces be able to move, one direction, multiple directions, only forward, only backward, both forward and backward, diagonally, or wherever they wanted to move; perhaps some pieces don’t move at all? What strengths and weaknesses would our pieces have?

What would be the purpose of such a game? Would that be to kill, divide and conquer, live in peace, stand up for ideals, pursue personal goals, create agendas, make money, obtain power, be satisfied with what you have already earned, have respect for the other players, shut the other players out of your game, or any number of these and other purposes combined?

What would you call it? Life? The board game of Life I played as a child surely is not this game, but perhaps it is for you. Do you even like playing this game? How long does it last? How many times can you play it?

There’s only one way out, but a multitude of unique ways to play.

Open word and start writing your answers. Post it in comments if you want to, or share it with me, or the people you care to share it with, in person, or just keep it for yourself.

All I ask is that we occupy the game responsibly, and let everyone continue to play, including those other players who will continue to join in for many generations after our own sessions end.

Also, the game. Did you just lose…or are you going to win, and what do those concepts even mean?