My friend, mrtool, has made marked pieces for Takteek. The pieces are black and silver and about 1" round discs. Each is stamped with the appropriate rank, including demoted pieces. The Flag and Archers are specially marked to make them distinct.
Last Friday, we played on a square board with hexagons instead of squares. We did not get to playtest the variation with dice, though we both want to. I don't own any dice (oddly enough) that I can find.
Two other ideas will need exploring in the coming days:
- an Octagonal board - hexes do not allow true left and right movement.
- Variation on checkers, a piece can only 'jump' a piece with the same rank or lower. Upon reaching the other side, the piece is elevated one rank and can move backwards.
See you next month after more playtesting!