Kathelia didn't much care for the naming scheme, but she did think she had lucked out. First off, she wasn't with any of her evil sisters who might consider sabotaging her just for the laughs. On top of that it seemed like this second Eupheria was actually pretty competent if she could get her mind in the game, and Dandy was full of tricks, even if she was kind of a horse right now. It would be good if they won, that would give them a head start into the rest of the maze. Despite Eupheria's arbitrary spacing, they still had to be moving towards the center, Eupheria wouldn't find it fun if they weren't advancing, and what she found fun was the important thing.

So, let's talk about Princess Battle Chess! You start with a giant chessboard of animated, person-sized pieces set in a vast garden (note that the typical king and queen of traditional chess are replaced by a Queen you capture to win and a Princess who moves like the queen of a traditional chess set). The board, unlike a typical flat chessboard, had some obstacles, including typically some hedges that blocked line of sight for certain pieces. The player, or players, could take a bird's eye view of the board at the start, but once you selected a piece to move, you took its place, and if it encountered an opposing piece, the other side had the choice of taking its place too. Pieces had to be quite literally captured, and any encounter could turn into a princess duel, pitting the individual skill and cunning of the sides against each other. 

The strategy was important too though: a princess only got her full powers if she was substituting in for the Princess piece. Any other piece placed limitations. For example, if you were replacing a pawn, you would receive only a simple fighting weapon and none of your other magic or abilities would work. Knights could have tricks applied to them, while bishops generally allowed the princess to select one magic item or ongoing effect and Rooks permitted two. The Queen allowed for all short range magic, but nothing long-range. It was possible to substitute something cunning, like a rook gambit with a one use only powerful trap, but if it didn't work you'd be slightly weaker for the rest of the match. Victory in a duel would either capture the piece or literally capture the defending princess if they subbed in for it. If you lost a duel on offense, you passed your turn, which could cause a dangerous turnaround. Princesses could also be freed as part of promoting a pawn that crossed the board. 

As there were typically fewer princesses than pieces, one had to select carefully when to replace a piece for a defensive duel: if your side ran out of active, uncaptured princesses, you would lose even if you had a winning board. 

The game as a whole was a cunning combination of intellect and maneuvering along with individual skill and trickery. 

Kathelia straightened her glasses, which gleamed in anticipation. She was completely ready for this!