i also am convinced that while it's good to have pieces that are able to move backward, even before promoting. Or possibly some pieces that start out promoted, and end up demoted after capturing. The first phase of this game is its weakest, when players are trying to figure out how to get their armies to clash without coming off at a disadvantage. Forward movement forces players to interact, but with some ability to retreat (especially good if different from advancing, such as the goose), players can arrange and rearrange their front few pieces and thus plan a better attack. So I'm thinking of making the knight a heavenly horse, for instance, with the promoted value the cavalryman. Still thinking of other ideas.