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Board game

Chess

Every rule. Every square. Sixteen bits.

How to play in your browser

About this game

16-bit isometric chess in a torch-lit dungeon: play the computer, learn every rule with a coach, or challenge a friend online.

How to play

Goal: Checkmate the enemy king: attack it so that it has no way to escape.

  • How pieces move

    • Pawn: one square forward (two on its first move); captures one square diagonally.
    • Knight: an L shape, and it jumps. Bishop: diagonals. Rook: straight lines.
    • Queen: any straight line or diagonal. King: one square any way, never into check.

  • Special moves

    • Castling: the king moves two squares toward a rook, which jumps over him.
    • En passant: take a pawn that just moved two squares past yours, at once.
    • Promotion: a pawn reaching the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.

  • Draws

    • Stalemate: no legal move, but not in check.
    • Too few pieces to checkmate, the same position three times, or 50 moves without a capture or pawn move.
    • Online, you can also offer a draw.

  • Play online

    • Online Match, then Host: send your friend the invite link.
    • Resign, offer or claim a draw, and ask for a rematch with colours swapped.

  • New to chess?

    • The Tutorial teaches every rule in 17 short lessons.
    • Practice with Coach suggests moves and explains them.

Controls

  • Move a piece

    Touch or mouse
    Tap the piece, then a square, or drag it
    Keyboard
    ArrowsorZ

  • Cancel

    Touch or mouse
    Tap an empty spot
    Keyboard
    X

  • Undo · not online

    Touch or mouse
    Undo button
    Keyboard
    U

  • Coach on/off

    Touch or mouse
    Coach button
    Keyboard
    H

  • Flip the board

    Touch or mouse
    Flip button
    Keyboard
    F

  • Full screen

    Touch or mouse
    Corner button
    Keyboard
    AltorEnter

Ratings

Top 5

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Glicko-2 ratings from online games between signed-in players. A ? means still settling.

All high scores

Changelog

2 releases
v0.1.1Leave game confirmation2026-10-05
  • MENU no longer ends a game in progress straight away: a "Leave this game?" panel asks first, with STAY and LEAVE.
  • The panel says what you'd lose: an unsaved game, an online match (forfeited if you're away two minutes), or your tutorial progress.
  • Z or Enter leaves, X or Esc stays, and tapping outside the panel keeps playing. Before the first move or after a game ends, MENU still goes straight to the title.
v0.1.0First release2026-10-05
  • A 16-bit isometric chess board on a stone altar in a torch-lit dungeon, with pre-rendered pixel-art pieces.
  • Every rule of chess: castling, en passant, promotion, check, checkmate, stalemate and every draw.
  • Play the computer at Easy, Normal or Hard, or two players on one screen.
  • Practice with a coach: suggested moves glow green with a reason, pieces in danger are flagged, and every move gets friendly feedback.
  • A tutorial of 17 short lessons, from how each piece moves to checkmate.
  • Online matches: host a game, send the invite link, and play a friend. Resign, offer a draw, claim a draw, or ask for a rematch.
  • SNES-style music and sound effects, full screen, and touch controls with drag-and-drop.