Chesstics

Chess, but the pieces fight back

The pieces move as they do in chess — pawns advance, knights jump, bishops run the diagonals — but they do not capture by touch. Every unit has health, attack and armour. A blow deals damage, and a unit that survives a melee strikes back at once.

Because a blow only carries as far as the attacker's remaining strength, the first strike usually decides the exchange. A wounded unit is something you finish, not something you fear.

Six units, each with a job

Pikemen advance like pawns and stop riders in their tracks

Archers shoot two to three squares along a line — over other units — without leaving their square

Rangers run the diagonals

Cavalry jumps like the knight and takes the most punishment

Queen and King stand behind them, as in chess

Every unit is strong against some and weak against others, yet no attack is forbidden. Nothing is left to dice: every exchange can be read from the unit panels before you move.

A campaign that rebuilds your army

Fight the computer stage by stage. Every battle you win pays gold, and the shop turns it into cards from a deck of 69 — sharper pikes, armoured horses, an archer who outranges the board. You carry three at a time, so every purchase is a question about what to give up.

Over each stage lies one of 24 world rules, and it changes every time: thin armour, a moonless night, a peasants' revolt where the front rank threatens everything it touches. A defeat ends the run. The stage is the difficulty — the higher you climb, the further ahead your opponent thinks.

Online, without an account

Matchmaking pairs you with an opponent who has come just as far. Win and you climb a step; lose and you start over.

With friends : open a room with a five-character code, optionally with a world rule and starting gold to spend on cards before the first round. No sign-up, no profile, nothing stored after the match. If your connection drops, the game brings you back and your opponent waits a minute for you.

Made with care

Pixel art on an isometric board that builds itself before every battle

Sound generated live — the music is four pieces of classical repertoire, synthesized from the score

Mouse, keyboard or gamepad — or type squares: A 1 picks up a unit, A 2 moves it

14 languages

Your campaign saves itself, clock included []No ads, no account, no tracking