Mandem presents
BATTLECHESS
Build your army. 24 points. One king.
How to play
1 · Draft your army
Everyone gets 24 points and one free king. Buy any mix of pieces and place them anywhere in your three home ranks. Unspent points are fine.
2 · The battlefield
52 squares on a stepped board. Missing squares block sliding pieces. Pawns move one step forward and promote on the last playable square of their file. No castling, no en passant.
3 · Win
Checkmate the enemy king, or make your opponent surrender. Stalemate, bare kings and repetition are draws.
Online
Both players draft in private at the same time. You see when the other side is still setting up and when they are ready. Armies are revealed together when the game starts.
Full provisional rules
- Draft: both players get 24 points. Exactly one free king is mandatory. Queen 9, rook 6, bishop 3, knight 4, pawn 1. Any mix that fits your budget and zone; multiple queens allowed.
- Starting zones: White ranks 1–3, Black ranks 6–8 (18 cells each). Any piece, including pawns and king, may occupy any home cell.
- Private setup: online, both players draft privately at the same time and reveal automatically after both lock. On one device, White locks first, then Black. If either king would start in check or either side has no legal move, neither army is revealed: both drafts are discarded and players draft again.
- Pawns: one square forward, including the first move and from the back row. Capture one square diagonally. Promotion to queen, rook, bishop or knight is mandatory and free at the last playable square of the file. No double step, en passant or castling.
- Other pieces move as in familiar chess. Missing cells stop sliding rays; knights may jump but must land on a cell. Kings may not be exposed to check, stand adjacent or be captured.
- Results: checkmate wins. Stalemate, bare kings, threefold repetition and 100 quiet half-moves are automatic draws. White moves first.
- Online rooms expire after 2 hours without game actions, or 24 hours total. Refresh reconnects on this browser. No online undo; a rematch needs both players.
Play online
Create a room
You get a code to share. Your opponent joins on their own phone.
Share the code or the link. You can build your army while you wait.
Join with a code
Eight characters from your opponent.
Two devices, private armies. Share only the room code. Your seat is saved on this browser, so a refresh brings you back.
Build your army
Tap a placed piece to take it back. Its points are refunded.
Private setup · 2 of 2
Pass to Black
One device, two players. Handover privacy is not security against device inspection. Nothing is saved.
Ready
Waiting for your opponent
The battle starts the moment both armies are locked. Armies are revealed together.
Battle
Next battle
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