By some accounts, Chess has been played for over one and a half thousand years. As such, it’s unsurprising that there are many variations on the same basic theme. Chess has been played quickly, slowly (by mail, historically), and even against computers capable of defeating humanity’s best grandmasters.
However, allotted time and AI opponents are only some of the factors that can change a game. More concrete changes to the rules have emerged in chess’s many variants, oftenflying in the face of conventional wisdom. Chess has been enjoyed by millions of players over hundreds of years. Given the different ways to play, it’s certain to endure for many hundreds more.
8Racing Kings
Chess can be many things, from rapid-fire action to careful, ponderous strategizing. However, chess is not usually reminiscent ofMario KartorForza— or is it? The Racing Kings version begs to differ.
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Unlike standard chess, the board is split vertically, and both players have a limited number of pieces. The goal is to push the king to the end of the board, avoiding threats along the way. Although it may lack the bright graphics typical ofa certain Italian plumber’s vehicular hi-jinks, Racing Kings offers the same potential to royally screw over an opponent with a well-placed bishop or rook.
7Atomic
When chess was invented, the shadow of nuclear conflict was still centuries in the future. A modern game for a modern age, the Atomic variant alters the properties of several pieces — with predictably explosive consequences.
Pieces now explode when capturing, extinguishing all other life for several squares around. Pawns alone are immune to this firestorm, allowing them to be deployed as shields. Yet Atomic players must still be careful, as an indirect attack on their king by capturing a nearby piece can still lead to the royal icon burning up in the fallout. Perhaps the king shouldfind a vaultbefore he plays another game.
6Horde
Pawns are often regarded as the weakest component in chess (and rightly so, given their tendency to die). Yet, as the saying goes, there is safety in numbers. The Horde variant of chess pits an army of disgruntled cannon fodder against a standard chess formation, with fascinating results.
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36 pawns controlled by one player may not sound like a fighting force, but opponents will find it hard to break this phalanx. Black risks being overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers if it fails to check White’s advance. Yet, even a massive army of pawns must be careful when trying its luck against powerful bishops and queens. Horde may be one of the more unusual and seemingly unbalanced versions of chess, but once the dust settles on this peasant’s revolt, players are sure to see the appeal.
5King of the Hill
Not to be confused withthe Texas-based comedy of the same name, King of the Hill is a variant with a simple if unusual premise: get the king to the center. Although meme openings like the Bongcloud (in which the king is moved forward at the start of the game) do involve pushing the king, doing so goes against nearly all good chess advice.
This variant looks easy on paper, but any attempt to reach the hill is likely to be difficult. Players can use their other pieces to block the way or deliver checkmate, necessitating careful planning if the king is ever to reach his target.
4Crazyhouse
Every gamer knows the frustration of seeing a vital piece be taken. That frustration tends to increase when playing games of Crazyhouse, a variant where captured pieces can be redeployed by the player who took them. This can lead to boards where one player has several queens, rooks, and horses, plundered from their enemy. Captured pieces can also be placed in crafty strategic locations.
The threat of opponents stealing pieces is enough to put off many players, but Crazyhouse has a silver lining. As both players can capture pieces, and both can put them out again, a balance of sorts can be kept. Experienced players can game the new rules to give themselves a clear advantage, such as adding in a piece to give an unexpected check.
33 Check
Checking is a key part of chess strategy, and can represent the first step to victory. However, although checking can push a player to sacrifice pieces to cover their king or else to force a certain move, it does not end the game. Dozens of checks can be made and dodged without a clear winner —victory means checkmate.
In the 3 Check variant, checkmate is no longer the deciding factor. Players win simply by pulling off three checks before their opponent can do the same. Whether they choose to employ desperado suicide runs or carefully plotted assaults, 3 Check lets gamers enjoy a frantic variation. However, the slightest slip-up can see the tables quickly turn.
2Giveaway
Losing a key piece in chess, whether through a blunder ora calculated sacrifice, can change the state of play. As such, players of regular chess do what they can to conserve their pieces and pawns, or at the very least to trade them for an opponent’s troops.
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Not so in Giveaway. The goal of this variant is to lose as many pieces as possible. Losing pieces by accident in regular chess can seem all too easy, but playing to lose will test a player’s strategies. Furthermore, players must take an opponent’s piece if there is a chance to, adding another difficult layer to this game of anti-chess.
15D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
Some ideas are so wild that they just might work. With thousands of overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam,5D Chessis one of them. Every player has regretted a move, so why not travel back in time and take a different strategy? This fractures the board into multiple timelines,straining the brainand giving gamers a whole new style of play to consider.
Emerging and diverging timelines may baffle new players of this variant, but5D Chess With Multiverse Time Traveloffers a highly customizable and layered experience. It isn’t for the faint of heart (or those who are scared of getting a headache), but5D Chessgoes to show that even the oldest games around can be spiced up with new mechanics.
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travelis available now on PC, MacOS, and Linux.
