About This Game

Open up a CHESST full of magical intrigue and mayhem! Dragons, Unicorns & Sorcerers? Check! Pawns with potent powers? Check! Hand-crafted pixel goodness? Check! Scrapping checkmate & bishops for new victory conditions & unique pieces? CHESST – the sage choice for lovers of fantasy & adventure.

CHESST  a magical chess variant

A family-friendly local game for two players — or one player vs. computer.

Millions of unique possible starting configurations help to level the playing field, and keep the magic fresh.

Finally updated after several millennia:

CHESST is a fantasy chess variant built with warmth, wonder, and real strategic depth — for people who love chess, for people who thought they didn't, and those learning for the first time.

There's no check – no checkmate! Kings can be captured. Rooks can be boarded. And before every match, each player has the chance to equip the chests of up to three pawns with powerful arcane artifacts. Only you know which of your pawns chests are empty -- and which carry mighty magical items. Your opponent is up to the same tricks, tho! Thus, every pawn becomes a riddle to solve.

PLAY TOGETHER, OR FLY SOLO

Pass your device. Trade turns. Play CHESST across a couch, a kitchen table, or a quiet café. CHESST is a local two-player game — no logins, no servers, no strangers. Just you and someone you like, sharing a board.

Single players face off against a custom AI, featuring three difficulty tiers. Whether you’re a chess veteran or utterly new to the field: prepare to meet your match!

FEATURES

- Pawns with magical secrets (hidden items on pawns — charm, bluffing, intrigue, mind games)

- Seven magical items with distinct effects

- Pre-game Magic Item Mart

- New piece types: Sages, Sorcerers, Wizards, Dragons, Unicorns

- Rook Express — pawns ride rooks across the board

- Two distinct victory conditions

- Local two-player pass-and-play — no internet required

- Three clever AI difficulty levels for solo play

- 20 achievements across Normal, Advanced, and Expert tiers

- Lovingly hand-crafted pixel art and custom sound design

- Score tracking across matches

- Family-friendly — suitable for all ages

Brought to you by ANCIENT MOAI COOPERATIVE

CHESST is the debut release from Ancient Moai Cooperative — a small studio thoughtfully making games worth lingering in. Beautiful worlds. Hidden depths. Cozy at cosmic scale.

A bespoke fantasy variant of chess for the curious and young at heart, CHESST is for people who enjoy whimsy. For people who play to discover. For people who want to feel, when they pick up a game, that somebody made it with care.
Questions? Feedback? Game Guide as a pdf? Reach us at hello@ancientmoai.com

Wishlist now -- unless you’re, like, afraid of Wizards? ;)

Four Basic Must Knows to Play & Win!

I. The Queen's Reach

II. No More Twin Bishops

III. Pawn Rules, Rewritten

IV. Pawns Reimagined

CHESS vs. CHESST

I. The Queen's Reach

Standard Chess = QUEEN range unlimited

CHESST = QUEEN range: 5 squares

II. No More Twin Bishops

Standard Chess = Two Identical BISHOPS (they are exactly the same)

CHESST = Two Unique pieces:

Sage and Sorcerer replace Bishops

SAGE (light squares) & SORCERER (dark squares)

SAGE moves just like bishop.

SORCERER moves diagonally in two modes:

1) teleport-capture: to enemy piece at least two squares away --cannot repeat on very next turn/move.

2) move: only one square.

III. PAWNS, Reimagined (Rules Rewritten)

Standard Chess = en passante, Yes! & all may promote

CHESST = en passante, No!

PAWNS promotions are item-specific

IV. PAWNS, Reinvisioned

Standard Chess = no special abilities

CHESST = May carry & use a magic item; may board friendly rooks

Want the complete CHESST Guide via pdf?

Email us at hello@ancientmoai.com