Playtest Chess 3!

The first playtest for Chess 3 is live!

This is a very early dev build focused on finding the relative power and difficulty of different Modules and Liberties. It's currently missing the skill tree which will be added in next couple weeks. Expect near-daily patches and frequent major changes. This playtest will run until Oct 31st.

I'm eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions so join the discussions on the playtest discord (link in-game), use the in-game feedback menu (F8), or drop a line in the steam community.

About This Game

Chess 3 is a turn-based tactics roguelike about turning Stockfish against itself with crushing tactics

Use chess fundamentals and rule-bending Liberties to setup crushing tactics that exploit Stockfish's plan. Every checkmate earns Insight that buy you upgrades from a procedural skill tree. And you're going to need all the synergies you can get, as each round Stockfish gains Modules that ratchet up the difficulty by giving it ways to fight back. Find a way to the end of the skill tree and defeat Stockfish in its final form.

Chess 3 is early in development, so a lot might change! But here's what will be in the playtest:

• Move Previews: Focus on setting up tactics without getting bogged down in calculations.

• Liberties: Abilities that bend the rules of chess in ways stockfish can't understand, giving you the opportunity to set up devastating traps .

• Modules: Stockfish's own abilities that make positions more difficult and interesting.

• Choices Matter: Giving Stockfish Modules earns you more Insight to spend on Liberties. 

• Procedural Skill Tree: Every run is unique.

In addition to more Modules and Liberties, here's what's cooking on the roadmap:

• Classes: Changes the kinds of Liberties you take with Chess:

  • Do you want to make dynamic moves on the battle field?

  • Or do you want to make the position too complex for even Stockfish?

  • Maybe you want to mess with Stockfish's very own behaviors and perception of the position?

• Edicts: Meta-level difficulty modifiers

• Puzzle Mode: Unique and interested hand-crafted challenges

• Lichess Integration: If you just like how the game handles and want to use the fancy UI to play normal chess against other people

• Multi-Engine Support: Fancy a different opponent? Play against other engines like Lc0, Maia, or Reckless.

Inspired by: Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate, Talented, Into the Breach, Nuclear Throne, Balatro, Luck be a Landlord.