Chess with a twist: arrange your whole army in secret on a 4×8 board, reveal it at the same moment as your opponent, then play real chess. Fast, tactical games online with ratings, against a computer with 8 levels, or with a friend.

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About This Game

Place your army in secret... then it's chess.

Chesspresso is chess on a half-size board - 4 columns, 8 rows - with one big twist: before the game starts, both players arrange all 16 of their pieces anywhere on their own half, hidden from each other. When both are ready, the two armies are revealed at the same moment. From then on, every normal chess rule applies. Fully playable in English, Croatian, German, Spanish, French and Italian.

Short, strong and over in minutes - like an espresso. That's where the name comes from: a full game of chess in the time it takes to drink a coffee.

No memorised openings, no long theory - every game starts from a position nobody has seen before. Hide your king in a corner, build a wall of pawns, or set up a knight ambush that can win on the very first move.

Real chess - with unicorns.

Turn your knights into unicorns: same moves, no new rules, much more magic. Give each army its own colour, pick from 4 piece sets, dozens of boards and cosy page styles, and make every game look exactly the way you like.

Features

  • Secret setup - both armies revealed at once; every game is a new puzzle
  • Play online - quick matchmaking with ratings, a leaderboard and your own piece avatar
  • Play a friend - send a link and play in seconds
  • 8 computer levels - from first steps to a tough, self-trained opponent
  • Pass & play - two players, one screen
  • Espresso-fast games - 3, 5 or 10 minutes, or no clock at all
  • Unicorn knights & full customization - all boards, page styles, 4 piece sets and a colour for each army included
  • Funny capture sounds - or normal ones, or silence
  • 6 languages - English, Croatian, German, Spanish, French, Italian

Rules in one breath

The king must start in your back two rows. No castling. Pawns move one square and become a queen. Checkmate wins; stalemate, repetition, too little material and the 50-move rule are draws.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Some artwork (the cover and store images, and two optional piece sets) was partly created with the help of AI image tools and then edited by us. Translations were made with AI assistance and reviewed. The game itself does not generate any AI content while you play; the computer opponent is our own chess engine.

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: Any dual-core 2 GHz processor
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Any graphics card with WebGL support
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Internet connection needed for online play; playing against the computer works offline.
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 22.04 or newer (64-bit), SteamOS 3
    • Processor: Any 64-bit dual-core processor
    • Memory: 4096 MB RAM
    • Graphics: Any graphics card from the last 10 years
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Internet connection needed for online play; playing against the computer works offline.
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