Chess: The Card Game — Official Rules
(v1.9.2)
Last updated: September 6, 2025
Game Overview
In Chess: The Card Game, players command powerful Kings and their armies on a tactical 5×3 battlefield. Using cards that represent chess‑inspired units and tactics, you’ll outmaneuver and overpower your opponent to claim victory.
Components & Play Area
- Deck (30 cards per player)
- Counters / die / tracker (to track Material)
- Space for:
- Deck (face‑down)
- Captured Pile (defeated pieces — units only)
- Burn Pile (burned cards for Material and used Tactics)
- Tactic Zone (off‑board area to place Static Tactics)
Battlefield Layout (5×3 Grid)
The board has three horizontal zones per player, plus off‑board areas:
- [Opponent Castle / Tactic Zone] (off-board)
- [Opponent Base] ← you can attack your opponents King from any square here
- [Warzone] ← neutral middle row
- [Your Base] ← you can play pieces directly here; Showdowns allowed if you place a piece on top of an opponents piece that's in your base
- [Your Castle / Tactic Zone] (off-board)
- Base (row closest to your Castle): You may play a Piece into any Base square. If the square is empty, it enters that square. If the square is occupied by an enemy unit, a
- Showdown occurs immediately. You may not play onto a square occupied by your own unit.
- Warzone (center row): Neutral ground units must cross to reach the opponent.
- Castle (off‑board): Your King resides here. Treat the Castle as an extension of your Base for the purposes of being targeted: an enemy unit standing on any square of your Base may attack your King in the Castle. After attacking the King, if the attacking piece survives, it returns to the Base square it attacked from.
- Tactic Zone (off‑board): Place Static Tactics here to track ongoing effects. (Functionally adjacent to your Castle but not part of the battlefield. No limit to the number of cards it can hold.)
Card Zones
- Deck: Draw from here.
- Captured Pile: Defeated Piece cards go here (units only).
- Burn Pile: Cards burned for Material and any Tactic cards after use.
- Tactic Zone: Where Static Tactics remain in play off‑board.
Material (Resource System)
- Material is a persistent numeric resource that does not reset between turns.
- At the start of each of your turns, gain +1 Material automatically.
- During your Material Phase, you may burn up to 3 cards from your hand to gain Material equal to their Material Value. Burned cards go to the Burn Pile.
- Track Material with a die, counter, or written total. There is no physical “Material pile.”
Trade Keyword vs. Discarding
- Trade only triggers when a card is burned for Material (i.e., specifically traded to the Burn Pile for its Material Value).
- Discarding a card for any other reason (e.g., costs or effects that say discard, returning to deck, etc.) does not trigger Trade.
- Moving a card to the Burn Pile for reasons other than burning (e.g., a used Action Tactic, a destroyed Equip, or a removed Static) does not trigger Trade.
Game Setup
- Reveal Kings: Each player reveals their chosen King card.
- Determine First Player: Use a fair method (coin flip, dice, etc.).
- Draw & Mulligan: Each player draws 5. You may mulligan up to 2 cards; put them on the bottom of your deck in any order, then draw back to 5.
- Starting Material: Both players start at 0 Material. The second player gains +1 bonus Material at the start of their first turn (in addition to the standard +1 start-of-turn Material; total +2).
Turn Structure
Each turn proceeds through the following phases. You may play cards and move units in any order during your Play & Move Phase unless otherwise specified.
- Start of Turn
- Resolve effects that trigger “at the start of your turn.”
- Gain +1 Material.
- Ready Step
- Ready all your Tired units (including those that entered previous turns without acting).
- Draw Step
- Draw 2 cards.
- Material Phase
- Burn up to 3 cards from your hand for Material (increase your total accordingly).
- Play & Move Phase
- Spend Material to play Pieces and Tactics.
- Each ready unit may move once following its movement icons.
- Combat occurs when a unit enters a space occupied by an enemy or when you play a Piece onto a Base square occupied by an enemy (a Showdown).
- End of Turn
- Resolve “until end of turn” and “at end of turn” effects.
Quick Reference: Start → Ready → Draw 2 → Burn (≤3) → Play & Move → End
Playing Cards & Entering the Battlefield
- Playing into your Base: You may play a Piece into any Base square. If the square is empty, it enters that square. If the square is occupied by an enemy unit, a Showdown occurs immediately. You may not play onto a square occupied by your own unit.
- Entering Tired: Pieces enter play Tired by default and cannot act until your next turn’s Ready Step **unless they have **First Move, in which case they enter ready and may act immediately that turn.
- One per square: You cannot stack units; one piece per square.
Movement & Positioning
- Each Piece shows arrow icons indicating how it can move
- After acting (move and/or attack), a unit becomes Tired until your next Ready Step.
Combat Rules
Starting Combat
Combat begins when:
- A unit moves into an enemy‑occupied space, or
- You play a Piece onto a Base square occupied by an enemy (a Showdown upon play).
No default ranged attacks: Units do not perform “ranged” attacks by default; an attack occurs only by entering an enemy-occupied square or attacking the King from a Base square, unless a card effect states otherwise.
Combat Timing Windows
- Initiator Window (Active Player): The attacking player may activate relevant effects.
- Defender Window: The defending player may respond with effects.
- Damage Resolution: Both units deal damage equal to their Attack simultaneously. Units reduced to 0 Health are destroyed. If both hit 0 simultaneously, both are destroyed.
Attacking the King (Castle Interaction)
- Treat the Castle as an extension of the Base for targeting: any enemy unit in your Base may attack your King in the Castle.●
- After attacking the King, if the attacker survives, it returns to the Base square it attacked from (it does not remain in the Castle; the Castle is off‑board and cannot be occupied).
- Only the attacker deals damage to the King by default; the King does not deal damage back unless a card effect grants it an attack or reaction.
- Attacking the King counts as that unit’s action; it becomes Tired after the attack.
Damage Persistence
- Damage to units is permanent unless healed by a card effect.
Tactic Cards
Tactics represent clever strategies, battlefield events, and enhancements.
Types of Tactics
- Action Tactics: One‑time effects. May be played at any time (during either turn) unless the card says otherwise. If played during combat, they must be declared before Damage Resolution. After resolving, they go to the Burn Pile.
- Equip Tactics: Attach to a specific unit on the board; provide ongoing bonuses/abilities. If the unit is destroyed or leaves the board, the Equip is discarded to the Burn Pile.
- Static Tactics: Remain in play in your Tactic Zone (off‑board). Provide persistent effects while active. You may control only one copy of a specific Static card at a time.
Victory Conditions
You win if any of the following occur:
- King Defeat: Reduce the opponent’s King to 0 Health. (The King cannot be targeted until at least one enemy unit occupies a square in that player’s Base.)
- Exhaustion Defeat: If a player starts their turn with no cards in their deck and no pieces on the board, they lose immediately. (If they still control at least one piece,they may continue playing even with an empty deck.)
Simultaneous King Defeat: If both Kings are reduced to 0 Health at the same time, the game is a draw.
Deck Construction
- Deck Size: 30 cards total.
- Suit (Class) Constraint: Choose one suit (Spades, Hearts, Clubs, or Diamonds) for your deck.
- Piece Card Limits: Up to 3 copies of each Piece card, except Queen (limit 1).
- Tactic Card Limits: Up to 2 copies of each Tactic (unless stated otherwise).
- Neutral Pieces: Standard chess pieces (e.g., Pawns, Rooks, Knights, Bishops) are Neutral and may be included in any deck, following normal copy limits.
- King: Your leader card; revealed at setup. Kings are not burned for Material and have no Material Value.
Card Anatomy
Piece Card
- Material Value — Material gained if burned.
- Cost — Material required to play.
- Attack / Health — Combat stats.
- Effects — Abilities (Deploy, Take, Trap, etc.).
Tactic Card
- Material Value — Material gained if burned.
- Cost — Material required to play.
- Type — Action / Equip / Static.
- Effect — Rules text.
King Card
- Health — Your King’s life total.
- Effects — May gain abilities from Tactics.
- Notes: Kings have no Material Value, no Cost, and are not deployed from hand or burned They Cannot move.
Keywords & Rules Glossary
Deploy — “When this card is deployed…” Triggers when a card is played from hand onto the board.
First Move — When this piece is played, it enters ready and may act immediately that turn.
Ready — The unit may act this turn. Units become Ready during your Ready Step.
Tired — The unit has acted this turn (or has just entered without First Move) and cannot act again until your next Ready Step.
Trade — “If this card is traded…” Triggers only when the card is burned for Material. Discarding for other reasons does not trigger Trade.
Take — “When you defeat and take a piece…” Triggers when your unit defeats an enemy in battle.
Trap — “When a piece is removed from the board…” Triggers when a piece leaves the battlefield for any reason (destroyed in combat, destroyed by an effect, returned to hand/deck, shuffled into deck, or otherwise removed by a card effect).
Piercing — When this piece attacks, it deals double damage to its target (including the King unless a card forbids it).
Showdown — Immediate combat that occurs when you play a Piece onto a Base square occupied by an enemy unit.
Trigger Policy (Optional Triggers): All triggers are optional; a player may choose not to resolve a trigger even if its condition is met. This policy applies to card triggers and abilities.
Turn rules (e.g., gaining +1 Material at start of turn) are not triggers and are not optional.
Timing & Priority
- Active Player Priority: During your turn, you act first in each window (Initiator Window), then the opponent may respond (Defender Window).
- Action Tactics Timing: Action Tactics may be played at any time unless limited by their text. If played during combat, they must be declared before Damage Resolution.
- Simultaneous Triggers: If multiple triggers occur simultaneously under one player’s control, that player chooses their order of resolution.
Example Turn (Annotated)
- Start of Turn: Player A resolves start‑of‑turn effects and gains +1 Material (total becomes 1).
- Ready: Player A readies all Tired units.
- Draw: Player A draws 2 cards.
- Material Phase: Player A burns 2 cards for Material Values totaling +4, increasing Material to 5 (remember: max 3 burns per turn).
- Play & Move:
- Player A spends 2 Material to play a Pawn with First Move; it enters ready and immediately moves into the Warzone.
- A Knight already in play moves and attacks an opposing Pawn. They deal damage simultaneously; the enemy Pawn is destroyed and moved to the Captured Pile.
- Player A plays a Static Tactic to their Tactic Zone.
- End of Turn: Resolve any end‑of‑turn effects.
Additional Notes
- One unit per square. You cannot move into or stack onto a square with your own unit.
- Kings and Targeting: The King cannot be targeted until an enemy occupies a square in that player’s Base.
- After Attacking the King: The attacking unit returns to its previous Base square if it survives.
- Record Keeping: Keep a clear running total of Material. We recommend using a die or counter.
Designer Clarifications (Summary)
- You may play a Piece into any Base square, even if occupied by an enemy—this causes a Showdown.
- Treat the Castle as an extension of the Base for King attacks. After attacking the King, the attacker returns to its Base square if it survives.
- All triggers are optional (“may” even if not written).
- Pieces enter Tired unless they have First Move; they Ready during your Ready Step.
- Discarding does not trigger Trade; burning for Material does.
- Trap triggers whenever a piece is removed from the board, for any reason.