The board is wider
10 files (A through J) by 8 ranks. Two extra columns, so there is more room to maneuver and fewer forced trades in the opening.
How to Play
If you know chess, you already know most of it.
The board, the pieces and the goal are familiar. One new piece changes what a position means: the Jester turns enemy pieces into your pieces, without capturing them.
The basics
Four things that are different
The pieces you know are unchanged
Kings, Queens, Rooks, Bishops, Knights and Pawns move and capture exactly as they do in chess. Nothing to relearn.
Each side gets two Jesters
The Jester is the new piece, and the only one that makes enemy pieces switch sides. Where your Jesters start depends on the formation you choose.
The goal is still the King
Checkmate ends the game. What changes is how quickly the material between you and that King can turn around.
The Jester
One piece, two jobs
The Jester moves diagonally. It converts by jumping diagonally.
1. Moving
The Jester steps one square diagonally. It is a short-range piece, so getting it into position is part of the game.
2. Converting
Jump an adjacent enemy piece on the diagonal and land on the empty square directly beyond it. The piece you jumped is not captured — it switches sides and joins you, right where it stands.
What the rule costs you
- The square beyond must be empty. A defender standing behind the target blocks the whole conversion.
- Kings cannot be converted. No jumping the King to win outright.
- Conversions can chain. A Jester that lands next to another eligible target can keep going, which is how one move flips a position.
- It works against you too. Every piece you advance is a piece an enemy Jester might recruit.
Setup
10 formations, or build your own
Before the first move, each side's back rank is arranged. That choice determines everything and has unlimited potential.
Citadel
Harbor
Watchtower
Bastion
Crescent
Compass
Palisade
Fortress
Keep
Sentinel
Custom Build
Arrange your own back rank from the standard set of ten pieces. Both sides choose independently, so openings do not depend on memorization; they develop through strategy and tactics.
- 1King
- 1Queen
- 2Rooks
- 2Bishops
- 2Knights
- 2Jesters
Learning curve
Your first game
Step 1
Open like chess
Play the opening you would normally play. The extra files give you more space than you are used to.
Step 2
Watch the diagonals near your Jesters
Before you advance a piece, check whether it will end up diagonally next to an enemy Jester with an empty square directly beyond it.
Step 3
Look for chains
The strongest Jester moves are not single conversions. Count the landing squares before you commit.