THE CHESS WILDS

An endless, living wilderness where the Ivory Court and the Umbral Host wage eternal war by true chess rules, and you decide how the story goes.

Getting Around

• Drag empty land to roam the infinite map. Scroll / pinch to zoom.
• The minimap (bottom right) always shows where you are.

Commanding Pieces

• Tap a piece to see its legal moves: gold dots to travel, red rings to attack.
• Drag and drop it anywhere lawful: including onto an enemy to start a fight.
• Summon panel: place fresh pieces of either court straight onto the map.

Quest Parties

• Shift-click pieces of one court to muster a party (green ring = mustered).
• Hit March..., then tap a destination: your party marches there together, fighting anything in its path.

Dungeons & the Red Ancients

• Purple ruins hide in the wild, guarded by an ancient third faction. March a party onto one to breach it.
• The breach opens a real turn-based chess match against the Red Ancients on an 8×8 board, win by taking their king or wiping out their host.
• Auto-play either side, or untick the box to make every move yourself, for either army, at any point.
• Win and the ruin becomes your court's stronghold: steady gold income, plus a home-turf edge for your pieces fighting nearby.

Grand Strategy — God Mode

• Open the God Mode panel for realm-shaping powers: summon armies, muster every holding at once, rally a court home to its castle, scatter pieces to explore, sound the charge, or thin the ranks.

Everything Else

• Panels can be dragged by their title bar: arrange your interface however you like.
• Pause, change speed, or start a New World anytime from Controls.
• The Chronicle narrates the war live; Chronicle of War tallies captures, holdings, gold, and more.
• Rooks, bishops, and queens are capped to 8 squares per move in the wilds: true chess reach applies inside dungeon trials.

Press ? anytime to reopen this tutorial in-game.