Chess Army

Chess Army is a turn-based tactical roguelike played on a grid, where soldiers, mages, cavalry and spearmen move according to chess-piece patterns. You have one action per turn, and fallen units stay dead. If your commander dies, the campaign ends.

Four army corps

Each unit belongs to one of four corps, which determines how it moves. Mages travel diagonally like bishops and attack from a distance, but cannot move in straight lines. Cavalry vaults over units in an L-shaped move like knights, while spearmen and guards advance and strike in straight lines like rooks, locking down lanes. Infantry moves in all eight directions like a queen, making it the most versatile corps and the backbone of the army.

Recruit and evolve

You begin with almost nothing. After each battle, you recruit one of the last three enemies you defeated, building your army from your victories. You can keep reinforcements in reserve and, before the next fight, fuse three identical pawns to evolve them. Each base class has two paths, each leading to two specialisations, for 28 playable classes in total. Soldiers can become barbarians or weapon masters, while mages can become protective archbishops or warlocks that feed on their targets' blood.

Campaign and battles

A campaign has three phases, each with six missions, for 18 battles in all. Each phase includes skirmishes, a special mission at its heart and a final boss. A different warlord leads each phase, each with a distinct style; the warlords hit harder as you progress, and defeating the last one completes the campaign.

Terrain and equipment

Terrain affects combat and positioning. Bushes reduce damage, boulders block line of sight, and water changes the available paths. Unit traits also shape how you use the battlefield, so positioning can matter more than a unit's strength.

Chests contain common, rare or legendary equipment, and each unit can carry one piece. Between battles, you spend command points on a commander's tree to improve your leader, strengthen your troops or expand logistics so you can deploy and maintain more units. You choose from several commanders, each with a different command tree that changes the strategy of a run; the commander cannot be replaced.