Chess Army

From the Devs

CHESS ARMY

In chess, a sacrificed piece never returns. Chess Army takes that lesson to heart.

It is a tactical turn-based roguelike. Your units are not chess pieces: they are soldiers, mages, cavalry, and spearmen. However, each one moves according to the patterns of a chess piece. But here, death is permanent: a fallen unit does not rise again. You have only one action per turn, and if your commander dies, the campaign ends with them.

Four army corps, four ways to move

Every unit belongs to one of four army corps, and its corps decides how it crosses the battlefield. Mages move on the diagonal, like the bishop: they strike from afar, but never in a straight line. Cavalry vaults over units in an L, like the knight. Spearmen and guards advance and strike in straight lines, like the rook, and lock down the lanes. Infantry, meanwhile, moves in all eight directions like the queen: the most versatile corps, the backbone your whole army rests on.

An army born from your victories

You start with almost nothing. After every battle you recruit one of the last three enemies you cut down, and your army is built, quite literally, from what you destroy. Stash reinforcements in reserve, then, before the next fight, fuse three identical pawns to evolve them. Every base class opens two paths, each leading to two specialisations: 28 playable classes in all. A plain soldier can end up a raging barbarian or a weapon master; a mage, a protective archbishop or a warlock that feeds on its targets' blood. You sculpt your army, one battle at a time.

Three phases. Eighteen battles. Three warlords.

A campaign runs across three phases of six missions each. Skirmishes to thin the ranks, a special mission at the heart of every phase, and a boss to close it out. Each phase throws a different warlord at you, each with a style of its own, and the deeper you go, the harder the one waiting for you hits. Only the last one seals your victory.

Every tile matters

Terrain isn't decoration. A bush reduces the damage you take, a boulder blocks the line of sight, water reshapes every path. With each unit's own traits in play, a good position soon beats a good piece.

Equip, command, risk it all

Chests hide equipment (common, rare, legendary), and each unit can carry one. At the head of your army stands a commander, one you pick from several, each with its own command tree that reshapes a whole run's strategy. Between battles, spend your command points across that tree: sharpen your leader, harden your troops, or expand your logistics to deploy and keep more units. And keep your nerve: your commander is the one piece that can't be replaced.

In short

• Turn-based tactical combat on a grid, in pixel art

• Four army corps (infantry, mages, cavalry, spearmen), each moving like a chess piece

• Roguelike recruitment: your army grows from defeated foes

• 28 playable classes, unlocked by fusing your pawns

• 18 battles, 3 phases, a different boss at the end of each

• Each unit can carry a piece of equipment (common, rare, legendary)

• Several commanders, each with its own command tree that reshapes a run's strategy

• Terrain, line of sight, and a host of traits that reward positioning

• Permadeath: the run ends with your commander

Build your army, set your pieces, and lead your commander all the way to the final boss.