How to Play Chaos Chess

The Basics

Chaos Chess follows standard chess rules with three wild additions: Item Squares, The Mimic piece, and Timer Modes.

This is a local 2-player game. White goes first. Click/tap a piece to select it, then click/tap a highlighted square to move.

The Mimic

The Mimic replaces the queen-side knight (b1 / b8). It copies the movement pattern of whatever piece your opponent moved on their last turn.

• If opponent moved a Bishop, your Mimic moves like a Bishop
• If opponent moved a Pawn, your Mimic moves like a Pawn
• If opponent moved their Mimic, your Mimic copies what theirs was copying
• On turn 1 (no prior move), Mimic moves like a King
• The Mimic can capture and deliver check

The Jester

Each player starts with one Jester (🃏) which replaces a random pawn. The Jester is unpredictable!

• When you click your Jester, it randomly rolls a movement type: Knight, Bishop, Rook, or Queen
• You don't know what you'll get until you click — chaos!
• Once clicked, you're committed — you must move the Jester (no switching pieces)
• The Jester can capture and deliver check using its rolled movement
• If the roll gives no legal moves, you're freed to pick another piece

Item Squares

12 hidden squares on the board are Item Squares. They are invisible — land any piece on one to receive a surprise random item! Each player can hold up to 2 items.

After pickup, the square deactivates for 4 turns, then respawns.

Using an item counts as your turn. You cannot both move and use an item. Most items cannot be used while in check — except Teleport.

Items

	Item	Effect
💣	Bomb	Destroy one opponent piece adjacent to yours (not King)
🔄	Swap	Swap positions of any two pieces (no Kings)
🧊	Freeze	Freeze an opponent piece for 2 of their turns
⚡	Lightning	Your next turn: move one piece twice
🛡️	Shield	Protect one of your pieces from capture for 3 turns
🌀	Teleport	Move any of your pieces to any empty square. Can be used in check/checkmate to teleport your King to a safe square!

Timer Modes

• Relaxed: No timer
• Standard: 30 seconds per move
• Blitz: 15 seconds per move
• Bullet: 10 seconds per move

If time runs out, a random legal move is made. 3 consecutive timeouts = forfeit.

Special Chess Rules

• Castling: King + Rook, neither having moved, clear path, no check through
• En Passant: Pawn captures passing pawn after a double move
• Pawn Promotion: Pawn reaching the far rank promotes to Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight

Customization

Toggle chaos features on/off from the main menu:

• Mimic OFF: Normal knights on b1/b8 instead of Mimics
• Jester OFF: No pawn is replaced by a Jester
• Items OFF: No item squares, no pickups, no item slots
• Turn all three off for regular chess!

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