Build your army. Hide your plan. Reveal the board. Win the battle.
Every other chess game starts you with the same 16 pieces. Chess Draft throws that out. Here you build your own army from a points budget, deploy it in secret, and only when both sides lock in does the full board appear — then you fight it out under real chess rules.
Part army builder, part mind game, part chess. And that blind setup moment — placing your pieces with no idea what your opponent is planning — is something no other chess game gives you.
HOW A MATCH WORKS
- DRAFT — You get a budget. Spend it your way. Stack a queen and two rooks for raw power, or flood the board with pawns and knights. Every piece has a price; every army is a strategy of its own.
- BLIND SETUP — Place your pieces anywhere on your half of the board. Your opponent does the same, unseen. Are they rushing your king? Loading one flank? You're committing your whole formation to a single read.
- REVEAL — Both armies snap into view at once. Your read just paid off… or blew up in your face.
- BATTLE — Now it's chess. Full standard rules: castling, en passant, promotion, the works. Outplay them on the board.
WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT
- No openings to memorize — every match is a brand-new position
- A real test of nerve: read your opponent before a single move is made
- Smart AI opponents, each with their own name and face — no fake "players," just honest practice partners
- Difficulty that scales across drafting, setup AND tactics, not just engine depth
- Built on a full standard-chess engine, so the endgame is the real thing
- Fast, clean, mobile-first — pick it up for one match or ten
PLAY YOUR WAY
- 100% offline — no connection, no waiting, no ads interrupting your game
- Single-player vs AI, free to play
- Built for quick sessions and deep strategy alike
Whether you're a chess veteran tired of memorized lines or a strategy fan who loves drafting an army and outguessing an opponent, Chess Draft is a fresh take on the oldest game of tactics.
Build. Hide. Reveal. Win.
(Online multiplayer and tournaments are on the way.)