Checkmate Protocol = Chess + Ranged Combat

That's the game. Chess is old and perfect, but playing it over and over got me thinking: when chess was invented, warfare was melee combat, and that's why the game is designed the way it is. In today's world, however, combat is ranged. You can nuke someone from the comfort of your own home. I wanted to bring that reality to chess — a Chess 2.0 update of sorts — while preserving its core identity. Checkmate Protocol should still feel like chess, but with mechanics that reflect modern warfare.

Two Phases

Checkmate Protocol is played in two phases. After 8 rounds, the second phase is unlocked.

Phase 1 — Move Phase

All standard chess moves apply: moving pieces, capturing, castling, en passant, check, and so on.

Phase 2 — Combat Phase

This is where you issue orders to your pieces. There are 3 orders:
SHOOT — Directs a piece to fire at an enemy piece. The range and direction follow the same pattern as that piece's capture movement. Shooting costs a bullet, which is earned during the Move Phase by capturing highlighted zones or capturing enemy pieces. Mechanically, it functions like a capture — except the shooting piece does not move.

SHIELD — Protects a piece from being shot during the Combat Phase. Shields are earned by skipping orders in the Combat Phase or by castling.

PASS — Choosing not to issue a Shoot or Shield order. Passing earns you a Shield token, which can be used to protect a piece in a future turn.

Bullet & Storage System

To shoot, a piece needs a bullet. Bullets are earned by capturing an enemy piece or a highlighted zone. Only the piece that made the capture earns the bullet — and only that piece can use it. The one exception is the King: if the King earns a bullet, it becomes a Global Bullet, usable by any piece.
Storage is divided into two types:

Individual Storage — Earned by any piece other than the King. Only that specific piece can use it.
Global Storage — Earned by the King. Any piece can use it.

Each piece has a limited bullet capacity, inversely proportional to its point value. A Queen (worth 9) can hold only 1 bullet, while a Pawn (worth 1) can hold up to 9. Pawns also have a unique ability: they can share bullets with an allied piece that occupies one of their capture diagonals. In practice, this means a Pawn can take risks to earn bullets, which can then be strategically shared with a high-value piece positioned on its diagonal.

Additional rules:

A piece may only shoot once per Combat Phase turn, and may only target a single piece per turn.
Multiple pieces may, however, target the same enemy piece in a single turn.
Only developed pieces are eligible to participate in the Combat Phase. Undeveloped pieces cannot be given any orders.
A Shield directly cancels one incoming shot, protecting the piece from elimination.

IMPORTANT: The King cannot be shot. It can only be checkmated.

Game Modes

Conquer (Default)

Play continuously against opponents until you lose. Each run applies random modifiers that alter the playing conditions, making it a roguelike experience. You earn score as you progress, and reaching score milestones unlocks Bosses you can challenge in Boss Mode.

Boss Mode

Unlock Bosses through Conquer Mode and face them here directly, without any modifiers.

Candidates Mode

A tournament of 8 players. Defeat all of them to be crowned World Champion. Once you hold the title, your next run has you defending it against a challenger.

LAN PvP

Play against a friend over a local network, hosted on the same Wi-Fi connection or hotspot.

How to Win

Checkmate the King. All of the above mechanics are simply tools to help you do that, in a more dynamic, modern, and exciting way.

This is an indie solo-developed project. If you encounter any bugs, issues, or have suggestions, please be patient and reach out at:
sec7orvii@gmail.com

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING

Mezzmr

Additional Information