Your grandfather Bruno is gone, and in his house in Pietrabianca his chessboard is still set up, just as he left it. Round here everyone already sees you as Bruno's heir, and plenty of them want to find out whether you deserve it.

Chess Lore is a pixel-art RPG where every battle is a game of chess. Walk from village to village, talk to the people you meet, take on the challengers along the paths, earn badges and grow stronger one game at a time.

A VALLEY TO EXPLORE
Start in Pietrabianca, a white-stone village with a shop, a square and a council of Elders who test you on five positions before they take you seriously. Follow the paths through woods, fords, riverbeds and terraced hills up to Costalta, where Maestra Clelia runs a chess school and a tournament. Go down to Ponterosso, a lakeside town with a bakery, a church, a pier and a bridge guarded by three pirates who want a toll.

Then take the boat across the lake. On the other side there is a monastery where four monks each set you a puzzle before the Abbot sits down to play, and Rivalta, whose arena hosts the valley's great tournament, table by table, round by round. Further on lie Acquachiara and its four villas, the miners of Vallesecca and the chess club of Belcastello with its round-robin. Every place has houses to enter, people to meet and games to play.

OPPONENTS WITH A PERSONALITY
Dozens of opponents, each with their own style. Some attack at all costs, some build a fortress and wait, some know their openings by heart and some are still learning. The chess engine was built for this game and plays like each of them, instead of like a machine on a difficulty slider.

POWERS THAT CHANGE THE GAME
Past the first village, opponents bring powers to the board. The Fog covers your opponent's half of the board. The Rigged Watch makes your clock run twice as fast. The Turncoat flips the board to their side. Face-down cards hide the pieces that have been captured.

You get powers of your own too, from the shop:
• The Nail freezes the piece your opponent just moved
• The Muzzle makes your pieces impossible to capture for a move
• The Ballast pins all of their pawns in place
• The Stone in the Shoe keeps their king where it is
• The Breath adds twenty seconds to your clock
• The Ghost makes one of your pieces invisible to them
…and more. You also carry Bruno's lantern, which lights up the best move when you need it.

LEARN AS YOU PLAY
Never played chess before? Maestra Clelia's lesson teaches you from the very first move up to checkmate. Already know how the pieces move? The lesson starts from check. Already a player? Go straight to the story. At the start you enter your rating, and the game sets its opponents to your level.

PUZZLES, TOURNAMENTS AND ANALYSIS
Solve the puzzles the valley's people set you, pass the Elders' exam and fight your way through the tournaments of Costalta, Rivalta and Belcastello. After every game the analysis shows where the game turned, how accurate you were and which opening you played.

ALSO INCLUDED
• Friendly challenges from the main menu, at the strength you choose
• Florins to win in games and spend in the shop on powers, piece sets and boards
• Trophies to unlock