Chesstics

Chess, but the pieces fight back The pieces move as they do in chess — pawns advance, knights jump, bishops run the diagonals — but they do not capture by touch. Every unit has health, attack and armour. A blow deals damage, and a unit that survives a melee strikes back at once. Because a blow only carries as far as the attacker's remaining strength, the first strike usually decides the exchange. A wounded unit is something you finish, not something you fear.

Six units, each with a job Pikemen advance like pawns and stop riders in their tracksArchers shoot two to three squares along a line — over other units — without leaving their squareRangers run the diagonals Cavalry jumps like the knight and takes the most punishment Queen and King stand behind them, as in chess Every unit is strong against some and weak against others, yet no attack is forbidden. Nothing is left to dice: every exchange can be read from the unit panels before you move.

A campaign that rebuilds your army Fight the computer stage by stage. Every battle you win pays gold, and the shop turns it into cards from a deck of 69 — sharper pikes, armoured horses, an archer who outranges the board. You carry three at a time, so every purchase is a question about what to give up.…