nowfound

Life & fun · May 31, 2024

Chess Twist

I continue my experiment of transposing classic games onto an irregular grid. I've previously released variants of minesweeper and checkers. And now I'd like to share my variant of Chess. Chess can be a pretty punishing game, but I thought this was nevertheless a way to make it even more challenging by making it trickier to anticipate your opponent, even though both players still have the same information. From the playtests I've done, that challenge is pretty compelling. It also seems to be more fun at 2 people, where both players keep surprising one another.

Chess Twist launched on May 31, 2024 with 29 votes, #756 of 4,539 launches that month and more than 75% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.

In plain words

Chess Twist is a variant of chess played on an irregular grid rather than a standard board. Created by a developer experimenting with transposing classic games onto non-standard layouts, it aims to increase strategic complexity and unpredictability while maintaining equal information for both players. The irregular board makes it harder to anticipate opponent moves, creating more surprising and compelling gameplay, particularly for two-player matches.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

a mind-bending chess game

Chess Twist is a mind-bending chess game, where straight lines turn and diagonals fork. Hundreds of different boards with new strategies hidden in plain sight. Will you see them before your opponent does? Every piece moves the same way as in classic chess. But the board is very different, and that opens the door to new opportunities. In Chess Twist, each board has unique features , and it's up to you to make best use of them. And you can always drag any piece around to get a better intuition on how it moves at different positions. Every board is different. This is not a game where you can learn openings. This is now an observation game . Want a mind-bending challenge without going through a…from polyreplay.com

Does a similar job

all alternatives →
  • The classic Minesweeper on an irregular grid2024 · polyreplay.com · ▲293

    I'm experimenting game mechanics that are usually seen on a typical grid, but transposed on an irregular one. This is a first game based on Minesweeper. The changes an irregular grid brings are that cells don't all have 8 neighbors. Some can have less, some can have more. So when you try and deduce if a tile has a mine, you have to pay closer attention at the number clues and which tiles neighbors it. My intention is to make a very classic game a bit more challenging & fun. I've also released a first version of Checkers/Draughts, and plan to test similar variants for Chess, Othello and…

  • I made a little puzzle game about a rogue chess knight2025 · knightride.rakhim.org · ▲155
  • CM
    Chessboardify – Make the grid a chessboard2016 · chessboardifygame.xyz · ▲95
  • Play abstract strategy board games online with friends or against bots2025 · abstractboardgames.com · ▲180

    Thought I would post in celebration of 1 year of my website being online. I've been working on it on and off and currently the website allows users to play Hex, Tumbleweed, Amazons, and Connect 6 against friends or against practice bots. I've been a long time player of some of these games and I felt for a long time that the world could use a few more popular abstract strategy games compared to Chess or Go. If you try it, let me know what you think. I'm always looking for new games or new features to add :)

  • Play Chess Without Moving Pieces2017 · ba.net · ▲36

    Guess AI Engine Tournament Position, Fun Stury Tool. Play Chess Without Moving Pieces. Crazy Chess is a Variant of Random Fisher and Really Bad Chess. Because of the rearranged pieces, players cannot use typical chess opening moves. study tool to understand chess, and learning how to read the board.

  • Blunderchess.net – blunder for your opponent every five moves2025 · blunderchess.net · ▲126

    blunderchess.net is an open source, peer-to-peer chess app where every five moves, players each get to make one blunder-move for their opponent

More life & fun this month

the category →

Source: Show HN post ↗

Launched alongside, May 2024

the whole month →
  • Voicenotes▲1,485

    AI note-taker that's truly intelligent

    AI · 2024 · voicenotes.com

  • Wegic▲1,179

    The first AI web designer & developer by your side

    Dev tools · 2024 · wegic.ai

  • Insighto▲1,108

    Ship features users want

    Growth · 2024 · insigh.to

  • Ivee▲1,087

    The B2B influencer marketing platform

    Growth · 2024

  • Waxwing▲1,035

    AI copilot for every marketing task

    AI · 2024

  • AI powered zero-waste meal planner

    AI · 2024 · ohapotato.app