Start with
a king.
Buy the rest.

Chess, with an economy. Start with three coins, buy your pieces, and build your own way to checkmate.

Play now — free

Free in your browser. No account required.

Learn with guided practice →

An example purchase: both players start with a king and three coins. White spends three coins on a knight at g1 and earns one coin because the king stayed put. White has one coin left, and Black plays next.

One possible opening 1 coin left

Knight bought. One coin left. Your opponent’s turn.

Familiar moves.
One extra decision.

Read the full rules

  1. One action a turn

    Buy a piece, move a piece, or move your king. There is no pass.

  2. Everything but the king pays

    A purchase or a non-king move banks +1 coin. Moving your king earns nothing.

  3. Pieces land at home

    A purchase appears on its standard starting square, then moves next turn. Checkmate still wins.

Meet your next move.

The king is never for sale.
The rest? Your call.

Pawn1 coin
Knight3 coins
Bishop3 coins
Rook5 coins
Queen9 coins

Your board. Your kind of game.

Play the computer

Choose a difficulty and whether you want feedback after each move.

Easy Medium Hard

Play locally

Two players, one device.

Open a board

Guided practice

Learn the economy step by step, six short drills.

Start drills

See Chesspoly in motion

Anyone can watch a game in progress or step through a finished one move by move.

A familiar board. A fresh way to play.

Which chess variant is for you?Compare classic chess, Chess960, Crazyhouse, and Chesspoly. → Build your first armyFirst purchases, earning coins, and buying your way out of check. →

Same game.
Smaller table.

Take Chesspoly with you on iPhone. The same rules, the same choices, wherever you feel like playing.

  • Online with everyone here Rooms and six-character codes are shared with the web — start a game on your phone and finish it in a browser.
  • A computer opponent, offline Three difficulties that think on the device, with no connection needed.
  • Pass and play Two players sharing one phone, the same as the local board here.

Coming to the App Store. Until then, every mode above plays in your browser.

The Chesspoly iPhone home screen, reading “Build your army. Rule the board.” above Play Online and Play Computer buttons.
A two-player game on iPhone with the build bar open: the knight is selected at three coins, and the caption explains it can be placed on b1 or g1.
An online game on iPhone showing the shared room code, the opponent marked online, and the build bar with the pieces the player can currently afford.

A king. Three coins.
Endless possibilities.

Your first move is waiting.

Play now — free