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ANIMAL CHESS
A game for humans
Learn the pieces
Learn the Rules
Premise
Zodiac is a chess alternative with a HIDDEN king from a roster of 13 pieces, select a unique roster and then bluff your opponent to defeat them on a 5 by 8 board
Selection
To start a game, secretly choose your king, then place your 5 pieces alternately with your opponent to create one of over 500 billion initial states.
Objective
Either read your opponent to CAPTURE their secret king or RACE your king across the board to secure victory!
Compete
Test your skills on the ladder, develop new personal techniques and strategies, rank up to take on the best!
Frequently Asked Questions
Zodiac chess was inspired initially by words from Bobby Fischer about his inspiration to make Chess960, we wanted to expand on the idea of battling rote memorization and celebrating human intuition in unfathomable depth!
We don't! Zodiac doesn't want to detract people from playing chess! It's a different option with its own strengths and weaknesses, we hope you have some fun with it and help us adapt this game to enliven novel play
There are three ways to win: capture your opponent's hidden king piece, race your own king to the opposite side of the board, or in a match with time controls, have your opponents time run out
Yes, you can look at any of the listed questions in the FAQ and if you want some more details, you can click on the questions and then read the following details, like these details you are reading now
Each game differs widly! Some games are over in 2 moves and some might take 30 minutes, we typically tend to find they are the 5-15 minute mark!
If a player cannot make any legal move (stalemate), the game ends in a draw. The game can also end in a draw through repetition (same board state 3 times) or by mutual agreement between players!