70/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

Steam

2014 · Chess · Indie

Chess 2: The Sequel

Chess 2: The Sequel is the next step in the evolution of chess tuned for more viable options, strategic interest, and years and years of expert play.

Released: 19 August 2014
Platforms: Ouya Windows
Genres: Chess Indie Sports Strategy
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Country: United States
Languages: English

About

Chess 2: The Sequel is a chess variant created by David Sirlin and Zachary Burns of Ludeme Games. Sirlin, whose previous design work includes rebalancing Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, approached what he believed to be a problem of rote endgames and static opening games in chess by introducing asymmetrical piece compositions and an additional win condition. A video game version of Chess 2 is available on Ouya as of 2014.

The game was released on Steam on 19 August 2014.

Keywords

chess
steam
achievements
asymmetric gameplay
online
cross-platform multiplayer
steam achievements
digital distribution
steam cloud
tactical turn-based combat
chessboard

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

When designing Chess 2, Sirlin took inspiration from Bobby Fischer's Chess960 variant. Like Fischer, his goals were to create a more dynamic opening game, decrease the emphasis on openings memorization, and reduce draws. In Chess 2, players may choose from six unique armies, such as an army with two kings and an army whose knights, bishops, and rooks may move like each other when adjacent.

A new win condition has been added: a player wins if their king travels past the 4th rank. This was intended to prevent traditional "solved" chess endgames, which can be played by consulting a chess tablebase, and therefore does not require player skill.