Backgammon
Bear off all fifteen checkers first, against the computer or a friend you send a link to.
- Vs. computer
- With a friend
Chess
Play the computer at three levels, or send a friend a link and play from two browsers. A clock for each side, or none.
0 : 0
Your friend offers a draw.
Moves
Computer
Clock
Play as
How to play
Checkmate the other side’s king: attack it so that it has no way out. A game can also end by resignation, on time, or in a draw.
The pieces
The king moves one square in any direction. The rook moves any distance along a row or a column, the bishop any distance diagonally, and the queen either way; none of them can pass another piece. The knight jumps in an L, two squares one way and one to the side, over anything in between. A piece takes an enemy piece by moving onto its square.
Pawns
A pawn moves one square straight ahead, or two from its starting square, and takes one square diagonally ahead. En passant: when a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may take it as if it had moved only one, on the very next move only. A pawn that reaches the last rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight, and the board asks which.
Castling
Move your king two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps to the king’s other side. You may castle only if neither of the two has moved yet, the squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check and doesn’t cross or land on a square under attack.
Check and mate
A king under attack is in check, and its side must get it out at once: move the king, block the attack, or take the attacker. No move may leave your own king in check. A check with no way out is checkmate, and wins the game.
Draws
A game is drawn at once by stalemate (the side to move has no legal move but is not in check), by fifty moves each without a capture or a pawn move, or by the same position a third time. It is also a draw when neither side can mate: only the kings are left, or one bishop or knight besides them, or only bishops, all on light squares or all on dark.
The computer
Computer sets how well it plays (Medium to start), and you can change it at any time. Easy looks just two moves ahead, its own and your reply, and now and then picks a weaker move; Medium looks up to four moves ahead; Hard looks as far as it can in about a second and a half. Play as is White, Black or Random. Undo takes back your last move and the computer’s reply.
The clock
Clock gives each side 5, 10 or 30 minutes for the whole game, or Off for no clock (10 to start). A side’s time runs only on its own move, and under 20 seconds it shows tenths. Running out loses, unless the other side has nothing to mate with (a lone king, or a king and one bishop or knight): then it is a draw. Clock and Play as change only between games.
With a friend
Send a friend the link (Copy link) and play from two browsers; the one who sends it sets the clock. Who plays White is drawn at random for the first game, and you swap for each game after. Offer a draw and your friend can Accept or Decline; Resign gives the game up, against the computer too. Games won counts both sides’ wins, a draw half each.
Controls
Tap or drag a piece to move it: the squares it can reach show a dot, and a ring marks a piece it can take. Tap one of them, or drop the piece there. Tap the piece again, or press Escape, to let it go. The last move stays tinted, a king in check glows, and Moves lists the game so far.
A game against the computer is kept in this browser with its level and the games won, and comes back paused, its clocks stopped (it also pauses whenever you switch away from the page). A friend’s game goes through a small server that checks every move and keeps the clocks, and forgets the game a day after the last move.
More games
Keep playing.
Sea Battle
Find and sink the other fleet before it sinks yours, against the computer or a friend you send a link to.
- Vs. computer
- With a friend
Okey
The Turkish tile game: build runs and sets on your rack and be the first to finish. The computer fills any empty seat.
- Vs. computer
- With friends