Guide
Chess variants — and where 3Chess fits
"Chess variant" covers everything from tiny rule tweaks to whole new boards. A short orientation to the main families, and where 3Chess sits among them. 3Chess is three-player chess on a hexagonal board.
The main families
Player-count variants
Three-player chess and four-player chess change who's at the table. The hard part isn't the board. It's keeping the result fair when one player falls behind (the "kingmaker" problem). 3Chess is in this family and is built specifically around that problem. See three-player chess and The kingmaker problem.
Board-shape variants
Hexagonal chess (Gliński's and others) swaps the square grid for hexes, giving every cell six neighbours and three colour classes. 3Chess is also a hex variant. It combines hex geometry with three players on one symmetric board.
Drop / partner variants
Crazyhouse lets you drop captured pieces back on the board. Bughouse is the two-board, four-player team version. Fast, chaotic, very different feel from 3Chess.
Setup variants
Chess960 (Fischer Random) shuffles the back rank to defang opening theory. Same board, same goal, just a different start.
Piece / power variants
These keep the standard 8×8 board and the standard armies but change a single rule: the win condition, the capture rule, or what pieces can do. Famous examples:
- Atomic. Every capture explodes the captured piece and all eight surrounding squares (pawns survive). Kings can't capture. Lose your king to the explosion and you lose the game. Tactically explosive (literally). Positionally weird.
- King of the Hill (KOTH). Same rules as chess, but you also win if your king reaches any of the four central squares (d4, d5, e4, e5). Centralising the king becomes the whole strategy.
- Three-check. Standard chess except: give check three times and you win. Aggressive piece play. Defence becomes about preventing checks, not just preventing mate.
- Antichess (Suicide / Losing chess). Captures are mandatory. The first player who loses all their pieces (or is stalemated) wins. The king is a normal piece. No check, no special status.
- Horde. Asymmetric: Black has a full army, White has 36 pawns. Black wins by capturing every pawn. White wins by checkmating. A study in how raw mass plays against position.
None of these touch the player count or board shape. They're surgical rule-changes on top of standard chess. Fun, but they're a different category of "variant" than what 3Chess does.
Quick comparison
| Variant | Players | Board | Core twist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical chess | 2 | 8×8 squares | — |
| Hexagonal chess (Gliński) | 2 | 91 hexes | Six-neighbour geometry, three colour classes |
| Crazyhouse | 2 | 8×8 squares | Re-drop captured pieces as your own |
| Bughouse | 4 (2v2) | Two 8×8 boards | Pass captured pieces to your partner |
| Chess960 (Fischer Random) | 2 | 8×8 squares | Randomised starting back rank |
| Atomic | 2 | 8×8 squares | Captures explode in a 3×3 zone |
| King of the Hill | 2 | 8×8 squares | Win by moving king to centre |
| Three-check | 2 | 8×8 squares | Win by giving 3 checks |
| Antichess | 2 | 8×8 squares | Captures mandatory · lose pieces to win |
| Horde | 2 | 8×8 squares | Asymmetric: 36 pawns vs full army |
| Classical three-player chess | 3 | Various 3-sided boards | Three sides, but kingmaker-prone |
| 3Chess | 3 | 127 hexes, 3 symmetric territories | Three players + hex + cascading checkmate & territory scoring to kill the kingmaker |
The 5 piece/power variants above and Chess960 are all available on Lichess and Chess.com if you want to try them. Hexagonal chess (Gliński) has computer adaptations but isn't on mainstream chess sites. Three-player chess (real, working three-player chess) is what 3Chess builds.
Why try 3Chess specifically
- It's a complete three-player game, not a curiosity. The kingmaker problem is actually solved, not ignored.
- Hex geometry on top, so even chess masters are re-learning the piece patterns.
- Runs free in your browser. No install, real engine. Buy the full game for a one-time $9.99.
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