Magic Chess Manual

A Game by Jared McVey

Background:
Long ago in medieval fantasy land, the White & Black Kingdoms were tired of the endless
conflict and have decided enough is enough. Both monarchs agree to a pitched battle consisting
of only them, their wives, a few of their most skilled warriors, their support staff, and their court
wizard aiding them behind the front lines. Whoever wins the battle rules both kingdoms. Which
kingdom will prevail is up for you to decide.

Magic Chess Rules:

The rules of Magic Chess are very similar to Orthodox Chess (the appendix of which is at the
end of this manual). Magic Chess allows for several modifications to regular Chess. This includes
simple stuff like changing time constraints, repetition stalemates, and turn order. This also
includes more esoteric changes like substituting chess pieces, allowing magic abilities to change
the nature of the game, or modifying the starting board outright.

There are five ways to tie or draw a chess match:

● Stalemate - when a player has no legal moves but is not in check.
● Threefold repetition - where if the same position occurs three times (this does not have
to be in a row). This has to be claimed in order to function.
● Fifty move rule - Where if 50 turn cycles (both players passing their turn) occur and no
captures have been made and no pawns have been moved, a draw can be claimed by
either player.
● Insufficient material - Where it is impossible to induce checkmate or another win
condition with the remaining pieces left and insufficient points/abilities to change the
board state enough.
● Agreement - where both players agree to end the game in a draw

Threefold repetition and fifty move rule can be enabled or disabled by the game settings.

There are five ways to lose a Magic Chess match:

 ● Loss by checkmate - your king is in check and you have no legal moves to get it out of
check.
● Loss by time out - you are playing a timed match and run out of time in your clock. Or
you take more than 25% of your maximum time limit to make a single move.
● Loss by win condition - your opponent has a special piece or ability that allows them to
win the game in a unique way
● Loss by resignation - you quit the game or you are absent from the game for more than
three minutes combined
● Loss by disqualification - you are caught cheating and are ejected from the game

At the beginning of a ranked match, a coin is flipped to determine who will pick teams. The
White Team gets the first move in the game and the Black Team gets to pick and ban pieces first.
First, the substitutions are picked and banned. If a substitution is banned, neither team can pick
it, but picked substitutions are allowed for any player that picks it. Picked pieces cannot be
banned. Ditto for magic abilities. Black Team gets to ban a substitution, and then picks one.
Then White Team gets to ban a substitution before picking one. This alternates until all available
substitutions are made. Next up, flip a coin. Whoever wins the coin flip gets to ban a magic
ability, and then picks one. Then the other team bans a magic ability, and then picks one. This
alternates until all available magic abilities are picked.

When a player chooses to substitute a piece, they can choose to substitute as many pieces as
are available. For example, if a player chooses the Checker King as their substitute, they may
choose to substitute zero, one, or two bishops with a Checker King piece instead. And they may
choose whether the western or eastern bishop gets substituted. If a player substituted only one
of their bishops to a Checker King and wants to promote a pawn to a bishop-equivalent, they
can choose to either upgrade their pawn to a regular bishop or a Checker King. If a player
substituted both of their pawns into Checker Kings, then a player can only promote their pawn
to a Checker King if they want to promote their pawn to a bishop-equivalent.

Magic Abilities
Magic abilities allow a player to cause a change in the game state. They can only be used during
that player’s turn unless stated otherwise and must be used before a move is made. Only one
magic ability can be invoked by the same player per turn. Players start each match with four
points. Players can gain points by fulfilling certain tasks like the following:
● Points equal to capturing a piece’s value.
● 2 points for promoting a piece
 ● 1 point for placing an enemy king in check
● 1 additional point for capturing the first piece of the game.
● 3 points after you have less than 50% of your maximum time of your game clock left.

The point value for each chess piece is as follows:

● Pawns and equivalents are worth one point
● Knights and equivalents are worth three points
● Bishops and equivalents are worth three points
● Rooks and equivalents are worth five points
● Queens and equivalents are worth nine points
When a magic ability is used, your points are used up equal to its cost. If not enough points are
available, the ability does not occur. It should be noted that if a magic ability rule or piece rule
conflicts with the game rule, then the piece or ability rule takes precedence.

The List of Magic Abilities are as following:

Ability Name: Resurrection
Point Cost: 2 * piece value
Description: Brings a captured allied piece back to your board. It is placed in its starting position.
This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Extra Turn

Point Cost: 10
Description: Allows you to move again without your opponent getting a turn.

Ability Name: Teleport

Point Cost: 8
Description: Allows you to place one of your pieces on any open tile on the board. This ability
ends the turn. Pieces that can be promoted cannot be teleported to the enemy back row. This
ability cannot be used to escape checkmate.

Ability Name: Chronomancy

Point Cost: 10
Description: Either increase your remaining chess clock time by 20% or lowers an opponent’s
remaining chess clock time by 20%. Useless in non-timed games.

Ability Name: Pinch Hitter

Point Cost: 7
Description: Permanently replaces one of your pieces with an equivalent piece of your choice
that you own. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Bugged out.

Point Cost: 7
Description: Permanently replaces an enemy piece with an equivalent piece of your choice that
you own. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Ride Along

Point Cost: 9
Description: Until the end of your next turn, an allied non-royal piece becomes your queen
equivalent.

Ability Name: Riches to Rags

Point Cost: 9
Description: Until the end of your next turn, an enemy non-royal piece becomes your
opponent’s pawn equivalent.

Ability Name: Compulsory Vacation

Point Cost: 11
Description: For this turn and the next three turns, an enemy non-royal piece disappears. After
four turns, it comes back. When it comes back, it captures any piece that was on its tile.

Ability Name: Heroic Sacrifice

Point Cost: 12
Description: Choose an allied piece and choose an equivalent piece your opponent has. Both
pieces are captured. This capture does not incur points for either side.

Ability Name: Trap

Point Cost: 4
Description: Choose an empty tile. If an opponent’s piece lands on that tile, that piece is
immediately captured and the tile becomes untrapped. Royal pieces cannot move to the
trapped tile.

Ability Name: Comatose

Point Cost: 5
Description: Target enemy piece cannot move or capture next turn. This cannot be used on
royal pieces.
Ability Name: Jumpy
Point Cost: 6
Description: Target enemy piece must move next turn if able. If your opponent’s king is in check
next turn, this ability has no effect.

Ability Name: Portal

Point Cost: 7
Description: This turn, the target allied piece can move across the edge of the board to the other
side.

Ability Name: Counterspell

Point Cost: 10
Description: Use this ability only when your opponent tries to use a magical ability. That ability
has no effect.

Ability Name: Theft

Point Cost: 15
Description: For this turn and the next three turns, the target non-royal enemy piece switches
sides and is under your control. After those three turns are up, it goes back to the opponent’s
side if it has not been captured by the opponent.

Ability Name: Clone

Point Cost: 2 * piece value
Description: Choose an allied piece. You gain an equivalent of that piece on the board. Place it
adjacent to the allied piece you cloned. Kings have a piece value of 4. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Shield

Point Cost: 5
Description: Choose a allied piece. It cannot be captured until your next turn. If the chosen piece
captures an opponent’s piece, you gain no points for the capture.

Ability Name: Infinite Reflections

Point Cost: 25
Description: Choose any piece on the board. Until your next turn, all non-royal pieces become a
copy of that piece.

Ability Name: One for all & all for one

Point Cost: 35
Description: You win the game if all of your remaining non-pawn pieces are adjacent to one
another and none of them are adjacent to an enemy piece or are in the capture range of an
enemy piece. This ability cannot be countered.

Ability Name: Pretender

Point Cost: 21
Description: For this turn and the next six turns, a chosen enemy piece becomes royal. It can
become checked if it is in the capture range of an allied piece and the opponent is checkmated
if the royal piece is in check and cannot get out of check. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Reversal

Point Cost: 8
Description: A chosen enemy piece is moved back to the tile it was on the last turn if possible.

Ability Name: Encased in Stone

Point Cost: 4
Description: Until your next turn, the target piece cannot capture or be captured.

Ability Name: Skip Turn

Point Cost: 1
Description: This ability immediately ends your turn.

Ability Name: Switcheroo

Point Cost: 11
Description: Target allied piece you control and target non-royal enemy piece switch positions
on the board. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Who Dares Wins

Point Cost: 19
Description: All allied pieces on the enemy half of the board are promoted to the next available
rank. Pawns get upgraded to either knight or bishop equivalents. Knights & bishops get
upgraded to rook equivalents. Rooks get upgraded to Queen equivalents. Queens & Kings
cannot be upgraded. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Posse

Point Cost: 5
Description: Choose an allied piece. Before that piece moves this turn, you can select any
number of adjacent allied pieces to move with it but they cannot capture. Those pieces are all
moved while maintaining their configuration if possible. If this results in illegal moves then only
the original allied piece gets moved.

Ability Name: First Strike

Point Cost: 3 * enemy piece value
Description: Choose an enemy piece that is in the capture range of one of your pieces. That
piece is captured without you moving any pieces. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Super Pawns

Point Cost: 11
Description: Until the end of your next turn. All allied pawn equivalents can move horizontally
and vertically one tile. All allied pawn equivalents may capture one tile diagonally. You may
move up to two pawns this turn.

Ability Name: Shockwave

Point Cost: 9
Description: All pieces adjacent to the target allied piece become knocked away. The owner of
each of the adjacent pieces moves it to a nearby empty tile so that it is no longer adjacent if
able. Active players move their pieces first.

Ability Name: Mind Control

Point Cost: 17
Description: You gain control of your opponent next turn. Meaning that you can make them
legally move one of their pieces anywhere you want it and you can use their magic abilities and
their point reservoir anyway you want to. While you are in control of your opponent, your time is
used instead of their time.

Ability Name: Construction

Point Cost: 15
Description: Adds a new row or column to the edge of the board. It follows the same pattern as
the other rows or columns.

Ability Name: Demolition

Point Cost: 18
Description: Removes a row or column from the game. All pieces on the row or column are
moved opposite of the demolished row or column. Pieces with no space to move to get knocked
off the map and are destroyed.

Ability Name: Undo

Point Cost: 2
Description: Undoes the previous two turns. Meaning all pieces move back to where they were
two turns ago. All captured pieces return. All promoted pieces return back to their form two turns
ago. All temporary magic abilities are active again if they were active two turns ago. Any piece
not on the board two turns ago disappears. Point values are unaffected by Undo.

Ability Name: Ethereal Form

Point Cost: 8
Description: This turn, the target allied piece can move and capture through other pieces as
though they are not there.

Ability Name: Anti-Air

Point Cost: 2
Description: Until your next turn, all of your opponent’s pieces cannot leap over pieces. They
actually move through the tiles and can be blocked off.
Ability Name: Barricade
Point Cost: 3
Description: Places a allied barrier piece at target tile. This ability ends the turn.

Ability Name: Fog

Point Cost: 4
Description: Until your next turn, all enemy pieces that can move one tile can only move one tile.

Ability Name: Early Bird

Point Cost: 3
Description: Choose a allied piece that hasn’t moved this match. You may move that piece twice
this turn, but it cannot capture this turn.

Ability Name: Entanglement

Point Cost: 6
Description: Choose two unoccupied tiles. Whichever piece is placed on one of those tiles is
simultaneously also at the other tile. As long as a piece is on any linked tile, it can move and
capture from the linked tiles. A piece can also be checked and captured if it is on any linked tile.

Game Modes
Before a match begins, players determine how many substitutions are allowed, how many
magic abilities are allowed, and what type of board will be played on. With the exception of
Orthodox Chess, a non-pawn piece cannot capture or check another piece within the first two
turn cycles of the match. Any Rook-equivalent can castle with the king equivalent as long as the
king-equivalent has the ability to castle. Each setup has variables that can be modified but here
are the most common setups the base game has.

Name: Orthodox Chess

Board: 8x8
Substitutions: none
Magic Abilities: none
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Additional Rules: None. Just a regular game of Chess.

Name: Competitive Magic Chess

Board: 8x8
Substitutions: three
Magic Abilities: two
Time Limit: 45 minutes
Additional Rules: The main setup that is most supported by the official tournament scene.
Name: Blitz
Board: 6x8
Substitutions: two
Magic Abilities: one
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Additional Rules: Regular Magic Chess but no drafting phase.

Name: Different Army

Board: 8x16
Substitutions: six
Magic Abilities: none
Time Limit: none
Additional Rules: Similar to Chess with Different Armies. All pieces get duplicated.

Name: Points Rush

Board: 8x8
Substitutions: four
Magic Abilities: none
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Additional Rules: There is one 10 minute clock that both players share. A player must make a
move every 10 seconds or otherwise a random piece they control is randomly moved. At the
end of the time limit, whichever player that has the most points wins. Other methods of winning
Magic Chess are also valid.

Name: Spellcaster
Board: 8x8
Substitutions: none
Magic Abilities: five
Time Limit: 20 minutes
Additional Rules: A focus on magic instead of different pieces.

Name: Chess vs Checkers

Board: 8x8
Substitutions: none
Magic Abilities: none
Time Limit: 25 minutes
Additional Rules: A Chess army goes against an all Checkers King army. The Checkers King
army starts on all columns of the first two rows. The Checker King army always goes first and
can capture pieces on board edges by moving diagonally to the tile it is on. See which board
game will reign supreme!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy Magic Chess!

Orthodox Chess Rules
White is always first to move and players take turns alternately moving one piece at
a time. Movement is required. If a player's turn is to move, he is not in check but
has no legal moves, this situation is called “Stalemate” and it ends the game in a
draw. Each type of piece has its own method of movement. A piece may be moved
to another position or may capture an opponent's piece, replacing on its square (en
passant being the only exception). With the exception of the knight, a piece may
not move over or through any of the other pieces. When a king or royal piece like
the king is threatened with capture (but can protect himself or escape), it's called
check. If a king is in check, then the player must make a move that eliminates the
threat of capture and cannot leave the king in check. Checkmate happens when a
king is placed in check and there is no legal move to escape. Checkmate ends the
game and the side whose king was checkmated loses.

The chessboard is made up of eight rows and eight columns for a total of 64
squares of alternating colors. Each square of the chessboard is identified with a
unique pair of a letter and a number. The vertical files are labeled A through H,
from White´s left (i.e. the queenside) to White´s right. Similarly, the horizontal
ranks are numbered from 1 to 8, starting from the one nearest White´s side of the
board. Each square of the board, then, is uniquely identified by its file letter and
rank number. In the initial position setup, the light queen is positioned on a light
square and the dark queen is situated on a dark square.

● King can move exactly one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. At most
once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as castling.
● Queen can move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally, or
vertically.
● Rook can move any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. It also is
moved while castling.
● Bishop can move any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction.
● Knight can move one square along any rank or file and then at an angle. The knight´s
movement can also be viewed as an “L” or “7″ laid out at any horizontal or vertical
angle.
 ● Pawns can move forward one square, if that square is unoccupied. If it has not yet
moved, the pawn has the option of moving two squares forward provided both
squares in front of the pawn are unoccupied. A pawn cannot move backward. Pawns
are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. They can capture an
enemy piece on either of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them (i.e., the
two squares diagonally in front of them) but cannot move to these spaces if they are
vacant. The pawn is also involved in the two special moves en passant and
promotion.

Castling is the only time in the chess game when more than one piece moves

during a turn. This chess move was invented in the 1500´s to help speed up the

game and improve balance of the offense and defense. During the castling, the king

moves two squares towards the rook-equivalent he intends to castle with, and the

rook moves to the square through which the king passed. Castling is only

permissible if all of the following conditions hold:

● Neither king nor rook involved in castling may have moved from the original
position;
● There must be no pieces between the king and the rook;
● Both the King and the Rook are capable of moving horizontally

The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through or end up

in a square that is under attack by an enemy piece (though the rook is permitted to

be under attack and to pass over an attacked square)

En Passant may only occur when a pawn is moved two squares on its initial
movement. When this happens, the opposing player has the option to take the
moved pawn “en passant'' as if it had only moved one square. This option, though,
only stays open for one move. The En Passant move was developed after pawns
were allowed to move more than one square on their initial move. The idea behind
this rule was to retain restrictions imposed by slow movement, while at the same
time speeding up the game.
If a pawn reaches the opponent's edge of the table, it will be promoted – the pawn
may be converted to any of the pieces you started the game with, as the player
desires. The choice is not limited to previously captured pieces. Thus it's
theoretically possible to have up to nine queens or up to ten rooks, bishops, or
knights if all pawns are promoted.