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Martian Chess

Martian Chess

1995·Andrew Looney

2 - 4 players
20 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

From BoardGameGeek

Martian Chess is a 2-4 player game that uses Icehouse pieces, requiring one stash per player, and a chessboard. It was one of the games included in Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set and Pyramid Arcade. Much like its namesake, Martian Chess is a game of capturing pieces. Like Chess, Martian Chess is turn based, and played on a chessboard. In both games, players move and capture individual pieces, and each type of piece has distinct moving rules. However, Martian Chess differs from Chess in critical ways: Piece ownership is determined not by color but by location. Instead of capturing a specific piece, winning is determined by points, making it possible to force the end of the game and still win with no pieces left in that player's control. Lastly, Martian Chess easily supports 4 players as well as two, and can also be played with 3, 5 or 6 players if you use geomorphic chessboard sections; see this photo for an example.

Martian Chess

Watch first

Learn to play

Martian Chess is Out of This World6:17

Martian Chess is Out of This World

Riffle Shuffle & Roll

Riffle Shuffle & Roll

Review

Martian Chess Review: Not Of This World11:12

Martian Chess Review: Not Of This World

The Dice Tower

The Dice Tower

Which Martian Chess video should I watch?

Martian Chess has 3 videos from 3 creators: 1 review and 2 how-to-play guides. They date from 2022 to August 2026.

To learn the rules, start with "Martian Chess is Out of This World" by Riffle Shuffle & Roll, which runs 6 min.

For an opinion before you buy, start with "Martian Chess Review: Not Of This World" by The Dice Tower.

If you like it, try Pyramid Arcade, Fluxx, Fluxx: The Board Game and Star Trek Chrono-Trek, also by Andrew Looney.

All videos

Martian Chess Review: Not Of This WorldReview11:12

Martian Chess Review: Not Of This World

The Dice Tower

The Dice Tower

Martian Chess is Out of This WorldHow to play6:17

Martian Chess is Out of This World

Riffle Shuffle & Roll

Riffle Shuffle & Roll

How to play Martian ChessHow to play3:00

How to play Martian Chess

Triple S Games

Triple S Games

Creators who cover this

All channels
Riffle Shuffle & Roll
Riffle Shuffle & Roll
1 video of this game
The Dice Tower
The Dice Tower
1 video of this game

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About Martian Chess

From BoardGameGeek:

Martian Chess is a 2-4 player game that uses Icehouse pieces, requiring one stash per player, and a chessboard. It was one of the games included in Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set and Pyramid Arcade. Much like its namesake, Martian Chess is a game of capturing pieces. Like Chess, Martian Chess is turn based, and played on a chessboard. In both games, players move and capture individual pieces, and each type of piece has distinct moving rules. However, Martian Chess differs from Chess in critical ways: Piece ownership is determined not by color but by location. Instead of capturing a specific piece, winning is determined by points, making it possible to force the end of the game and still win with no pieces left in that player's control. Lastly, Martian Chess easily supports 4 players as well as two, and can also be played with 3, 5 or 6 players if you use geomorphic chessboard sections; see this photo for an example.

Designer

Andrew Looney

Artists

Andrew Looney, Eileen Tjan

Publisher

Looney Labs

Categories

Abstract Strategy

Mechanics

Grid Movement
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Martian Chess
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