5 Games Like Chess To Test Your Mind

Chess has had quite a good year. From earlier this year when chess was booming on Twitch due to streamers such as GMHikaru along with Botez and the Botez sisters to the recent publication of The Queen’s Gambit, there’s an amazing number of people who are either just beginning to learn about playing chess as a first-time player or are trying to master the game again.

Chess can be a bit difficult to grasp at the beginning and can take years to master. Many find the quest for mastery of chess stimulating, challenging, and an enjoyable method to challenge yourself to be better at it. Count the probability of winning games using the probability calculator and no need to worry. You can find the probability calculator online.

It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Chess… There Are Plenty of Board Games Like Chess

Some games that require strategy, such as Risk are often compared to Chess in a certain way However, aside from the fact that it involves strategies, there are a lot of distinctions, with regards to elements of luck or chance.

However, we’ve created a list of games similar to the chess genre that you could take a look at regardless of whether you are a fan of the game of chess and want to play similar games, or you are a chess fan and are looking for alternative options to playing chess. These games will be similar to chess in different ways, but they’ll have common elements or at minimum, they’ll be able to touch on some aspects of chess that can be explored in different titles.

Try These Games Like Chess

These are 5 games similar to Chess worth checking out! A few of them are contemporary board games that are available in a local store or via Amazon while others are more conventional or generic games that are available to purchase from several places and have been made available by various firms.

5. Shogi

The old game of Shogi is perhaps the closest game that is similar to Chess that you can locate. It features a number of similar gameplay but also brings to the mix other features such as the possibility of capturing pieces of opponents and putting them in your favor making stalemates and tie-ups much less frequent.

Shogi plays on a 9×9 board which has each player with their own set of playing pieces with distinct game rules for movement. The goal for the game is to position the King of the other player in a check-mate position by ensuring it doesn’t have any safe options left. The addition of unit capture and”promotion zone “promotion zone” which flips your tiles to a more powerful opponent creates one of Chess the most complicated variations.

4. Hive (2000)

John Yianni’s award-winning Hive can be described as an abstract strategizing game. In which each player controls an arsenal of insects, with the aim of encircling their opponent’s queen. It’s an amalgamation game of Chess and Goes, allowing for many different strategies.

The main benefit of Hive lies in the fact that Hive has no game board. Meaning players can use any type of surface without any setup. Pieces of play are placed in a row, and they all come with their own unique methods of movement. An extremely simple game to learn, yet difficult to master.

3. Go

The game of Go is regarded as being one of the more strategic games on the board with a gamer community that has flourished over the course of hundreds of years. Each player receives several handfuls of stones. And they alternately place them at the edges of the grid of 19 by 19 in the hope of getting the stones of their opponents.

Surprisingly, Go looks easy as players are required to put only one piece of stone for each turn. But the strategic importance of the game can’t be overstated. Although learning to play Go is only some minutes but it could be a lifetime process to master.

2. Azul (2017)

Michael Kiesling’s Azul was among the biggest hits of 2017, and with great reasons. The audience was drawn by its attractive design and the great replay value. One of the most distinctive features of Azul is the theme that puts players in early Spain as a Portuguese ruler was captivated by its Spanish ceramic tiles. In no time the ruler ordered his troops to take on the challenge to recreate the stunning tile work.

In Azul, the players alternate drawing color tiles and playing them. Each time placing they onto the game board in order to increase their points. It is difficult to know the combinations your opponent could play and making sure that your designs are in the manner you imagine will be a daunting task. The player with the highest points (and the most stunning tilework) wins.

1. Onitama (2017)

Chess lovers will enjoy the easy yet complex game of Onitama. Like chess players attempt to take over the other’s pieces by advancing on the pieces. In the game, players present their moves in the shape of move cards that are open. If one of them is played, they are exchanged with the other card.

Shimpei Sato’s Onitama is an extremely challenging game that requires a lot of thinking and planning. Players should be extremely cautious when they move. Because they must remember that every card they play will soon be dealt by their opponents. The first player who moves over their opponent’s primary pawn takes the lead in the game.