Chess is great. Memorizing it isn't.

Classic chess is a wonderful game, but if you're a busy person who just wants a fun game, it can be hard to enjoy. Beating someone who has played for years in a short time is nearly impossible. A lot of the early game comes down to who has memorized more opening theory, and that makes it as much a memory test as a battle of minds.

Hidden Chess is my attempt to break down that wall. Every game starts from a position nobody has studied, so there is nothing to memorize and no book to lean on. From the very first move, everyone has to truly think and analyze the position in front of them, whether it's their first game or their thousandth.

Luck plays a big part too, since you never know what's really hiding under a piece. It's a gamble you have to read, bluff around and adapt to. That's what makes every game a fresh one, and it gives newcomers a real chance against veterans.

Every piece is a secret.

Before the first move, every piece except the kings is secretly shuffled among its side's starting squares. The board looks like a normal opening, but nobody knows what is really standing on each square, not even you.

A hidden piece moves like the piece it is pretending to be. The moment it makes its first move, its true identity is revealed, and from then on it moves like what it really is. That quiet pawn on d2 could turn out to be a queen. The rook in the corner might be a knight in disguise.

How it plays

• Each side starts with 15 hidden pieces: 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights and 8 pawns. Only the kings are known.
  
• A hidden piece moves as the piece on its starting square until its first move reveals it.
  
• Capturing a hidden piece reveals what it really was.
  
• A hidden piece that turns out to be a pawn and lands on the last rank lets you choose its promotion.
  
• Every game is different. Plan, gamble, adapt.

Play your way

• Play online through Steam: create a public or friends-only room, invite a friend, or hit Quick Match to be paired with another player. Your Steam name and avatar appear at the board.
  
• Online wins leaderboard and 6 Steam achievements.
  
• Play against the computer: 6 difficulty levels from Beginner to Master. The AI has to guess at hidden pieces too.
  
• Two modes: Hidden Chess and standard Classic Chess, both for bots and online play.
  
• Chess clock for online and bot games.
  
• Review and take back moves in games against the computer, and save and continue unfinished games.
  
• If the connection drops during an online game, you can reconnect and carry on.

Comfortable to play

• Drag and drop or click to move, with smooth piece animation.
  
• 4 board themes (green, brown, blue, purple), board flipping, and coordinate labels.
  
• A built-in How to Play guide.
  
• Available in 12 languages: English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Русский, Español, Português, Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Polski.

Whether you're a chess veteran tired of memorized openings or someone who has always wanted a reason to bluff across the board, every game of Hidden Chess is a fresh start.