$16.99 (−15%)Checkmage!
Checkmage is a cozy adventure where wizard students would rather play chess than study magic. You explore a hand-drawn island, trade for strange new pieces and spells, and build a chess deck that breaks the rules in creative ways. Warm, funny and full of secrets for deckbuilder fans who like puzzles.
Is Checkmage! worth it?
Checkmage! is worth it if…
- you like deckbuilder fans who enjoy finding odd combos and rule-breaking synergies
- you know chess basics but want puzzles and silly pieces instead of strict competition
- you like cozy exploring, secret hunting and funny dialogue between battles
Screenshots
Build a chess deck that cheats nicely
You collect more than 100 pieces, tiles and spells, then mix them into a deck that plays nothing like normal chess. You might field a sniper piece that shoots across the board, pull the board apart to fly over the gaps, or borrow an opponent's trick after beating them at their own game. Each rival has a distinct strategy and loadout, and rematches get tougher as their decks improve. Losing just restarts the match, so you can tweak your list and try another answer to their puzzle.
An island that would rather play games
Magic here is kind of boring, so everyone on wizard island plays Checkmage through little portals to the Chess Dimension instead. You wander six hand-made locations, talk to expressive characters, hunt secrets and trade cards. People you meet in one place turn up elsewhere with new dialogue as the story moves on. The look is colorful pixel art with a retro role-playing feel, and an optional dungeon gauntlet throws randomly generated opponents at you when you want a harder run of fights.
Good to know before you play?
Do you need to be good at chess?
No. Knowing how the normal pieces move helps, but this is chess as a starting language, not the whole game. Opponents bend the rules in their own ways, and you answer by building a deck around pieces, tiles and spells that do things normal chess never allowed. There are options to warn you before a blunder, which helps if you are rusty.
What happens when you lose a match?
You simply start that match over. There is no larger penalty, which makes it easy to treat a loss as information: adjust your deck, bring an answer to the opponent's gimmick and try again.
How linear is the adventure?
It follows one story across six locations, with characters and dialogue that change as you progress. The openness comes from secrets, side battles, trading and an optional dungeon gauntlet with randomly generated opponents, plus rematches where rivals show up with improved decks.
