Chess
The game of kings: sixteen pieces a side and one object — trap the other king. Offline against an engine with three levels, or online against another player on a clock, on any of seven boards in 2D or 3D.
Coming soon How to play →Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™ · Coming soon
Chess & checkers, coming soon to your browser and mobile
Four games on one account: chess, English draughts, international draughts and Chinese checkers. Play offline against the computer at three levels, or online against other players on a clock — 2D or 3D, on boards you can change in the middle of a game.
Coming soon See the boards
One account
Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™ and Card Games by Vanikar™ share one sign-in. Subscribe to Card Games and all four games here are included — there is nothing separate to buy.
See Card Games plans →iOS and Android apps coming soon
- 4
- games
- 2–6
- players at the board
- 3
- difficulty levels for CPU opponents
- 0
- ads
The games
Four games, one set
All four are coming to your browser, offline against the computer or online with a clock — and all four will be included in the one subscription.
English draughts
The checkers most players grew up with. Men move one square diagonally forward, captures are compulsory, and a man that reaches the far row is crowned king and can move backwards too.
Coming soon How to play →International draughts
The tournament game played from the Netherlands to West Africa. A bigger board, men that capture backwards, flying kings that sweep the length of a diagonal — and you must always take the most pieces you can.
Coming soon How to play →Chinese checkers
The race across the star: ten marbles a side, stepping or hopping over any marble in the way, and the first camp filled wins. Two to six at the board, against the computer or online, with Standard or Long-jump rules.
Coming soon How to play →Nothing separate to buy: a Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription includes all four.
What you get
Everything a board should do
The rules are the same on every board. Everything else is yours to change.
Offline, against the computer
Pick a side and a level — Easy, Medium or Hard — and play. Undo a move, and come back later: the game is kept in your browser exactly where you left it.
Online with another player, timed with a clock
Create a board, choose White, Black or a random draw, and set the clock: a one-minute bullet game, sixty minutes of classical, or no clock at all. Share the code or an invite link. Only the side to move’s clock runs, and a clock that runs out loses.
2D or 3D, with one switch
Lay the board flat or stand it up: the board tilts away from you and every piece rises to stand on its square. Flip it whenever you like, mid-game included.
Seven boards
The classic felt and six eras — Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool and a medieval stone chamber. Switch boards during a game and the position stays.
Pieces to match, or to mix
Every era has a piece set of its own. Choosing a board chooses its pieces, but any set goes on any board — Ice Age pieces on Jurassic amber, if that is how you like it.
The medieval chamber
Torchlight and drifting mist over carved pieces that walk to their squares and strike. A captured piece is smashed to rubble where it stood, the board shakes with the blow, and — sound on — you hear the grind of stone, the crack, and the toll at the end.
The boards
Seven boards, four games
Each era is a material — the squares, the frame and the pieces — with a voice of its own over the board.
Classic
The felt, the Staunton pieces, and the computer across the table.
Renaissance
Carrara marble and a Florentine court. Play as if the Medici were watching.
Stone Age
Sandstone and basalt, ochre on the walls. The oldest game there could have been.
Ice Age
Glacier and frost. Make your move before the thaw.
Jurassic
Amber and fern over old lava. Something large is watching from the trees.
Crustacean
Sand, shell and tide. What the tide takes, it keeps.
Medieval
Command your pieces. What they take, they break.
Classic
The felt, the Staunton pieces, and the computer across the table.
Renaissance
Carrara marble and a Florentine court. Play as if the Medici were watching.
Stone Age
Sandstone and basalt, ochre on the walls. The oldest game there could have been.
Ice Age
Glacier and frost. Make your move before the thaw.
Jurassic
Amber and fern over old lava. Something large is watching from the trees.
Crustacean
Sand, shell and tide. What the tide takes, it keeps.
Medieval
Command your pieces. What they take, they break.
Classic
The felt, the Staunton pieces, and the computer across the table.
Renaissance
Carrara marble and a Florentine court. Play as if the Medici were watching.
Stone Age
Sandstone and basalt, ochre on the walls. The oldest game there could have been.
Ice Age
Glacier and frost. Make your move before the thaw.
Jurassic
Amber and fern over old lava. Something large is watching from the trees.
Crustacean
Sand, shell and tide. What the tide takes, it keeps.
Medieval
Command your pieces. What they take, they break.
Classic
The felt, the Staunton pieces, and the computer across the table.
Renaissance
Carrara marble and a Florentine court. Play as if the Medici were watching.
Stone Age
Sandstone and basalt, ochre on the walls. The oldest game there could have been.
Ice Age
Glacier and frost. Make your move before the thaw.
Jurassic
Amber and fern over old lava. Something large is watching from the trees.
Crustacean
Sand, shell and tide. What the tide takes, it keeps.
Medieval
Command your pieces. What they take, they break.
Try it
Change the board while you play
Pick a game and a board, pick the pieces, and stand it up — the same controls the game gives you.
Ruy Lopez, after 3. Bb5
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need an account to play chess?
Yes. Chess uses the same account as Card Games by Vanikar™, and you sign in once for both. If you already have a Card Games account, you are ready to play.
Is chess included in my Card Games subscription?
Yes. A Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription includes Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™. There is nothing separate to buy.
When can I play?
Soon. Chess & Checkers is coming to your browser at play.vanikar.games — on a computer, a tablet or a phone — with iOS and Android apps to follow. It will use the same account as Card Games by Vanikar™.
Can I change the board or the pieces in the middle of a game?
Yes. The board picker, the piece picker and the 2D/3D switch all work during a game, and the position stays where it is.
How strong is the computer?
Three levels: Easy, Medium and Hard. Easy is for learning the moves; Hard will punish a careless middlegame. Every level plays by the full rules — castling, en passant and promotion included.
What happens when my clock runs out?
You lose the game, as in over-the-board chess. Only the side to move’s clock runs. Choose “No clock” when you create a board if you would rather play without one.
Is a finished online game kept?
No. A finished board is gone and an old link will not open it. Your offline game against the computer, though, is kept in your browser between visits until you end it.
How many can play Chinese checkers?
Two, three, four or six — five is not a legal count on the star. Any seat can be the computer, online as well as offline, and a timed board gives every seat its own clock.
Your move.
Open a board, pick an era, and play — offline in a moment, or online against another player in a timed game with a clock.
Coming soon