Martian Chess

From Looney Pyramid Games Wiki
Martian Chess
Andrew Looney
Colorless simplified chess nevertheless has subtle strategy
:Players Players: 2 - 4
:Time Length: Medium
:Complexity Complexity: Low
Trios per color: 3
Number of colors: 1 per player
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes: 1 per player
Five-color sets: 3
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
Chessboard
Setup time: 1 minute
Playing time: 5 minutes - 30 minutes
Strategy depth: High
Random chance: None
Game mechanics: Colorless, Positional
Theme: chess
BGG Link: Martian Chess
Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 1995
Can be played with 2-6 players with user designed print-and-play chessboard wedges.


Andy believes Martian Chess is the second oldest game for the pyramids, and the first created after the eponymous Icehouse. The earliest dated version of the rules are from 29 January 1995.

Martian Chess plays similarly to Earthling Chess, using similar mechanics such as:

  • moving and capturing individual pieces
  • turn-based
  • played on an chessboard
  • distinct pieces have distinct movement rules

However, Martian Chess uses some different features than Chess:

  • control of pieces is determined by location rather than color,
  • the victory conditions are based on captured points instead of capturing a certain piece,
  • a player can force the end of the game, and still win based on points,
  • is playable with more than two players.

For seasoned chess players, Martian Chess has subtle paradigm shifts that offer convention-challenging lessons (though not to the same extent as Icehouse itself).

The game requires three trios per player, in any colors.

Links[edit | edit source]

Featured in Playing with Pyramids
Gnostica · Martian Chess · RAMbots · Pikemen
Volcano · Zagami · Zendo · Martian Backgammon
IceTowers · Icehouse · Thin Ice · Homeworlds
Featured in ICE-7
Zendo · IceTowers · Volcano · Homeworlds
Martian Chess · Icehouse · Tic Tac Doh!
Featured in 3HOUSE
Black ICE
Martian Chess
Binary Homeworlds
Featured in Pyramid Primer
IceDice · Treehouse · Pharaoh · Pikemen
Launchpad 23 · Black ICE · Zark City · Caldera
Martian Chess · Martian Coasters · World War 5
IceTowers · Homeworlds
Featured in Pyramid Arcade
Black ICE · Color Wheel · Give or Take · Hijinks
Homeworlds · Ice Dice · Ice Towers · Launchpad 23
Looney Ludo · Lunar Invaders · Martian Chess · Petal Battle
Petri Dish · Pharaoh · Powerhouse · Pyramid-Sham-Bo
Treehouse · Twin Win · Verticality · Volcano
World War 5 · Zark City