Wizard's Gambit — rules

Normal chess, plus explosions and magic. Win by checkmate — but magic can save a lost king.

💥 Exploding captures

Every capture detonates on the landing square: all pawns (yours too!) on the 8 surrounding squares are destroyed. Kings and bigger pieces shrug it off. If the blast would expose your own king, the capture is illegal.

Mana & spells

You gain 1 mana at the start of each of your turns (max 10). On your turn, either move a piece or cast one spell — casting uses up your whole turn.

• Fireball (6 mana) — obliterate any enemy piece (not the king). The blast also torches pawns next to the target.
• Freeze (4 mana) — an enemy piece is locked in ice and can't move for its owner's next 2 turns. It can still be captured.
• Teleport (5 mana) — blink one of your pieces (not the king) to any empty square, straight through anything. Pawns can't land on the first or last rank.
• Shield (3 mana) — one of your pieces can't be captured, fireballed, frozen or blasted until the start of your next turn.

Fine print

• Kings are immune to all magic — no fireballing, freezing, shielding or teleporting them.
• A spell may never leave your own king in check… which means a spell can rescue you from "checkmate" — fireball the attacker or teleport a blocker in.
• How to cast: tap a spell button, then tap the glowing target square (Teleport: piece first, then destination). Esc or tapping elsewhere cancels.