Chessorium

Explore chess across cultures, learn how extraordinary pieces move, and invent strategy games of your own. Chessorium brings together 13 chess traditions, sourced history, interactive boards, creative tools, lessons, and playful movement challenges.

EXPLORE 13 CHESS TRADITIONS

- Modern Chess
- Shatranj
- Makruk
- Xiangqi
- Shogi
- Chu Shogi
- Dai Shogi
- Dai Dai Shogi
- Maka Dai Dai Shogi
- Tai Shogi
- Grand Chess
- Capablanca Chess
- Sac Chess

Each catalogue entry introduces the game's historical setting, board, starting army, pieces, movement, and promotion. Compare familiar classics with regional traditions, fairy pieces, and vast Shogi-family armies on boards up to 25 x 25.

LEARN THROUGH INTERACTIVE BOARDS

Explore documented starting positions and legal piece movement. Read clear movement descriptions, rotate and reset boards, undo supported actions, and choose one- or two-character labels for Shogi pieces.

Modern Chess includes complete local pass-and-play. Capablanca Chess includes royal safety, six promotion choices, and its distinctive three-square castling move. Historical and large-board variants are interactive explorers: their documented setups and ordinary movement are modeled, while advanced rules that are not fully adjudicated are identified in their guides.

CREATE AND REMIX CUSTOM GAMES

Start with a blank board or remix an included game. Choose board dimensions and colors, build one-color or alternating palettes, arrange the full starting position, and mix pieces from different traditions.

Design custom pieces by combining reusable movement powers from included or custom pieces. Give pieces your own names, choose promotion behavior, and test the result in sandbox play. Save designs locally, reopen them later, or import and export Chessorium JSON files.

MAKE VISUAL LESSONS

Create multiple titled lessons for each custom game. Set up any board position, add explanatory text, and mark important squares with arrows and dots. Copy a lesson to another custom game when you want to reuse an idea.

PLAY MOVEMENT MINI-GAMES

Piece Quiz challenges you to recognize pieces from selected game sets, with the option to include your custom creations.

Adventure of a Piece turns movement practice into a treasure hunt across grass, forest, water, desert, and blocking mountains. Travel solo or recruit a party of two to four friendly pieces from different variants, switch the active teammate, and collect every treasure using each piece's movement powers.

DISCOVER HISTORY AND ORIGINS

Follow carefully sourced stories covering early chess traditions, medieval Shatranj, Xiangqi, Shogi, the Lewis Chessmen, Makruk, and the changing queen. An interactive world map connects games with documented places, broad regions, archaeological evidence, and debated routes.

Museum and archival images include visible source and license information. Historical uncertainty is clearly identified rather than presented as fact.

BUILD PERSONAL COLLECTIONS

Create and name collections from the catalogue, organize games you want to revisit, and assign custom artwork to individual entries. Personalized artwork also appears on the corresponding game page.

Chessorium is designed for chess variant enthusiasts, strategy players, educators, collectors, historians, and curious game designers. No account is required. Internet access is used for map tiles and opening cited external sources.