⭐ Star Chess

Learn chess by playing. You don't need to know a single rule. Solve short puzzles on a 3D board by eating stars, and you'll naturally pick up everything from how the pieces move to checkmate. It's free and runs right in your browser — no sign-up.

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How does it work?

Each level is a puzzle of about a minute. In star levels and boss fights you earn 3 crowns for clearing within the target number of moves, 2 crowns if you need up to two extra moves, and 1 crown beyond that. In one-move puzzles (check, checkmate, …) each mistake costs a crown, and in real games you get 3 crowns for beating the computer. Stuck? 💡 Hint shows the next move (for one crown). Every chapter teaches one new idea: easy levels → practice → a boss. Clear at least half of a chapter to unlock the next one.

9 chapters

  1. How pieces move — eat every star on the board in as few moves as possible with the rook, bishop, queen, king, knight and pawn.
  2. Danger squares — eat the stars while avoiding squares the enemy attacks. Danger squares are shown in red at first; later you spot them yourself.
  3. Free captures — an unprotected enemy piece is free! Take a protected one and you get captured back.
  4. Two at once — learn the fork: attack two enemy pieces with one move.
  5. Check — give check to the enemy king, and escape check by moving, blocking or capturing.
  6. Checkmate — mate-in-one puzzles: back-rank mate, ladder mate and more.
  7. Special rules — castling, promotion (a pawn on the last row becomes a queen) and en passant.
  8. Boss fights — chase down a computer-controlled king with your queen and rooks and checkmate it.
  9. Real games — from a pawn war to full games against the computer (Sprout Bot, Challenge Bot).

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes, everything is free and there are no ads.

Do I need an account?

No. Open the page and you're playing.

Can I play if I know nothing about chess?

That's exactly who it's for. The first level starts with a single rook eating three stars, and green dots show where you can move.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge, …) on a computer, phone or tablet. Drag the board to turn the view.

Is my progress saved?

Automatically, in the browser you're using. It isn't shared with other devices or browsers.

Is it fun for adults too?

Yes. Levels are short, and earning three crowns means finding the shortest path — a real brain teaser for grown-ups too.

Do you collect data?

To make the game better we collect visit and gameplay statistics (which levels were cleared, and so on). We never ask for your name or email. See the privacy notice below.

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Privacy notice

We don't collect your name, email or phone number, and there's no sign-up. To improve the game we use Google Analytics to collect the following:

Your progress (crowns) is stored only in this browser, not on our servers.