Developed 1,400 years ago, the classic game of chess is beloved by millions but hasn’t evolved much since it was first conceived. Enter Four Kings One War, a strategy game designed to suit the modern mind.

Although its DNA may be based on the classic strategy game of chess, it's unlike anything you've experienced.

In Four Kings One War, two armies each of black and white pieces face off on a board of 192 squares, set in a Colosseum style arena. The movement of pieces is similar to classic chess, but each player gets two moves per turn and the object is to capture two opposing kings. Each of the different pieces has its own individual mode of movement and both armies complement each other in both attack and defense to ensure endless combinations of tactical combat. With a variety of environments to choose from you can do battle deep in a native New Zealand bush where the battle arena is the size of a house and the pieces as tall as an average person, or face off in the smaller combat arena nestled beside a spectacular waterfall or in an underground abyss. Users can go to the glow worm cave to watch replays of their games, hone their skills against the AI, and watch strategy videos.

Four Kings One War was first created by Glyn Leggett back in 1999. Its creation came from a love and passion for the game of chess, a love that took Glyn on a bit of a journey in search of something more. Something that maintained the balanced and measured way that chess pieces move and complement each other, but with more strategic scope and purpose, to bringing strategy forward to meet the modern mind. After 16 years a new strategic challenge has emerged. If you know how to play chess, then you are ready to go. But be warned, this is a game that has immersed many a hard-core strategist.

Think you’re a strategist?

“While chess is a fantastic game, all the strategies have been worked out over its lifetime, meaning the winningest players are the ones who have memorized the optimal moves,” says Glyn Leggett, creator of Four Kings One War. “We believe that just as military strategy has become more complex and strategic over the years, so too should the strategy of chess. We no longer stand face to face in the field of battle and instead we look for blind-side maneuvers and guerrilla-styled tactics to baffle our opponents. That’s the essence of Four Kings One War.”

Key Features

• A one- and two-player strategy game inspired by chess using traditional chess pieces in a large Colosseum-styled arena.
• Players control two regiments as though they were one army and get two moves per turn.
• The rules and playing arena create exponentially more strategic maneuvers than traditional chess.
• The game play creates opportunity for guerrilla style tactics and hidden attacks.

Four Kings One War is expected to launch for PC, Mac and VR in 2019.