MICRO CHESS 5×5

How to play

Twenty pieces. Twenty-five squares. Arrange your army in secret, then checkmate your opponent’s king.

01 / BEFORE THE FIRST MOVE

Your opening is a secret.

1. Choose your opponent
Play the computer on Casual or Challenging, share one device in Two Players, or play Online with an invite link, a code or Find an opponent. No account is required.
2. Arrange your back rank
Each team has one king, queen, rook, bishop and knight, plus five pawns. Select two back-rank pieces to swap them. Put the five major pieces in any order; the five pawns stay on the row in front.
3. Confirm without peeking
On one shared device, confirm your setup and pass the device at the handoff screen. Online, your opponent’s arrangement stays hidden until both players confirm. Against the computer, its back rank is arranged randomly.

A revealed Micro Chess board: five red major pieces and five red pawns opposite five blue pawns and five blue major pieces — The revealed board. Against the computer, you play Blue. Online, your own pieces appear at the bottom—even when you play Red.

02 / FAMILIAR PIECES, SMALLER BOARD

How each piece moves

Capture by moving onto an opponent’s square. You cannot land on your own pieces. Except for the knight, pieces cannot jump over occupied squares.

King

One square in any direction.

Never move into check. Protect your king throughout the game.

Queen

Any distance horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

The most flexible piece—but it cannot jump over other pieces.

Rook

Any distance horizontally or vertically.

Moves along a row or column, stopping before a friendly piece.

Bishop

Any distance diagonally.

Stays on the same square color and cannot jump over pieces.

Knight

An L-shape: two squares in one direction, then one sideways.

The only piece that can jump over other pieces.

Pawn

One square forward into an empty square.

Captures one square diagonally forward. Cannot move backward. Reaching the opposite back rank automatically promotes it to a queen.

03 / REVEAL. TOSS. PLAY.

From setup to your first move

The coin decides: Once both setups are ready, the board reveals and a large red-and-blue coin flips. Its landed color moves first. The landed coin stays visible for three seconds.
Take turns moving: Tap or click one of your pieces, then a highlighted legal destination. Red and Blue alternate one move at a time. The turn indicator and move log show whose move it is and what just happened.
Online: five minutes each: Each player starts with five minutes. Only your own turn uses your time. Play live with both players connected; running out of time loses the game.

04 / PROTECT YOUR KING

Checkmate is the goal.

Check: Your king is under attack. Your next move must remove the threat: move the king to safety, capture the attacker, or block the attack when possible. You can never make a move that leaves your king in check.
Checkmate: The king is in check and there is no legal escape. The other player wins. Kings are never captured.
Stalemate: The player to move has no legal move, but their king is not in check. The game is a draw.
Resigning: Choose Resign and confirm if you want to concede. Your opponent wins.
The final board: Dismiss the celebration to inspect the finishing position. The final board stays visible so you can see how the game ended.
A fresh rematch: Arrange your pieces in secret again. The coin toss appears each game: after a win, it lands on the previous winner’s color, which moves first. After a draw, the coin chooses again.

First-game tip: Before every move, ask: “Is my king safe, and what can my opponent capture next?” On a small board, threats arrive quickly.

Ready for your first game?

Start with Casual against the computer, or invite a friend.

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