Comprehensive Rules

Forget everything you know about chess.

Ok so I have invented this entirely new original game no one’s ever heard before. 

It’s a card game called Super Power Chess! Here’s how you play….

This is the exhaustive authority for Super Power Chess! gameplay effective 04/10/26.

 

 

Table of contents

A. Chess Rules

B. Card Anatomy

C. Game Concepts

D. Super Power Chess!

 

 

A CHESS

A.1 Board

1.1 Ranks and files are pretentious names for rows and columns, respectively. Keep that in mind because I am also pretentious.

1.2 The standard chess board has a total of 64 squares arranged into a grid of 8 ranks and 8 files, usually alternating dark and light in a checkered pattern though other colors may be used.

1.3 Ranks and files are typically numbered in one direction from light’s perspective for something called Algebraic Notation. I don’t like math so we’re making them relative to your viewpoint and getting rid of the numbers. 

1.4 The rank closest to you will be called your closest rank, no matter your loyalty; and the column furthest to your left will be called your first file. 

1.5 Likewise, the row furthest from you will be called your furthest rank, and the column furthest to your right will be called your last file. 

1.6 Your closest rank will more often be called your court row, and one rank forward will be called your pawn row. Your enemy also has a court and pawn row.

1.7 We have now liberated the chess board from being centered around one player’s perspective. It may seem backwards but it makes my job easier. I wouldn’t be doing this if it didn’t.

A.2 Pieces and their Movements

2.1 Moving a piece means it fully leaves one square and goes fully into another. Pieces typically cannot exist in many squares at once and many pieces cannot exist in the same square.

2.2 Pieces may not travel through a square where there is already a piece.

2.3 Moving a piece toward your furthest rank will be considered moving forward. Moving away from it will be considered moving backward.

2.4 Pawns move forward one square. There are eight light and eight dark in a standard chess set.

2.5 Bishops move and diagonally along their color. Think of an X shape. There movements are not limited. There are two of each color in a standard chess set.

2.6 Rooks move along rank or file. Think of a + shape. Their movements are not limited. There are two of each color in a standard chess set. They’re called rooks because they take us for fools. But we know better, you and I. We know what castles are, we’ve been around.

2.7 Knights move one square along a rank or file, then one square diagonally in the same direction. It creates an L shape. They’re called knights despite being obviously horses. There are two of each color in a standard set.

2.8 Queens and kings can move both diagonally and along rank and file. Think of a * shape. Queens’ movements are not limited but kings can only go one square at a time. There are one of each color in most standard chess sets, but some will include a second queen per color. It’s ok, they agreed to this.

A.3 Capturing

3.1 You may capture by moving one of your pieces into a square occupied by one of your enemy’s pieces. Take the enemy piece off the board. It’s like, dead now or something.

3.2 Every piece can capture according to their movement rules except pawns. Pawns can only capture by moving one space forward diagonally.

3.3 Loyalty refers to the different colors of the chess pieces. These are the warring sides of light and dark. Light pieces are loyal to light and dark pieces are loyal to dark. If you are guarding the light king, your loyalty is to light. A piece of “either loyalty” would be either a dark or light piece.

3.3.a A loyal piece is a less wordy way of specifying “one of your pieces.”

3.3.b An enemy piece is a way of saying “one of your enemy’s pieces.” 

3.3.c Pieces of one loyalty can not capture pieces of the same loyalty.

3.4 Each piece is worth a number of points. The points are super important!

3.4.a Pawns are worth 1 point

3.4.b Knights and bishops are worth 3 points

3.4.c Rooks are worth 5 points.

3.4.d Queens are worth 9 points.

3.4.e Kings are not worth anything. We learned that back in the 19th century or whatever.

A.4 Odd Movements

4.1 In the event a pawn travels to the other end of the board, occupying a square in its enemy’s court row, it may be immediately replaced with any court piece. That’s called promotion.

4.2 A knight can jump over any piece that appears to be blocking its path. This usually only comes up at the beginning when there’s a giant wall of pawns in the way, but it can happen any time.

4.3 If a pawn starts its turn on pawn row, it may move up to two squares in a straight line.

4.3.a If a pawn starts its turn on court row, it may move up to two squares in a straight line, and may jump over a piece directly in front of it to do so.

4.4 A king may castle with a rook if neither of them have moved yet. When castling, the rook crosses the rank until it is adjacent to the king. Then the king moves to the other side of the rook to occupy the last square it traveled through. This counts as one single move, the only time in chess EVER that you get to move two pieces at once… unless…

4.4.a A king cannot castle out of, through, or into check. That is, none of the three squares it jumps from, over, or to may be under attack.

4.4.b This section is supposed to be about only raw chess but I gotta pop in and emphasize that if any piece is “castling with” any other piece, the second piece moves over by its movement rules to the first, then the first jumps over it to land on the last square it traveled through.

4.5 If an enemy pawn moved forward two squares on the previous turn, your pawn can move one square diagonally into the space the enemy pawn passed over. If this happens, the enemy pawn is captured. This move is called en passant and it is one of the greatest French inventions (see A.3.4.e).

4.5.a En passant does not apply if the enemy pawn has jumped over a piece to move two squares no matter how cool that would be.

A.5 Strategic ideas

5.1 When a piece is positioned so that it can capture another piece, that's called attacking.

5.2 If you are attacking two enemy pieces with one of yours, that’s called a fork.

5.3 If by moving loyal piece A out of the way of loyal piece B, you have created an attack with piece B, that’s called a discovered attack. 

5.4 If an enemy piece could capture a loyal piece, but risks being captured itself by doing so, you have guarded that loyal piece.

5.5 Kings cannot be moved into a square that is under attack.

B CARD ANATOMY

B.1 The cards are a facetious collage placed over Palimpsest brand playing cards. Details like the style of card backs, as well as the just-visible details of playing card faces or pips can be seen.

B.2 There is no standard back design or back color, just “standard” Palimpsest playing card backs with a label hastily slapped on. The variation in playing card backs can be used to further identify your own cards from others’. They can also be used to secretly indicate specific cards from your sub-deck. (Hint hint.) As of the edition date at the beginning of this document, the following standard Palimpsest back designs and their colors are: 

2.1 Checkerbacks

2.1.a Blue

2.2 Inverted Fans

2.2.a Green

2.3 Flyers

2.3.a Red

2.4 There will be more.

B.3 The faces are laid out similar to any card from any standard trading card game you can think of. Think of one. It’s probably like that.

3.1 The price occupies the top left corner of a card. Prices range from 1-5. It is the only part of the “playing card” design that is fully visible, and is the only part that has any importance.

3.1.a There are cards that appear to have been created on top of “jokers.” There are stars instead of a price for these cards. Most often, they have no price because they are to be played immediately, but some Joker cards will direct you to store them in your hand as useful items, unuseful obstacles, or timed trials.

3.2 The title occupies a strip in the center top of the card. Helps you identify the card. The name can also contribute to worldbuilding and lore development as well as provides some intuitive sense of subject and power type.

3.3 The rarity sticker is a colored shape near the upper-left corner that covers where the suit indicator on a playing card would be. The rarity sticker symbolizes how common or uncommon a card is in relation to the others.

3.4 The body text of a card appears directly beneath the title. Text here explains the effect of the card or instructs the player to do something.

3.5 The phase names appear on a strip between the Body Text and Illustration. There are multiple letters which represent all of the phase names, and the circled one(s) represents the phase during which the power can be played.

3.6 The power class appears along the left-hand edge of the card and synthesize the power’s effect into a two-part identifier. The subject is listed first, then the type.

3.7 The illustration gives identity to the card, creates more tangibility to any lore, and usually provides an intuitive sense of class, type, ability, effect, or power level.

B.4 Power Scaling and Card Concepts

4.1 A card’s true power ranking is rooted in a formula and it is not featured on the card. A card’s price and rarity are both products of and counterweights to its true power level. If you feel like a card would be more balanced with a different price or rarity, let me know! These are things that impact the power ranking and what they mean.

4.2 The “playing cards’” colors (black and red) notate different loyalties for the subjects of the power. The dichotomy here is somewhat strict but there’s always going to be some examples where the mold is broken. There’s not a rubric or guideline for coloring these. It’s all vibe-coded. The whole thing is vibe-coded. Sorry.

4.2.a Cards with a black price and power class affect your own pieces or hand, affect turn structure, mark squares that cannot capture, and generally do not cause outright destruction.

4.2.b Some cards will have a red title, price, and power class rather than black. These cards affect your enemy’s pieces or hand, mark squares that can capture, or cause some sort of destruction in another way. 

B.5 There are 5 levels of a card’s rarity:

5.1 Green - Common

5.2 Yellow - Uncommon

5.3 Orange - Medium Rare

5.4 Red - Rare 

5.5 Blue – Chaos

B.6 Subject

6.1 Piece powers affect the chess pieces: pawn, king, knight, bishop, rook, and queen. 

6.1.a If the power affects any piece you may want, the subject will just say “piece.”

6.2 Multi indicates multiple subjects, or multiples of one piece type.

6.3 Zone powers affect powers themselves. These may override or supplement the duration of any card, change the rules of a zone, or cause the movement of cards between zones that would otherwise be illegal. 

6.4 Square powers become active when a piece moves to or through a specific square. This subject is often found in tandem with the “mark” power type.

6.5 Game powers affect any element that are even more “essential” than piece movement or card rules. This could non-exhaustively include turn structure, loyalties, board physics, piece point value; those sorts of things.

B.7 Type

7.1 Movement powers alter the… um. Wait no I just had it… sorry I forgot.

7.2 Transformation powers change something into something else.

7.3 Defense powers negate the effects of an enemy’s card or capture.

7.4 Ax powers make something not there anymore. (aka active to inactive)

7.5 Fetch powers bring something from somewhere it was. (aka inactive to active)

7.6 Mark powers draw attention to something or cause a delayed action.

B.8 Phase Names

8.1 The deploy phase type is indicated by a D (see D.9.1.e.) This card may only be played during the Deploy phase. These often add powers to pieces you may be about to move.

8.2 The move phase type is indicated by an M. This card may only be played during the Move phase. These often instruct you to move, fetch, or ax a piece.

8.3 The wield phase type is indicated by a W. This card may only be played during the Wield phase. These often cast powers against pieces your enemy may be about to move.

8.4 The react phase type is indicated by an R. This card may be played at any point during you or your enemy’s turn. Defense power classes often feature react phase types.

8.4.a There is no rule that states a React card’s effects are bound to the events of the phase during which it was played. In fact, here is a rule stating the opposite:

8.4.b A react card can affect anything that occurred during an action chain if played during that chain. If the reaction is played after an unrelated action ends that chain, it cannot affect the action chain anymore.

8.4.c Ex., Player A Deploys a card that alters the movement of a piece. They then Move that piece to capture one of Player B’s pieces. Then they Wield a card that refers to the value of the piece they just captured. Player B realizes they had a React card that canceled the card that Player A Deployed. Player B can play the card.

8.4.d Ex., Player A Deploys a card that alters the movement of a piece. They then Move that piece to capture one of Player B’s pieces. Then they Wield a card that refers to the number of pawns left on the board; neither of the pieces were a pawn. Player B realizes they had a React card that canceled the card that Player A Deployed. Player B cannot play the card unless Player A is super chill and Player B doesn’t mind revealing what card they have by asking.

8.4.e There is a rule about playing a react card across turns. You can’t do that. So before starting your turn, make sure you haven’t forgotten to react. If that seems complicated, remember the mnemonic: Act After, React First. It spells AARF! like a dog and is good life advice.

8.5 The event phase is indicated by an E. Unless it says otherwise, this card must be played immediately upon drawing. Some event cards may specify that you keep them in your hand as the event occurs.

8.6 Some cards may indicate multiple phases. These may be played during any of the phases indicated. You can only play them during one the phases indicated. You cannot play the card once per phase indicated unless the text says to. 

8.6.a There may be different effects listed for each phase during which a card could be played. Those effects only apply when the card gets played in the phase they indicate.

B.9 A card's Attunement is a code for what the card affects. They're great for if you have a specific gameplay style in mind but aren't super important. Consider them like your best friend's DNA. It really only comes in handy during specific situations, but when it does come up you're glad its there.

9.1 Divination powers can alter one's own hand or affect the cards in the tome.

9.2 Transmutation powers alter piece identities.

9.3 Accounting powers alter piece value and card price.

9.4 Necromancy cards allow a captured piece to return to the board.

9.5 Catabolemics cards can move, ax, or otherwise frustrate enemy pieces.

9.6 Cunning cards can negate negative effects of other cards and sometimes even reverse captures.

9.7 Blood powers can alter active cards by extending their effect, or they can change the phase of a card.

9.8 Faerie powers aren't really my doing, to be honest. They keep finding their way into this world and if any of them are reading this its actually a super cool thing I'm very happy with everything.

9.9 Chaos powers affect broader-scheme rules like turn order, piece direction, square color or board size, etc. Any of the cracks not filled by any other power finds a home here.

9.10 Sigil powers do not directly cause anything to happen. They mark things like squares or pieces, and when those marks are activated, something happens. Like a land mine.

B.10 Deckbuilding Rules

10.1 The only approved deck right now is pre-built with 60 cards. 29 are blue and 29 are red. These symbolize sub-decks. There are also a couple green cards that, for now, indicate event cards. Once more playtest data arrives, there may be more support for DIY deckbuilding. That being said, here are the general guidelines I’m following right now as I test wacky powers in my Mad Wizard Tower.

10.2 A deck will consist of 60 cards. It will also be called a tome because I’m the one with the LibreOffice Writer document.

10.2.a All 60 cards may be supplied by a single player if the other is an initiate or being uncooperative.

10.2.b If both players supply cards, they must each supply a sub-deck of 30 cards.

10.2.c This sub-deck must follow any current rules of deckbuilding but can otherwise be customized to one’s own liking.

10.2.d It is good foresight to be prepared with a decklist, uniquely-colored card protectors, stickers, or some other way of identifying your own cards lest you risk switching cards on accident or causing an argument.

10.2.e If player A’s sub-deck has less than 30 cards resulting in a main deck of fewer than 60 cards, Player B must bring the total up to 60 with random cards. 

10.2.f If the total of cards is equal to 56 or more, those supplemental cards may be all Event cards instead. 

10.2.g If player B does not have other cards to add to complete the tome, then they must take random cards from their own sub-deck until it is equal to player A’s. 

10.3 “Duplicate” refers to a single card that is the same as another card. It does not refer to the pair of cards. In a set of three identical cards, there are two duplicates. Duplicates refer only to the front of the card. The back design can be different.

10.3.a The number of duplicates one may have changes for each rarity type: 4 for green, 3 for yellow. 2 for orange, and 1 for red. None for blue.

10.4 There are also card limits for Blue and Red card rarities: 5 for blue, three of which may be events, and 6 for red.

C GAME CONCEPTS

C.1 Here are all the materials you will need to play Super Power Chess!

1.1 A chess set.

1.1.a DISCLAIMER: if you choose to play SPC! with a non-standard chess board like tridimentional chess, infinity chess, 3+ player chess, or any other unsupported chess hardware, you risk making the game unplayable. SPC! support extends only to breaking standard chess rules. Keep in mind that unsupported or nontraditional chess hardware may cause additional errors when casting powers, so while not explicitly banned, it is recommended that these setups are left to advanced users.

1.2 A means of marking squares.

1.2.a Some SPC! cards are made to be divided into sections that can be placed on the squares of a chess board. 

1.2.b If you want to use other colors, go for it. Paper may be cut up. You can draw funny things if you want or just use colored paper. Maybe cut it out with those fancy scizors for a little flair. You don’t need to go full-out though. I know times are tough.

1.2.c You could also use checkers or colored plastic/glass or other 3D things as long as they don’t destabilize a piece if it needs to occupy that square.

1.2.d Two same-colored arrow or triangle markers may be placed on the border surrounding the board if A chess set. One must be set on your side indicating file, and one must be set on your right indicating rank. 

1.2.e Traditional algebraic chess notation will never directly be used by SPC! except by observers trying to narrate or record whatever is going on. That means don’t mark a square by writing weird codes on a paper somewhere. Who knows what that could mean.

1.2.f If you wanna be super cool, you could also bring a means of marking how many rounds a card is active for. This could be some tokens that you put on the card then take away; or some dice that you count down with; or any other means of showing off how much stuff you have.

1.3 A tome or sub-deck.

1.3.a Your sub-deck must have 30 cards at the beginning of the game. If you do not have 30 cards, steal some or make some. If neither you nor your enemy has 30 cards and do not want to commit criminal or artistic acts, use the maximum number of cards both you and your enemy can contribute. Some cards may instruct adding cards to the Tome later. That’s fine. It’s not under control but that’s kinda the point. Learn to let go a little.

1.4 Put your pieces on the board.

1.5 That’s all the important stuff! However, some cards may require an element other than those mentioned above. Some non-exhaustive examples include: coins, dice, uniquely-colored chess pieces, playable elements from other games, regular playing cards, volunteer personnel, food, a camera, something to create drawings with. It may also be shrewd to have some extra pieces of your loyalty because there’s a decent change you’re going to need them.

1.6 If you do not intend on playing you don’t have to have any of these things. But I am curious about what you’re doing here. Hi.

C.2 Super Power Chess! Golden Rules

2.1 Everything in this rule chart is the baseline authority over Super Power Chess! games and only over the instances covered in these rules. If you’re playing regular chess or like Go or something, please don’t consider these rules authority. 

2.2 Every rule in this rule chart may change or be contradicted by other rules added in the future. In this case, the most recent version of this chart takes authority. 

2.3 Every rule in this rule chart may be contradicted by the text of a card. In this case, the card takes authority—but only while it is in play, and only over the rules directly contradicted by its text.

2.4 If card A says something can happen and card B says something cannot, card B becomes the ultimate authority for as long as it is active. 

2.4.a It does not matter which was played first.

2.4.b If card A continues to be in play after card B is removed from play, card A’s text becomes authoritative.

2.5 No card can enable a piece to capture a king, nor can a card cause the capture of a king outright. For whatever reason, the king is invincible to these cards. We’re still looking into it.

2.6 If you play a card (or get forced to), and you cannot do what the text says to, too bad. The card remains in play for as long as it says it does, then is discarded. Maybe next time, champ.

2.7 All players will follow what I have deemed the essential rules of chess (See A, “Chess”) in all instances except those specifically altered by SPC! Cards.

2.8 All SPC! cards are written to alter only the rules of international chess. See the DISCLAIMER or (D.6, “Other Formats”) for more.

2.9 If the players have decided to play SPC! with a chess variant, it is their responsibility to know the rules and teach the players who do not.

2.10 If you are supplying the cards, it is your responsibility to make sure the cards you supply can be played by any player unless the text indicates otherwise.

2.11 If you come up with a “house rule,” it holds authority over this rule chart and any card it affects only if your enemy is aware of it and agrees to follow it.

2.12 Commonly misunderstood text does not count as house rules. Until it does, I guess. This says so much about society. Ignorance has more authority over this game than I do. Woof.

C.3 Game Zones.

3.1 The board is your interface with the game. You and your enemy move pieces around on the board and transport pieces from on the board to off it—and sometimes vice versa. The typical board has around 64 positions. Usually, only one piece can occupy a position, and usually a piece can occupy only one position. Not much happens in this game if there is no chess to superpower. The board is a shared zone.

3.2 The tome is the draw pile. It is also a shared zone.

3.3 Your hand is the option of playable cards available to you. Cards you draw from the tome go here. Your hand should not be revealed to the enemy unless tasked to. Unless instructed otherwise, the hand may only have 4 cards in it.

3.4 Your enemy’s hand has the same rules as yours but from the other side.

3.5 Your active card area is where any card goes while in play. If you want to be less “boarders-y” about it, think of it as an action set. When you play a card, set it in front of you. If it lasts for more than one turn, put it out of the way a little. Be organized by keeping all your active cards in the same general area, aka a zone. It’s also polite if your enemy can see them so they know what’s going on.

3.6 Your enemy’s active card area is their attempt at being organized.

3.7 Your graveyard is where your finished cards are discarded.

3.8 Your enemy’s graveyard is where their finished cards are discarded.

3.9 Your bank is where pieces you capture go.

3.10 Your enemy’s bank is where your pieces go when they’re captured. If a card instructs you to fetch a piece, you may pull the piece from here or the dead zone.

3.11 The dead zone is a zone where all spent pieces go. They have no use unless they are fetched to the board or bank. This is a shared zone.

3.12 The table is an indeterminate zone that surrounds and occupies all space not occupied by any of the other zones. Its exterior border is the edge of whatever your board is on. Objects axed to the table are considered “out of the game,” and objects fetched to the table are only considered “in game” insofar as they are likely visible to all players who can see them.

3.13 The environment is an indeterminate zone that surrounds and occupies all space not occupied by any of the other zones. It has no exterior border, only death and taxes. Descriptors like “your” environment may describe something in your possession. Objects axed here can be considered personal property or hidden, objects fetched from here have not been a part of the game yet—possibly ever.

C.4 On the board, there are six zones SCP! considers important.

4.1 Your pawn row

4.2 Your court row

4.3 The middle two rows

4.4 The middle four squares

4.5 Your enemy’s court row

4.6 Your enemy’s pawn row

4.7 If there is a card that affects the orientation of the board, these zones do not move with the board. They stay relative to you and your enemy’s perspectives. 

4.7.a Don’t get smart with me and lean over the table so your “perspective changes the zones.” You know I don't mean it like that. Sit down.

4.7.b The only pieces whose movements may appear affected by a change in board orientation are the pawns. Because their natural movement is defined by traveling toward your final rank, their new movement pattern would be to move forward toward what your new final rank is.

C.5 Action Items

5.1 Play a card. This means moving a card from your hand to your active zone by spending the necessary points to do so, then putting the power into effect.

5.2 Move a piece. This means moving a piece naturally. This includes capturing.

5.3 Draw. This means to bring the count of cards in your hand back up to the limit with cards from the tome.

5.4 Active Sweep. This means to ax finished cards from the active zone.

5.5 Mark. This means to mark something.

5.6 An action chain is when one subject remains the subject of multiple events. So, a bishop does this n that n whatever. An action chain can have multiple subjects, but the chain follows that single subject now. So, a bishop, a rook, and a queen walk into a bar. The queen gets too drunk, is asked to leave, and so she kills the barkeeper. Any part of the action chain would only focus on the queen at that point even if she flees the scene with the bishop and rook.

C.6 Card/Chess Interaction Rules: Applying the Cards to the Game

6.1 When a card says “naturally,” it means according to any pertainent rules as found in this document unaffected by any powers. If there is an active card that changes the rules for that subject, then that affect may apply.

6.2 If an enemy plays a card that allows them to move or teleport one of your pieces, that piece is considered moved, even if you have not yet touched it this game.

6.2.a Ex., if a rook gets teleported along the same rank as your king, you may not castle naturally even if you have not yet touched either of them.

6.3 If a loyal piece gets transformed, it adopts all properties, rules, and active powers of the piece it has been transformed into. If the transformation is temporary, the piece does not need to adopt the physical shape of the piece it has been transformed into if it does not cause too much confusion.

6.3.a Ex., if a knight gets transformed into a rook for one turn and you had not moved that knight yet, you may castle with it naturally provided you have not yet moved your king either.

6.4 If you bring a piece back onto the board, it is not considered moved.

6.4.a Ex., if a card allows you to fetch a rook then move another piece and you have not yet moved your king, your king may castle with the new rook if possible.

C.7 Points

7.1 After capturing a piece and moving it to your bank, its point value becomes immediately available to spend. To spend a piece is to spend that point value. These two things are interchangeble and there is no way to separate the two. 

7.2 To spend a piece on a card, you move the piece to the dead zone and then play the card. The piece you spend may partially cover the cost of that card. In that case you may spend as many pieces it takes until the cost is covered.

7.3 The piece you spend may be more valuable than the price of the card you want to spend. This is where your internal priorities must be considered. There’s no way to get change.

D SUPER POWER CHESS!

D.1 Setup

1.1 Stitch together the tome: shuffle together your sub-deck with your enemy’s.

1.2 Light deals the cards out in an alternating fashion, starting with dark. Light gets four cards, Dark gets five.

1.4.a Dark places one card anywhere in the tome or their graveyard.

1.4.b Light reveals any event cards, puts them into action and does not draw any cards.

1.4.c Dark reveals any event cards, puts them into action and does not draw any cards.

1.2 Place a queen or some token symbolic of one in each bank. This may be spent as a single unit equal to a queen’s worth. No cards can affect this token, so like, mark it somehow.

1.3 Place your court pieces on your court row in any order. Light goes first, then dark.

1.2.a It’s best practice to have one Rook somewhere to either side of the king, and to have one bishop on different square colors, but that’s up to you. You probably know something I don’t.

1.2.b If you want to arrange your court pieces in the way you see on the box, go for it. But you cannot force your enemy to do the same.

1.2.c Once a piece has been placed, it may not be moved again until it is legal to do so.

1.2.d If for some reason you want to do this, you may place one piece (aside from your king) in the bank rather than on the court row.

1.4 Place your pawns on your pawn row in any order.

1.5 Light moves a piece naturally, ending setup and beginning the first round.

D.2 Turn Structure

2.1 Each round is composed of two turns. Light always begins a round and Dark always closes the round.

2.2 Cards that are active for multiple rounds take turn order into account. (Ex., if a card was played during light’s turn and it remains in play for two rounds, it will be removed at the end of light’s next turn.)

D.3 There are six phases during which different action sets apply:

3.1 Active Count. At the beginning of your turn, mark any cards that expire at the end of your turn. (Ex., you played a card whose effect lasts through the next round. You took your turn, your enemy took theirs, now you enter the Active Count phase and note that card.)

3.1.a You can mark a card by rotating it 90° sideways during its last turn if you would like. If there is a counter on the card, there is no need to do this.

3.2 Deploy Phase. After noting expiring cards, enter the Deploy phase, where you may play a card. If you do not play a card, you skip the Deploy phase. 

3.3 Move Phase. After playing a card or skipping the Deploy phase, you MUST move a piece according to its rules OR play a card. This is the only phase that can be entered when there are no cards active or playable. You enter the Move phase by touching the piece you intend to move. The Move phase is concluded once the piece has been moved.

3.4 Wield Phase. After concluding the Move phase, enter the Wield phase, where you may play a card. If you do not play a card, you skip the Wield phase.

3.5 Draw Phase. Draw as many cards as it takes to bring your hand back to the hand limit.

3.6 Active Sweep. Remove any cards that must be removed. Once the cards are in your graveyard, those cards are now out of play and inactive, and your turn is over.

3.7 React Cushions. It is polite to provide a brief cushion of time between action items to allow the enemy to play a react card; but if you don’t, just remember that a react card can be played on any part of an action chain so it’s best not to get too ahead of yourself.

D.4 Ending an SPC! Game

4.1 If a piece is attacking a king, that’s called check. It’s sometimes polite for the player who is instigating the check to announce “check,” but sometimes its offensive so learn the nuances of society. 

4.2 A player whose king is in check may only make a move that will get them out of check. This most often means moving their king out of check, but may also mean moving a piece to block the attack or playing a card that can somehow alter the rules so that they aren’t in check anymore.

4.2.a A king cannot move into or through check.

4.3 If there is no way out of check, that’s called checkmate.

4.4 If it is a player’s turn and there are no moves they can make, that’s called stalemate. Whoever’s turn it is is the winner unless the other player can not move any pieces in this position either. Then it is a tie.

4.5 If there are only kings left on the board, that’s called a tie.

4.5.a If the exact same position of all pieces on the board, cards active and in play, and cards in hand occurs three times in a game, this can also be called a draw but the chances of this happening are so slim that I’m only adding it in here to not be told about it. The chances of this happening will be more likely near the end of a game:

◦ An enemy rook checks the king. This is position A. The king moves out of check and the rook moves to check the king again. This is position B. If the king moves back to its former position and the rook does also, position A has recurred. If position A recurs one more time, a draw may be called. The only way out of this situation is to move the rook, king, or some other piece elsewhere on the board to a square they were not in during positions A or B.

4.5.b If a tie gets called, count the value of all captured pieces of each loyalty, including those in the dead zone. Whichever player has captured the most points wins. 

◦ If that isn’t determinant (aka if there are only kings left on the board,) whoever has the highest total points in their hand. I know that’s super on the nose but if that isn’t determinant somehow, I don’t know what to do about that. Sorry. Come up with something, like, whoever’s card is on the bottom of the tome wins or something. I shouldn’t have to be the one to solve these things for you.

D.5 Variant Rules

5.1 A duel refers to a single-round game established between two players. This is the quickest format.

5.2 A triduel refers to a three-round game established between two players. Once checkmate is found, the pieces are reset but the cards are not. The player who wins two checkmates out of three wins the triduel.

5.3 A tournament refers to a set of duels where several players face off against one another.

5.3.a In a bracket, several games occur at once with each player supplying their sub-decks for that game. Checkmates result in elimination or appearance in a secondary bracket of losers.

5.3.b In a rotation, one continuous game occurs with checkmate resulting in elimination. After elimination, the cards and pieces may be reset.

5.3.c Each player may play from their own sub-deck of 30 cards, contribute evenly to a tournament deck, or play from a deck specifically created for the tournament.

D.6 Other Formats

6.1 Those listed in this rule chart (D.5, “Variant Rules”) are the only formats supported by SPC! rules but no formats are to be outright banned. As long as all players involved know that they may run into some text that will have to be “interpreted,” all formats are encouraged and it is especially encouraged to try or invent new ones. In writing the cards I have tried to predict a couple variants (especially ones that feature multiple enemies) but i’m just a girl. Here is some information that may help ease the implementation of non-supported formats:

6.2 The number 60 has 12 factors.

6.3 Some SPC! cards may create features or cause permanent effects that closely resemble other specific variants of chess.

6.4 There may be instances where a card, text, or number seems to correspond to the dimensions or shape of a regular 8x8 chess board. 

6.4.a This could non-exhaustively appear as a reference to “the other side of the board,” a board or square’s “corners,” a “right angle,” following “straight lines,” referencing a side of “all 8 squares,” a “3x3 grid” around a central square, etc..

6.5 Some cards may appear to target one enemy or many enemies depending on how you read it; something that would never be ambiguous if you just stuck to traditional chess.

6.6 Unless adding the pieces themselves, cards will never be written for nontraditional chess pieces because they don’t exist in traditional chess. Some cards, however, appear to exclude specific chess pieces while referring to several others; or refer to several types of chess pieces with a certain similarity in movement patterns. Also, you’re pretty spoiled getting to use that weird DLC piece anyway so why are you complaining it doesn't get cool cards like the normal ones? Make some yourself if it's such a big deal. As long as everyone else is cool with it. Also one should turn it into a pawn just to be real smug.

D.7 Vibe Notes

7.1 SPC! is a stupid game about wizards cheating at chess. It is a multimaterialistic parody of chess, trading card games, fantasy fiction, itself, and its creator. You must get into the SPC! Mindset.

7.1.a Make fun of the game

7.1.b Make fun of yourself

7.1.c Make fun of your enemy

7.1.d Be genuine

7.1.e Deez Nuts

◦ Whatever.

▪ Just 

• Do Not

◦ Care so much

:3 That it kills the whole vibe.

7.2 The rules are just here to make decisions easier. The absence of a rule does not mean there isn’t meant to be one. If there’s something that comes up that the rules do not cover, please let me know! I wont insult you like I do in the rules, I promise. I just get a little power-happy sometimes. In the meantime, work it out between yourselves.

7.2.a If that means overriding any of the rules listed above or coming to some type of creative compromise, so be it. Reach out and be compassionate with strangers.

◦ If they like one of your cards, give it to them, especially the less common it is.

◦ If someone has a favorite card, you should steal it and feed it to the wildlife.

7.3 This is a living document, and those cards are cancerous extensions of it. They can make you laugh or roll your eyes, they can make you win at chess in a really dumb way, they can burn so you can warm yourself when you’re cold even if momentarily.

7.3.a They should only ever be worth their weight in kindling.

7.3.b Every card you play is another log on the pile to be transformed into ash. They should only be seen as that. 

7.3.c The best card ever would be a sublimation into heat and light with beautiful delicate, dark curled edges as the only thing to rest sentiment on. Everything can burn.

7.3.d Sorry.

7.3.e Got a little intense there. 

7.3.f Have fun.