Paranormal Chess

For your entertainment and leisure variety.

Paranormal Chess
A chess variant where reality is fragile, and every move invokes a supernatural anomaly.

Before each move, a player rolls a six-sided die (d6). The result triggers a unique, game-warping anomaly that alters the board state. After resolving the anomaly, the player must then make a standard chess move. Victory is achieved not by checkmate, but by the literal capture of the opponent's king.

Differences from Classic Chess
No Check & No Checkmate: The king is a piece like any other. You must capture it to win.
No Castling
No En Passant
Pawn Promotion: Pawns can only promote to a Queen.
Kings can capture kings.

The Anomalies (Die Faces)

1 - Pawn's Curse
The opponent's pawns retreat 1 square backward (cannot retreat below their starting rank). Your pawns advance 1 square forward. Pawns do not move if their path is blocked.

2 - Call of Darkness (Knight)
Swap the positions of your Knights and Bishops. If one type is missing, the missing piece is summoned onto the square your opponent last moved from. If both are missing, a Knight is summoned.

3 - Call of Darkness (Bishop)
Swap the positions of your Bishops and Rooks. If one type is missing, the missing piece is summoned onto the square your opponent last moved from. If both are missing, a Bishop is summoned.

4 - Call of Darkness (Rook)
Swap the positions of your Rooks and Knights. If one type is missing, the missing piece is summoned onto the square your opponent last moved from. If both are missing, a Rook is summoned.

5 - Phantom
One of your long-range pieces (Bishop, Rook, or Queen) may pass through any pieces (friend or foe) this move but cannot capture. It must end its move on an empty square. This effect is optional.

6 - King's Shadow
Your king casts a deadly shadow in the exact compass direction (., North, Northeast) of your opponent's last move. The shadow is an infinite ray originating from your king's square. You choose one enemy piece (including their king) on that ray to be instantly captured and removed from the game. If the opponent's last move was a knight's move, the shadow is not cast.

Sequence of Play
1 - Roll the Die: The player whose turn it is rolls the d6.
2 - Resolve the Anomaly: Apply the effect of the rolled face immediately.
3 - Make a Move: The player must make one legal chess move with any piece of their choice, adhering to all standard rules (except those modified above).
4 - End Turn: The turn passes to the opponent, who repeats this sequence.

Clarifications & Philosophy
Anomalies affect the board only for the current turn.
The summoned pieces from "Call of Darkness" cannot exceed the standard number of pieces (., you cannot have a third rook).
This is not a game of memorized openings. It is a game of adaptation, tactical improvisation, and controlling chaos. The die doesn't limit your choices - it creates new, dynamic puzzles to solve each turn.
Paranormal Chess replaces the static battlefield of classic chess with a living, unpredictable realm where supernatural forces constantly reshape the conflict. It challenges not just your calculation, but your creativity and ability to turn chaos into victory.

Example & Discussion on the BGG chess forum (boardgamegeek).

In relentless pursuit of new ideas,
Vadrya Pokshtya

That sounds cool, I want to learn it.

Call of Darkness (Knight) - Face 2The player swaps the positions of their knights and bishops. If there are more knights than bishops, or vice versa, one piece of each type is swapped at the player's choice.

This anomaly is not always associated with swapping pieces. If it is impossible to swap pieces:
- If one type of piece is missing for the swap (for example, there is a knight but no bishops on the board), the missing type of piece is placed on the square from which the opponent has just moved.
- If both types of pieces to be swapped are missing, a knight is placed on the square from which the opponent has just moved.

After all movements or piece placement, the player must make a regular move with one of their pieces.

Examples of the "Call of Darkness (Knight)" Anomaly

Start of the Game

White rolls a 2.

They swap the positions of their knights and bishops, after which they play, for example, c2-c4:

Next Example

White rolls a 2 and must swap their only knight with one of their two bishops. They choose the bishop on c7 and swap this pair:

After which they play Nc7xe8, winning the game.

Next Example

Black has just played Kd7-e8:

White rolls a 2 and must swap their knight for a bishop, but there are no white bishops on the board. This means a white bishop is returned from the void and placed on the square from which Black just moved:

Now White plays Bd7xe8 and wins the game.

The same principle applies to the next position:

Black has just played Kd7-e8:

White rolls a 2 and must swap their knight for a bishop, but they have no knight. The Call of Darkness summons it from the abyss and places it on the square from which Black just moved:

Now White can make a standard chess move.

It may happen that when this anomaly is activated, the player has neither knights nor bishops. In this case, a knight appears on the vacated square after the opponent's move.

For example,

Black has just played Qc7-c1:

White rolls a 2 and places their knight on the c7 square:

And then wins the game with Nc7xd5.

Call of Darkness (Bishop) and Call of Darkness (Rook) are similar to the anomaly represented by Face 2, with the only difference being that other chess units are involved in the swapping and appearance process.

If you want, we can try playing here on the forum. On rolldicewithfriends dot com I can create a room where dice rolls will be saved. I can post the result of the dice roll after each move.