Shadow Chess strategy: pick your general, win material and checkmate fast for the bonus
How the battle chess cabinet works: the four dark elf generals and their styles, the five levels, scoring, hints, battles and the habits that win more games.
PLAY A FREE ROUND ↗Choose a foe that fits
Vorrak the Storm attacks from the first move and points everything at your king. Sylvara the Blade is clean and central and leaves little loose. Mordek the Coil plays slowly, keeps the bishops and squeezes. Kaelen the Endless trades down and grinds endgames. Each plays its own opening lines, then thinks for itself.
Levels and points
The level multiplies everything: a Squire game pays ×1 and a Grandmaster game ×5. Squire looks a move or two ahead and sometimes slips; Grandmaster searches deeply and does not. Climb one level at a time: a draw against a stronger general is often worth more than a win against a weak one.
Take what is offered, but check first
Red rings show the pieces you can take. Before you capture, look at what can take back: a footman that wins a knight is good; a sorceress traded for a footman is not. Captures score as they happen, so even a lost game keeps its points.
Castle early and keep your king covered
Vorrak and Sylvara hunt the king. Castle in the first ten moves, keep the footmen in front of your king, and do not chase a far-off footman while the enemy pieces gather.
Checkmate quickly for the bonus
Checkmate pays 5,000 plus 50 for every move under 80, all multiplied by the level. With a big material lead, stop collecting and finish: bring the bastions and the queen together and push the Dread Lord to the edge.
Battles, hints and promotion
Every capture opens a duel; tap to skip it, or switch to Quick fights. Hint shows a strong move and costs 150 × the level. A footman reaching the far rank is promoted, and you choose the piece: almost always the queen.
Controls, ranked play and score verification · See the high scores
TRY IT IN THE GAME ↗