Turf Wars

Objective

The goal of the game is to score as many goals as possible against your opponent. Combining the strategy of soccer with the principles of chess, players must navigate a traditional chessboard to score a goal, instead of checkmating their opponent.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Turf Wars combines soccer rules with chess strategy. The game consists of two halves, similar to a soccer match, with each player using a different color of chess pieces during each half. Each half lasts ten minutes, but the duration can be adjusted as long as a time limit is maintained. A timer or chess clock can be used to track the time. When a goal is scored, the board is reset to the starting position, and play resumes.

At the end of both halves, the player who scores the most goals wins. If no goals are scored, or if both players score the same number of goals, the game ends in a draw.

How to Play

To set up a game of Turf Wars, begin by placing the goals on squares D1/E1 and D8/E8, ensuring they are opposite each other. Next, the player who starts with the black chess pieces chooses the starting square for the soccer ball token. The available options are D4, E4, D5, and E5. The player with the white chess pieces will go first.

Unlike traditional chess, Turf Wars does not use any pawn pieces. For the layout, please refer to the photo below.

The player with the white chess pieces moves first. Each turn consists of one move and one pass or shot. The player must move their chess piece before passing or shooting the ball. However, the player can choose to skip moving the chess piece and instead only pass or shoot the ball. Similarly, passing or shooting the ball is optional on each turn.

With all available moves shown in green, the knight on D4 chooses to move to F3. Once the knight reaches F3, it is still allowed to make one pass, as indicated by the available blue squares. Take note of the red square on E1—players are not allowed to pass the ball into their own goal.

Each chess piece must move, shoot, and pass according to the traditional chess rules for its movement. For details on how each piece moves, please refer to the section on Chess Pieces.

For a goal to be scored, the square where the ball lands must be empty. The player shooting the ball can either capture a piece in its path toward the goal or move to an open file for a clear shot at an unprotected goal.

Rules

Chess pieces can capture opponent pieces with or without the ball
Chess pieces are not allowed to pass the ball to the opposing player.
Chess pieces can pass across the goal but cannot pass to a piece on the goal.
If a pass is made into your own goal area, it will result in a goal for the opposing player.
A pass can be made to any teammate or open square.
You can only pass or shoot with the same chess piece you moved.
You cannot move a chess piece after a pass or shot has been made.
You are allowed to shoot or pass the ball once you've captured an opponent's piece.
You are allowed to shoot or pass the ball once you've landed on the ball for the first time or captured an opponent's piece

Chess Pieces