Hidden piece chess: Masquerade

Chess with the faces turned away. You know your own pieces, and you learn theirs only from how they move and from what a capture turns over. Put your king where nobody will think to look.

Play it now, freeAgainst a bot or online with friends. No download, no account.

How it plays

1. Hidden faces. Their pieces are face-down cards. Each still moves as its face.
2. Take the king. No check. Capture their king to win.
3. Set your masks. Before move one, tap two of yours to swap them.

The details

Mark them

Watch how theirs move and tap one to mark a guess. Only you see your marks.

Ready

Swap as often as you like, then Ready. Put the king where they will not look. Theirs are dealt at random over their first two ranks.

Reveals

A capture turns the card over.

Three ways

Fixed: the faces stay put. Swaps: a turn may shuffle two of yours instead of a move, for real or a feint, and they cannot tell which. Shuffle: every eighth ply the house shuffles two a side, and a coin says if they trade.

Whose idea

Hidden-identity chess is Bardelo Bardalini’s idea (Instagram @bardelo_bardalini).

Like this? Try these

• Secret King chessYour king hides among your pawns.
• Impostor chessOne of their pieces secretly works for you.
• Team chess with a traitor: The TraitorTeam chess. One player is secretly the Traitor.