Classic
Standard chess rules
Starts from the standard chess position. All orthodox rules apply — turns, check, checkmate, and stalemate work exactly as in regular chess.
Standard position
No custom pieces
What to expect
- You can always play standard chess if you want a familiar start.
- Expanded games are still easy to read because army building follows a small set of clear rules.
- The fun comes from unusual piece combinations, private setup, and new tactical patterns.
Turns, check, checkmate, stalemate, and repetition work the same way as in normal chess. A side counts as classic only if its starting formation exactly matches standard chess for that colour — everything else is the expanded game.
A few new pieces change the whole game
The expanded game introduces hybrid pieces that combine knight movement with major-piece patterns, so simple rules create very different threats and plans. Pick a piece and see everything it can reach from e5.
Maharajah
Maharajah combines queen + knight movement.
- Queen moves
- Knight leaps
Each compound piece captures exactly the way it moves, and costs what its two halves are worth: Archbishop 6, Chancellor 8, Maharajah 13 — out of the 39 points an army has to spend. Three puzzles on this site exist only to show what the knight half adds: take it away and the mate disappears.
Castling on the first rank
Select the king, then choose the rook's square. That single move triggers castling and the app moves both pieces. Castling is a classic-side privilege: a side may castle only if it started from the orthodox position, so a side that built its own army never castles.
Custom Setup stays simple by using fixed limits
Army building is flexible, but the rules stay readable: a 39-point budget, fixed king squares, ranks filled from home outward, and a legal starting position. Step through what the app checks.
Budget
ℹ 39-point budget
White
19/39
Launch validation
- Both sides must spend exactly 39 points.
- The side to move cannot start in check and must have at least one legal move.
- A side's own half holds 32 squares and the king always occupies one, so no army can hold more than 31 pieces.
In an expanded army pawns can start on any rank, so the two-square move belongs to the pawn, not to the rank: each pawn gets it exactly once, on its first move, from wherever it started the game.
Start with classic play, then move to the expanded game
The game separates classic chess from expanded play so you can first understand the controls, then move into the experimental format when you are ready.
Expanded
Custom army · compound pieces
Build your own army in Custom Setup with a 39-point budget. Deploy compound pieces — Maharajah, Archbishop, and Chancellor — that combine the powers of two classic pieces.
39-point budget
Maharajah
Archbishop
Chancellor
Local network
Two devices · hidden setup
Each player builds their army privately on their own device. Neither side sees the opponent's setup. The full board is revealed only after both players lock in — then the match begins.
Two devices
Hidden setup
Revealed at start
Online
Over the internet · room code
Play a friend anywhere over the internet. One player creates a private room and shares a short room code; the other joins with it. The Maharajah server validates every move and keeps both boards in sync, recovering automatically if a connection drops.
Play anywhere
Room code
Server-synced
A path through it
- Start with 1 Player to learn the controls and see how the experimental pieces move.
- Try Custom Setup when you want to build your own 39-point army.
- Use Local Network hidden setup when both players want to prepare privately before the board is revealed.
- Choose Online Play to face a friend over the internet.
Online and LAN matches
Online play connects two devices over the internet. One player creates a private room and shares the room code; the other joins with that code, then both build their hidden armies and lock in to start. The devices never talk to each other directly — each one only has to reach the Maharajah server.
- The host taps New Game to create a private room and gets a short room code to share.
- The guest taps Join with Code, enters the room code, and lands in the same lobby.
- Both players set up their 39-point army in private and lock in — the match starts automatically.
Local network: before you start
- Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi or local network.
- Turn off VPN, Private Relay, hotspot isolation, and guest-network isolation.
- Allow Maharajah through firewall prompts and Local Network permission prompts.
Clocks, pauses and disconnects
In timed online matches the server clock is the only referee — connection state never decides a result, only time does. Each player has one pause per game, up to 60 seconds, and it doubles as a disconnect shield: if you drop while your clock is running and your pause is unspent, the match pauses for you automatically, once. After that the clock keeps running without you. A game where the first move was never made is cancelled without a result.
If a connection drops mid-match the app keeps trying to restore the link. Give it a few moments before leaving — only if it still fails should you return to the main menu.