The Playing Field

Laser Chess is played on a 9 by 9 board. The Red and Green players start on opposite sides of the board with the Red player making the first move.

Game Play and Turns

In Laser Chess, players taker turns playing and may make up to two moves per turn. Each of the following counts as one turn:

- Moving a piece one square up, down, left, or right. You can move pieces diagonally if their path is not blocked and if you have the two turns necessary to make such a move.
- Firing the Laser piece. You can fire the laser only once per turn.
- Rotating a piece. If a piece is rotate-able, you can rotate it in 90 degree angles.

You can use your turns to capture other pieces by stomping over them; when using the King or a Block. You can teleport pieces by stepping into their square with the Hypercube. You can rotate the Laser or mirrored pieces to position them for offensive or defensive plays. Or you can fire the Laser, attempting to vaporize enemy pieces.

In order to play the game effectively, you should study and practice with each piece.

The Pieces

		The King is the most important piece in the game. When the king is eliminated, the other player wins the game. Since it has no reflective surfaces, it can be destroyed by a laser beam from any angle. It can also be captured by an opposing piece. It is not totally defenseless however. It can capture any opposing piece by moving onto its square. But it can capture only once per turn.
		The Laser is the second most important piece in the game and serves as your primary offensive weapon. To use it, rotate it in the direction you want and fire. Like all rotate-able pieces in the game, it can be rotated in 90 degree turns. Since the laser has no reflective surfaces and it can not capture opposing pieces, the laser is the most defenseless item you have. You should protect your laser well since it is essential in a winning game.
		The Hypercube is a very unique piece. To the laser beam, it is transparent. When attacked, it can be captures like any other piece. And should you use it on other pieces, it will teleport them to a random location, rotated in a random direction. This can make you very lucky just as easily as it can cost you the teleported piece. The hypercube can teleport only once per turn.
		The Beam Splitter is the only piece in the game that can create (by splitting) laser beams. When a laser beam hits the splitter at its vertex (the point joining the mirrors) the beam will split in both directions. When struck at 90 degree angles to the piece, the beam will be rotate 90 degrees and exit through the vertex. The back side of the beam splitter is exposed and it can be destroyed if struck there.
		The Block is both an offensive and defensive piece. Like the king, a block can capture any opposing piece by moving onto that piece's square. And with mirror protection on one side, blocks can be used to bounce back laser beams fired at them. A block can capture only once per turn.
		The Straight Mirror and the Diagonal Mirror are both immune to laser beams. They can be used to reflect beams back to their source when fired straight on or to to reflect the beam in 90 degree angle.
		The Triangular Mirror is similar to the diagonal mirror with one exception: It has one side which is useful and one side (the triangle side) which can be destroyed by laser beams.
		The Hyper Hole does not belong to any player. It resided in the middle of the board and effects both laser beams and player game pieces. When a laser beam enters a hyper hole, it is absorbed, making a natural shield out of it. When stepped on, it will act just as a hypercube would, teleporting the piece to a random location, facing in a random direction.

Game Strategy

If you are new to Laser Chess and would like to learn the game, we have the following suggestions:

- If you know a Laser Chess player, ask them to show you the game. Nothing beats this!

- Read the piece information above and start two Laser Chess games. This way, you can play as both Red and Green and you can experiment with how the pieces work. Then, find someone who is also new to Laser Chess and try to learn the game together. It is not that hard and most people love it once they play it. This is why this 14 year old game is still so popular! However, it may be better to start with Advanced Laser Chess if you are choosing between the two games.