T3rminator® Chess
A game on zen2play
Your opponent's moves decide what your robot becomes.
Chess with one extra piece for each player: the T3rminator. It has no move of its own. It inherits the last knight, bishop or rook your opponent moved. No opening books, no engine databases. No opening prep, just play.
What your T3rminator becomes
Pick what your T3rminator is now, then your opponent's move. The picture shows what your T3rminator becomes.
Bishops of either colour give the same power. Castling moves a rook, so it gives a rook. A move by your opponent's T3rminator never changes yours. Online the game swaps the picture for you.
See it on the board
Five moments from real positions. The line under each board is what the game tells you.
Getting in
White put its T3rminator on e0 before the first move. Black has just played …Bc5, a bishop move, so White's T3rminator is now a bishop. f1 is empty, because White's own bishop left it, and it lies on the T3rminator's diagonal from e0. It can enter the board.
Don't hand your opponent a weapon
Black's T3rminator is a rook on a5. If White moves the bishop, that T3rminator becomes a bishop, and a5 to e1 is an open diagonal: White's own king would be in check. So the bishop can't move, except to d2, where it blocks. The knight can move: it would only make a knight.
Change it to escape
Black's T3rminator, a rook on e5, gives check down the e-file. White can move the king, or use the rule: Nh3 is a knight move, so Black's T3rminator becomes a knight, and a knight on e5 does not attack e1. The check is gone.
Castling has a price
White castles. A rook moved, so Black's T3rminator, a bishop until now, becomes a rook. Castling is still good chess, but every move you make also shapes your opponent's T3rminator.
A mate only the T3rminator makes
White plays Rc8+. In ordinary chess Black blocks with the bishop on d8 or f8. Here, moving a bishop turns White's T3rminator on b2 into a bishop, and the long diagonal to h8 is open. Every defence is illegal: checkmate.
can move therecan't move in checkthe T3rminator's line
Rules at a glance
Everything else is ordinary chess.
Where does the T3rminator start?
On its home square, just outside the board: White on d0, Black on e9. Before your first move you may switch it to the other home square (White e0, Black d9).
What gives it a move?
Your opponent. When your opponent moves a knight, bishop or rook, your T3rminator takes that power and keeps it until your opponent moves a different one. Castling counts as a rook move. Queen, pawn and king moves change nothing.
How does it get onto the board?
It moves with its power onto an empty square it can reach from home. At home it attacks nothing and can't be captured. Once it enters, its home squares disappear.
Is there a deadline to bring it in?
Yes: it must be on the board by the end of your 15th move, or it is removed from the game. A red badge counts your moves down: "T3rminator to board: only 12 moves available".
Can it be captured?
Yes, once it's on the board, like any other piece. A captured T3rminator is gone for the rest of the game.
What is the one rule to remember?
You can't make a move that would turn your opponent's T3rminator into a piece attacking your king, just as you can't move a pinned piece. The same rule lets you escape a check by changing its power.
How do I see its power?
A blinking purple dot on the piece: a knight, bishop or rook with a dot is a T3rminator. With no power yet, it's the robot.
Time, rating and draws?
5, 10, 15, 30 or 60 minutes each (15 by default) with no limit per move: your clock is your only limit, the whole hour in a 60-minute game. Rated from 1000, like Lucky Moves. Standard chess draws; a position only repeats if the T3rminators' powers match too.
No one free to play?
Play Zen, our computer player, at Calm or Master. Zen plays by exactly the same rules, is always clearly labelled, and games against Zen are not rated.
Can a pawn promote to a T3rminator?
No. Promotion works as in ordinary chess.
Your robot is waiting
Sign in and play your first game of T3rminator Chess in under a minute.