Think like a chess player. React like a defender.
The chess rules tell you where a piece can move. Gambit Guard turns that movement into a tactical strike and a new maze shape.
One command, three taps
1. Select
Tap a living chess piece. Its legal destinations appear on the board. Tap the selected piece again to cancel without spending a Command.
2. Preview
Tap a legal destination once. Red markers show the confirmed damage footprint, exact victims, predicted knockouts, and secondary effect.
3. Confirm
Tap that destination again to spend one Command and execute the move. The piece then enters its 30-second cooldown.
Your army
Chess movement is the combat system
Pawns advance straight without attacking, capture one square diagonally forward onto a creep, and promote to a Queen at the opposite edge.
Knights, Bishops, Rooks, Queens, and the King strike by completing legal moves. Damage is strongest at the destination, softer beside it, and lightest along the path. Moving also changes which routes remain open.
Need a quick piece or enemy lookup?
The illustrated Field Guide keeps every movement rule, secondary effect, objective, and siege behavior in two focused pages.
The pressure you manage
Commands
One global Command charge regenerates every 10 seconds, and you can bank up to three. A legal move still waits if you have no charge.
Piece cooldowns
Every moved piece must wait 30 seconds before moving again. The stopwatch over the piece shows the remaining whole seconds.
Two creep goals
King Hunters pursue the King. Pilgrims cross the Power Edge, transform, and return empowered toward the King.
Siege fallback
If the direct objective route is sealed, creeps find a reachable defender, attack through it, and resume their primary route after a breach opens.
Between waves
Choose one permanent Gambit
At key moments, choose Power, Range, or Fortify. The upgrade lasts for the rest of that assault, so each choice changes how you solve the remaining waves.
Clear all nine waves and defeat the Checkmate Golem to win. If the King falls, the assault is over.
Quick rules questions
Do pieces attack automatically?
No. Chess pieces deal damage only when you spend a Command on a legal movement attack.
Can I completely block the creeps?
You can seal a direct route, but blocked creeps switch to siege behavior and attack a reachable defender until a route opens.
Does a Pawn damage straight ahead?
No. Pawns move straight without attacking and capture only one square diagonally forward onto a creep.
How long is a full assault?
Nine one-minute wave clocks create nine minutes of scheduled pressure. Most accepted clears should finish in roughly 9–15 minutes plus Gambit choice time.