Gambit

Gambit is a chess-inspired roguelite: Chess Puzzles meets Balatro meets Super Punch-Out. Players will traverse a set of randomly-generated chess puzzles, gaining Elo, fighting against the clock, and spending their time and Elo on premoves and upgrades to their repertoire to prepare for the various boss battles where AI opponents, their pieces, or the boards they play on may have special abilities.

The game is set in surreal, dreamlike New York City park where chess is the ultimate test of skill and strategy.

Features

• Custom Chess Engine: Each opponent, piece, and board can have unique abilities that add new layers of strategy to the classic game of chess. This requires a custom chess engine that can adapt to these new mechanics while still providing a challenging and engaging experience for players.
• New Pieces & Abilities: Some pieces, like the Rogue, can use their Dash ability to move two squares once on any turn - not just their first move like a Pawn - and reset their ability instead of promoting when they reach the other edge of the board. Other pieces, like the Checker, can only move diagonally but can capture pieces by jumping over them and promote to a second King when they reach the other edge of the board, adding a new layer of complexity to Checkmate.
• Race Against the Clock: Players will need to think quickly and make strategic decisions under pressure as they fight against the ever-present and fast-paced chess clock with controls for Standard, Rapid, Bullet, Blitz, and Lightning settings while solving puzzles and facing off against opponents. Captures, solving puzzles, and checkmates will add time back to the clock, but failed puzzles and blunders will cost players precious seconds. Premoves are a limited, but rechargeable, resource that can be used to save time, but they can also lead to blunders if not used carefully.