THE FIELD MANUAL
Learn to command.
Three moves per turn. A 42-piece army. Start with your turn, then discover what each piece can do.
Command 42 pieces on a 14 × 10 battlefield. Checkmate or capture the opposing King to win.
Take your turn
Dragon moves first. In Normal Mode, make all three moves whenever legal moves are available, normally with three different pieces. Click a piece to see legal destinations. A capture ends that piece’s move. The third move ends your turn automatically. If no legal moves remain earlier, play passes automatically to the other army. You cannot pass while a legal move is available.
Protect your King
You have until the end of your turn to resolve check. You may move other pieces first. Your final move must leave the King safe, whether that means moving the King, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacking piece. The King itself cannot move into or through check. Pivot pieces only give check along a direct, unbent line. In Normal Mode, the defender gets a full turn to answer check. If no sequence of legal moves can leave the King safe by the end of that turn, or the turn is used without resolving check, the battle ends in checkmate. The final board remains visible.
Your army
One square in any direction. Your King must stay safe throughout every move.
Move as an Archbishop (AB) or Royal Rook (RR), with one optional pivot. Use one style for the entire move; never combine them.
Jump exactly two squares in any direction, or swap with a friendly Squire. After swapping, the Prince may jump once more.
Move up to four clear squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. No pivot.
Move any number of clear squares horizontally or vertically.
Move like a Rook with one optional 90° pivot. Cannot jump or continue after a capture.
Jump in an L: two squares one way and one square across. Intervening pieces do not matter.
Move any number of clear diagonal squares.
Move like a Bishop with one optional 90° diagonal pivot. Always stays on the same square color.
Move one or two clear squares forward or backward. Capture one square diagonally forward. Does not promote.
Move one square forward. Capture one square diagonally forward. Reach the far back row to restore a lost battle piece or Queen.
Draws and forfeits
A battle is drawn when the army whose turn is starting has no legal action and its King is not in check, or when only the two Kings remain. A King with no safe move is not a draw if another piece can act. Check is still resolved using the full-turn rules above. Forfeit ends the battle immediately and awards the opponent the win.
The Prince’s swap
Select your Prince and click a highlighted friendly Squire to exchange their positions. The swap costs one move; the Prince may then use another move to jump or capture. The Squire can have moved before the swap, but cannot move after it. The Prince cannot swap from the opponent’s back row.
Ransom comes first
A captured Prince or Princess returns at the start of its owner’s next turn. Sacrifice a friendly Pawn, Squire, or battle piece and place the royal on that square. Each return costs a move. Returned royals cannot move that turn, but their attacks apply immediately. The King, Queen, Prince, and Princess cannot be sacrificed. With no eligible sacrifice, the captured royal stays out of play.
Promotion restores a lost piece
A Squire that reaches the far back row through its own movement may restore an off-board Rook, Royal Rook, Knight, Bishop, Archbishop, or Queen. You cannot duplicate a piece that is still in play. Ransom sacrifices can be restored later.
Game modes
Normal: three moves if able and a check warning. The Long Game: one move per turn. Sniper: three moves if able, with an exposed King capturable without a warning, including by a pivot route. Direct king-safety rules still apply.
Draft-rule interpretations used here
The supplied draft leaves a few interactions open. In The Long Game, two pending ransoms return over successive turns, one per turn. If no promotion target is available when a Squire reaches the back row, it remains a Squire. Check may remain while resolving mandatory ransoms, but must be resolved by the end of the turn. Normal King captures require a direct attack. Sniper uses the core rules with its check-warning exception; the draft does not supply a separate full Sniper section. Castling and en passant are not included.