Dark Chess

Tall Troll Games · Hawthorn Games

Released: Feb 28, 2023
Platforms
Last updated: 14 Sep 2026, 08:36 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

16 May 2025Developer post
A Milestone Achieved
Greetings Dark Chess players! Today we’re releasing what is going to be our final major update for Dark Chess. A game that started as a dream and became our first Steam release. We spent a few years developing it, learning a lot along the way, and thanks to your feedback we made
26 Apr 2024Developer post
Dark Chess - Eastern Game Fest!
Dear Dark Chessians, We are honored to participate in this year's Eastern Game Fest hosted by Steam China. Dark Chess is a unique twist on chess that introduces fog of war mechanics which shrouds the enemy army in mystery. The enhanced game rules will bring joy and thrill to ches
07 Feb 2024Developer post
Dark Chess -- Lunar New Year Sale
Hello everyone！ Dark Chess is now participating in the Lunar New Year Sale 2024 with a 40% discount. The discount will run from February 12th to February 19th. Hope you can enjoy our game!
24 Dec 2023Developer post
Merry Christmas and a Troll-Tastic New Year!
Tall Troll Games wishes you a Christmas so Tall, it'll make you shout, "Ho ho ho!" and dance like a troll in a boot. May your upcoming year be trolltastic, full of laughter and green-leafy delights. Merry Christmas and a troll-tastic New Year from our greenskin team! This credits
19 Dec 2023Developer post
Winter Wonderland Update
Greetings, fellow travelers. We've been actively listening to your feedback over the past few months, and we're excited to announce a significant game update! This update focuses on enhancing your gaming experience by addressing bug fixes, fine-tuning game balance, and resolving
08 Sep 2023Developer post
🎉 THANK YOU FOR 100 REVIEWS ON STEAM! 🎉
Hello Dark Chess community! 🙌 Last week we hit a significant milestone for our journey together - 100 official reviews on Steam! 💯 We are beyond grateful to have such a vibrant and dedicated community that takes the time to share their feedback. We're thrilled to share that an
11 Jul 2023Developer post
100% Achievements unlocked!
Hey Dark Chess players, We have some thrilling news to share with you all! One of our dedicated players has achieved something truly extraordinary in the game: they have unlocked every single achievement in Dark Chess! 🎉🏆 Serge, your achievement has sparked a wave of excitement
16 Jun 2023Developer post
Apples and Penguins update
Greetings, Dark Chess players! We are thrilled to announce an exciting update that brings a host of new features and improvements to enhance your gaming experience. Let's dive right in: 🍎🐧 Mac and Linux Versions: We heard you, and we're delighted to unveil the highly anticipate
17 May 2023Developer post
🎉 Mid-may update: Fixes, updates and Enhancements 🎉
Dear Dark Chess Players, We're excited to announce our latest update to Dark Chess, which arrived yesterday, May 16th, 2023. Our team has been diligently working to enhance your gaming experience and address your feedback, and we're eager to share the new features, fixes, and imp
04 May 2023Developer post
May the 4th be with you!
Dear Dark Chess Community, We are thrilled to announce another major update for Dark Chess, which has come a long way since its release just two months ago. Our dedicated team has been working tirelessly to enhance your gaming experience, and today, we are excited to share a host
23 Apr 2023Developer post
Best Estonian Game at GDWC 2022
This year the GDWC 2022 Awards Show was taken to Estonia, with the help and support of our friends from Gamedev Estonia. To honor the hosting country of Estonia and celebrate the great local game development scene, GDWC decided to add one more last-minute Award category to the Ga
12 Apr 2023Developer post
Dark Chess @ Eastern Game Fest!
Dear Dark Chessians, We are honored to participate in the Eastern Game Fest hosted by Steam China team! Dark Chess is a unique twist on chess that introduces fog of war mechanics which shrouds the enemy army in mystery. The enhanced game rules will bring joy and thrill to chess-l
28 Mar 2023Developer post
King's Gambit Bundle
We are happy to unveil our latest offering - the King's Gambit Bundle! This bundle features four exciting chess-like games that are guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. All games use chess as a foundation for snappy, turn-based, tactical and strategical gameplay, and
24 Mar 2023Developer post
Il Vaticano Update
Greetings, Dark Chessians! We're excited to announce the latest update for the game, packed with new features and improvements to enhance your gameplay experience. With this build, we've fixed several bugs that were reported by our community, ensuring that the game runs smoothly
Greetings, Dark Chessians!
We're excited to announce the latest update for the game, packed with new features and improvements to enhance your gameplay experience.

With this build, we've fixed several bugs that were reported by our community, ensuring that the game runs smoothly and without issue.
Additionally, we've added the ability to choose which side to play for in solo mode, giving you more control over your strategy and allowing for more replayability.
We've also added cloud saves on Steam, making it easier to access your saved games across multiple devices.
Hints for Campaign levels have been added as well, providing helpful tips and guidance to aid you on your chess adventure.
Visually, Dark Chess has been updated to give the game a fresh new look, bringing an even more immersive chess experience to your screen.
We've also made balance fixes for Campaign opponents, as the Chess gods have been especially harsh on Juana and Vlad.
And finally, we have to address the elephant in the room - our team members were taken as hostages by Anarchy Chess, which led us to make an emergency visit to Il Vaticano. We'll leave it at that for now, but suffice it to say that we'll continue to do everything in our power to bring you the best possible Dark Chess experience.
Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you enjoy these new updates to the game.
Original post
17 Mar 2023Developer post
Dark Chess - 20% discount - Steam Spring Sale
Attention all Dark Chess fans! We're excited to announce that Dark Chess is taking part in the Steam Spring Sale, started yesterday! For one week only, you can get a 20% discount on the game, so don't miss out on this amazing deal. To take advantage of this special discount, head
09 Mar 2023Developer post
One week after release of Dark Chess
THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CLASSIC CHESS. That should be our motto. The most significant criticism we receive is that our game is not a chess game, as indicated by negative reviews and game returns. It is disheartening to discover that people are not reading the description, not exami
THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CLASSIC CHESS.
That should be our motto.
The most significant criticism we receive is that our game is not a chess game, as indicated by negative reviews and game returns. It is disheartening to discover that people are not reading the description, not examining screenshots, nor attempting to comprehend why we chose to name the game Dark Chess.
Disclaimer
We are considering adding a prominent disclaimer at the beginning of the game, ensuring that players understand that it is not a classic chess game. After they confirm they will be bounded to sell their souls if they ever say anything about it not being a classic chess game.
We want to make it clear that the game is based on alternative rules and variations of chess, and we hope that players will appreciate and enjoy it for what it is.
The Campaign
While we didn't originally plan for it, we have decided to create a single player Campaign for both Classic Chess and Dark Chess. Although some people may still find something to complain about (especially in regards to Classic Chess), we believe that it will be of interest to many of our players.
Feedback
We've received a lot of feedback from players since the game's release, and we're working hard to make improvements based on what you've told us. Here are a few things that were heavily requested:

The ability to change set pieces for the Campaign. We've heard you and are working on implementing this feature.
Achievements. We understand that Steam achievements are important for many players, and even though the game already has its own achievements, we are working hard to implement Steam achievements as well.
Windowed mode. We've received requests to enable windowed mode, and while it's already possible to access it using the alt+enter combination on your keyboard, we understand the convenience of having it available in the game settings. Therefore, we are currently working on adding the option to play in windowed mode in the game settings.
Some players found the game too hard, so we've added an Easy and Normal Campaign modes to make it more accessible to chess newbies.
Puzzles are too hard. Puzzles were also a challenge for some players, so we've added a hint button for every Puzzle. The button first shows you the piece you need to move, followed by a 15-second cooldown before it shows you where to move it. You can repeat this process as many times as you need to.
Bugs. We appreciate your help in finding bugs, and we're working to fix them as quickly as possible. If you encounter any issues, please let us know in discord or via email at [email protected].
Some players have said that the game is too short, but it should take between 5 and 10 hours to complete the Campaign. You can also play Solo and PvP modes if you want to spend more time in the game.
If you don't like playing against a particular opponent in the Campaign, please let us know what you liked or disliked about the game. Your feedback will help us adjust and balance the game for the best possible experience.
You can help.
If you enjoyed playing the game, we would be grateful if you could leave a review on Steam. Your feedback helps other players and also helps Steam gain a better understanding of our game. Additionally, you can share the game with your friends and family. We have also added Steam's Remote Play Together, which allows you to play the game with your Steam friends, even if they do not own the game yet.
Your support means a lot to us.
Thank you!
Original post
01 Mar 2023Developer post
Dark Chess is released!
Hear ye, hear ye, lords and ladies of the realm! Let it be known that a new game has arrived, and it's unlike any other game we've ever played before. It's called Dark Chess, and it's a twist on the classic game we all know and love. The game introduces a Fog of War feature, whic
21 Feb 2023Developer post
Build update and release date announcement
Attention all Dark Chess enthusiasts! We have updated the current build with a bunch of new stuff. Campaign Difficulty : We heard your request to make the Campaign easier or harder. The new Campaign Difficulty Levels feature allows players to adjust the challenge level of the gam
06 Feb 2023Developer post
Early February Update
Greetings friends! Full release is coming soon and we're listening closely to your feedback. We understand that the Campaign mode may be challenging, especially for new chess players. To address this, we're introducing three different Campaign difficulty levels in the next week o
31 Dec 2022Developer post
End of the Year Update
Hello. Last week we said we're working on the game and we are. No rest until we keep our word and give you the update. Last day of the year and here we are: Please welcome new user interface. Some of the parts are hidden and will be unveiled as we add more features to the game. S