Playing Chess and games like Chess is the ideal way to keep your brain sharp while also playing a super competitive game against 1 other player.
Allegedly dating back to between 600 AD and 1000 AD, modern chess is a serious competition with a yearly world tournament crowing a chess champion.
But if you’re either new to chess (make sure to learn how to play chess for beginners) or a chess veteran, it’s always good to have more similar games to keep you on your toes.
Keep reading to find out about the games we recommend if you’re a chess enthusiast, with suggestions for both easy and hard games.
14 Games Like Chess
CHECKERS
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 15 – 60 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): n/a
Game Overview:
Checkers is the obvious alternative to Chess as it has similar aspects of forward planning and strategic thinking for players to be successful. Moving the game pieces diagonally, players need to ‘jump’ over their opponent’s pieces to remove them from the board. If a player loses all their pieces or cannot make any more moves, they lose the game.
RELATED: Checkers rules.
BACKGAMMON
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board game.
Publisher(s): n/a.
Game Overview:
The goal of Backgammon is to get all of your game pieces around the board before your opponent. Pieces can only be moved one at a time, and once they are in your opponent’s area of the game board, they can be rolled to move off of the board. Only 1 game piece can occupy a part of the board at any 1 time, so forward-thinking is needed to win.
RELATED: Backgammon rules.
GO BOARDGAME
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 30+ minutes.
Age: Ages 5+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): Yellow Mountain Imports
Game Overview:
The Go board game is another game similar to chess where 2 players battle it out to control the game board. Players need to capture stones from their opponent and place their stones on the board in order to capture territory.
If a player passes their opponent 2 stones in a row or cannot make any more moves, the game ends, and the player with the highest score wins.
RELATED: Go board game rules.
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PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Players: 2 – 4 players.
Playing Time: 30 – 45 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): Blue Orange.
Game Overview:
Whoever controls the board through decisive moves controls the game in Photosynthesis. Players are required to grow the most plants and trees in a forest, with the sun and elements needing to be factored in for the foliage to grow. Earn light points throughout the game; whoever can accumulate the greatest number of these points wins overall.
CHINESE CHECKERS
Players: 2 – 6 players.
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 6+.
Game Type: Board game.
Publisher(s): n/a.
Game Overview:
An ancient game that differs from Chess as more than 2 players can play at a time, Chinese Checkers is an easy game where players simply move pegs around the board.
The goal of the game is for a player to move their pegs around the board and get them all into the segment of the gameboard opposite where they started from.
RELATED: Chinese Checkers rules | Chinese Checkers strategies
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HNEFETAFL
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): n/a
Game Overview:
Also known as Nord Chess, Hnefetafl has one team as the attackers and the other as the defenders rather than standing on each side of the board – think more siege than battle. The defenders need to break through the lines so that the king can escape, whereas the attackers need to capture the king to win the game.
SHOGI
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): n/a
Game Overview:
Shogi, or Japanese Chess as it’s also known, is played very similarly to Chess as the end goal is to capture your opponent’s King before your own King gets captured. The main difference is that chess pieces can be returned to the board after defeating in Shogi. The names of the pieces also differ to reflect Japanese society as opposed to European.
RELATED: Shogi rules.
SENET
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 6+.
Game Type: Board game.
Publisher(s): n/a
Game Overview:
A strategy-laden game with Egyptian origins, Senet is where players race from one end of the board to the other. The Senet sticks are used as dice in this one, with players moving their pieces depending on where the sticks land when thrown. Players need to get to the end of the game board and move all their pieces off first to win the game.
RELATED: Senet game rules.
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ONITAMA
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 10 – 15 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board game, Card games.
Publisher(s): Arcane Wonders.
Game Overview:
Despite looking like a classic game, Onitama is surprisingly modern and uses pawns as game pieces similar to chess. The pawns are the strong pieces, however, as players draw cards that determine how strong each pawn is on the game board.
Capture your opponent’s master or move your master across the board into the temple to win the game.
RELATED: Onitama Rules
MANCALA
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 15 – 20 minutes.
Age: Ages 6+.
Game Type: Board game.
Publisher(s): Pressman.
Game Overview:
Mancala is all about capturing stones/marbles from your opponent, with the winner being the player who is able to capture the most by the end of the game. Strategy is very important as players need to drop their stones in the different slots in the hope that they end up in their Mancala.
RELATED: Mancala game rules.
OTHELLO
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 7+.
Game Type: Board game.
Publisher(s): Spinmaster.
Game Overview:
To win at Othello, players need to have more of their game discs facing up than their opponent at the end of the game. A more modern version of Reversi, players have 30 discs each, 1 player with white discs and 1 player with black discs. The game is turn-based and only ends once there are no more places to put discs on the game board.
RELATED: Othello rules.
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AZUL
Players: 2 – 4 players.
Playing Time: 20 – 30 minutes.
Age: Ages 8+.
Game Type: Board games.
Publisher(s): Plan B Games.
Game Overview:
Players need to earn points by filling up their 5 x 5 grid throughout the game, Azul is similar to chess as each move needs to be meticulously planned to stop the other player/s from taking advantage of any mistakes. Players draw tiles to add to their grid, making patterns that earn points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
RELATED: Azul rules.
HIVE
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 10 – 20 minutes.
Age: Ages 9+.
Game Type: Tile game.
Publisher(s): Smart Zone games.
Game Overview:
Hive requires players to think 3 moves ahead if they hope to win the game, turn-based and played head-to-head players compete to capture each other’s Queen Bee tile. Players need to place other insect tiles before their Queen. Once both Queens are down the existing tiles can be moved around to surround the Queen to attempt to win the game.
RELATED: Hive rules.
BLOKUS DUO
Players: 2 players.
Playing Time: 10 – 20 minutes.
Age: Ages 7+.
Game Type: Tile games.
Publisher(s): Mattel
Game Overview:
Blokus duo is like a cross between Chess and Dominoes, as players will need to compete to add their tiles onto the game board, attempting to add as many as possible while limiting what your opponent can place.
There are many different moves and strategies players can use to win. Whoever has the most tiles when no more moves can be made wins the game.
