Free to play magic-based chess game Anichess has officially entered Season 3, introducing new features such as its first ever PvP mode and more that you can enjoy if you gain access to the web3-powered title through an invite-only system.
What Can You Do in Anichess Season 3?
The 3rd season of this Animoca Brands and Chess.com-backed blockchain game lets players use 3 different customizable themes while climbing a leaderboard by earning points from inviting players and playing different types of matches. Players will need to claim these points on-chain later during this season in order to have them officially counted.
Play in 4 Game Modes
The game modes available in this season include the following 4:
- Ranked Match
- Quick Match
- Play A Friend
- Play With Bot
You can earn varying amounts of points from playing the first 3 game modes. Points are won regardless of whether you win, draw or lose, with wins of course giving you more points, while draws and losses provide the same amount.
In this web3 chess game, players win matches by capturing the opponent’s king, meaning there is no check or checkmate to pull off like in regular chess. That being said, stalemates are not possible here either, but players can get a draw by agreeing to it, resigning, having the same board position repeat 3 times, or by having both sides make 50 consecutive moves without capturing a piece or moving any pawn.
While you can make traditional chess moves, each turn also lets you cast a spell using mana. You can have up to 8 mana at any time, with 1 mana added after a move is made, but if you choose to cast a spell instead of moving, then you won’t get any mana for that turn. With spells, you can do things beyond classic chess rules for a dynamic and more in-depth strategic experience. Spells can allow and forbid actions, and if there are two spells in play where one allows an action and the other forbids it, then the latter spell will have the advantage.
Ranked Matches are where the bigger point earnings are at, and your results there will affect your Glicko2-based ELO rating. Ratings are stored on-chain, making the battle for the top of the ELO leaderboard a transparent journey showing valid proof of your success.
If you want to play in this competitive mode though, then you will need to play 5 Quick Matches first. The Quick Match mode is a casual PvP game mode that doesn’t affect your rating, so if you’re looking for a more leisurely experience where you can enjoy playing against other players without any high-stakes competition, then this is the mode to hop into and still earn points along the way.
Looking to test your spell-based chess skills with a friend? Send them a unique match link using the Play A Friend mode for some strategic fun, and even earn points for doing so along the way. If you’re not feeling ready to play against your friend or other players, or simply prefer playing against AI, then the Play With Bot mode is for you, and features multiple difficulty levels to pick from in order to let you properly practice and improve your skill level.
Here’s how much each mode awards leaderboard points, as well as the number of points gained from invites:
| Each successful invite: | 100 points | ||
| Each friend referred by your invites: | 30 points | ||
| Quick Match | Ranked Match | Friend Match | |
| Victory: | 50 points | 100 points | 20 points |
| Draw/Defeat: | 20 points | 40 points | 10 points |
Points can’t just be endlessly grinded in each day for many matches on end though. Players can only earn points from the first 3 matches they play in each mode of the day, meaning you have up to 9 matches per day to earn points from across 3 game modes, so you may want to go for some Quick Matches first at the start of your day before heading out into Ranked.
You also have 3 timer options to choose from in each mode:
- Classic – 30 minutes with no increment
- Rapid – 10 minutes with no increment
- Blitz – 5 minutes with a 2-second increment per move
Use Updated Spells & Beat Spell Missions
This season lets you use mana to cast 9 updated spells that have received balancing adjustments for a fairer game of spell-based chess. You can see all the details of each spell in the image above.
Once you’re done with Scherif’s Introduction, you will be given 5 random spells to play with. To unlock the rest, you need to complete milestone-based spell missions, which revolve around playing and winning a certain number of matches across all game modes except the bot one, but also on capturing a specific amount of pawns and knights throughout your tactical, spell-infused journey in Anichess.
How to Access Anichess Season 3
Those who participated in the private alpha can jump right in using the same wallet, while players on an allowlist should have received their code to start playing for free. If you don’t fall in either category, then you’ll have to get a 6-digit invite code from those who have access. You might be lucky enough to do so by heading to the game’s official Discord server.
