Settings

Changes apply to the next match.

Time control (per player, per board)

Remember: you hold two clocks and both run at once when it's your move on both boards. 15 minutes each is not as much as it sounds.

Increment

Engine team strength

Board

Mate radar coaches both directions: red when an engine mates you next move, green when you have mate, and amber when you're one dropped piece from mate — sit, and go win that piece on the other board. A training wheel; turn it off for a real game.

How this works

Bughouse, except you're the whole team.

The setup

Normally bughouse is 2-v-2 on two boards. Here you're giving a simul: you play White on Board 1 and Black on Board 2, alone, against Bit and Byte — an engine team who are partners with each other.

The feed — the only rule that matters

When you capture a piece, it does not go into your own hand. It goes to your partner, on the other board, and they can drop it. Since you are your own partner:

• Pieces you win on Board 1 become pieces you can drop on Board 2.
• Pieces you win on Board 2 become pieces you can drop on Board 1.
• Bit and Byte feed each other exactly the same way. Take a knight from Bit and Byte is the one who gets armed — so watch what you hand over.

Moving & dropping

• Drag a piece where you want it — or tap it, then tap the target. Both work.
• To drop, drag a piece from your hand onto an empty square (or tap it, then tap).
• Any empty square — except pawns can't be dropped on the 1st or 8th rank.
• A drop can give check, and checkmate. Most bughouse games end this way.
• A promoted queen, when captured, comes back as a pawn.

Winning

Either board decides the whole match. Mate one engine and you win the pair — even if you're getting crushed on the other board. The reverse is also true, which is what makes this hard: get mated anywhere, or flag either clock, and you lose everything.

Surviving the simul

• Both of your clocks run at once when it's your move on both boards. Move fast on the board you're winning.
• You can sit — deliberately not move while you wait for a piece to arrive from your other board. It costs clock. It's often worth it. When a board is one dropped piece from mate, the coach turns it amber and tells you to sit.
• Empty squares around your king are landing pads. Before you open a file, look at what the engines are holding.

Keys

N new match · Esc deselect · ? this help

Match over