1 of 15

Worn Chess

Chess, but on paper and pencil only.

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Rules:

No physically erasing pieces (using an eraser to clear up the page) within the game foundations
Everything must be one color
You may only add on to the board (like tic-tac-toe and hangman)
The entire game must be on a paper and pencil
No doing “clunky” layering [don’t force people to write bold marks over other marks already on the paper]
No external tools

3 of 15

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•




∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

The Setup:

4 of 15

White (outlined pieces), goes first.

These are the pieces:

∘ Pawn

□ Rook

⋄ Bishop

☆ Queen

♡ King

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•




∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

5 of 15

White goes first. It is important that White’s piece’s are aligned to the left, while black’s pieces are aligned to the right (from White’s Perspective)

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•




∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

6 of 15

White makes a move. The space the pawn was on is now X’d-out. Now, the next time a piece moves off that spot. Both sides will have an X; that space is now ‘worn’ and can’t be used by anyone.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•


				∘

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

7 of 15

Black moves, following the same procedure.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	•	•	•	•

			•
				∘

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

8 of 15

This is how capturing works. The piece black AND white were on get X’d-out, and White’s capturing piece goes on the other side of that X.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	•	•	•	•

			∘ X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

9 of 15

Black moves.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				•
			∘ X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

10 of 15

White captures. That space has two X's, that space has become ‘worn.’ No more pieces can go to or through that square for the rest of the game.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X ∘
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

11 of 15

Recapturing is a little weird, but to ensure fairness. This is the only time a piece can go between two X’s on a square. This time, however, that piece cannot be captured by anything.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X • X
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

12 of 15

Therefore, that piece MUST move off of that square on their next turn, or else that piece will die. For these rules to make sense, picture the pieces being on the battlefield.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X • X
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

13 of 15

Some very creative strategies could be made with these set of rules. If you think these rules are just piled up to avoid specific unfairness, Chess does the same thing.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X • X
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

14 of 15

And… that’s it! Instead of calling it “Paper-Pencil Chess,” you may also call it “Worn Chess,” as that is the main twist of this variant.

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X • X
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay:

15 of 15

I hope you have fun playing! Let me know if you have any comments, suggestion, improvements, fixes, or concerns. Have fun playing!

■	▲	⧫	★	❤︎	⧫	▲	■
•	•	•	X	X	•	•	•
				X • X
			X X
				X

∘	∘	∘	∘	X	∘	∘	∘
□	△	⋄	☆	♡	⋄	△	□

Gameplay: