# Hexodic vs chess: what is the same, and what is different.

> Both are two-player games of perfect information. The pieces, the board, and the way a position changes are not.

How Hexodic differs from chess: one stone type on a 37-cell hexagonal board whose height changes every turn, versus the FIDE chessboard of 64 squares and 16 pieces per side, with the FIDE Laws cited.

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## How does Hexodic differ from chess?

Hexodic differs from chess in three concrete ways: Hexodic uses one stone type instead of several distinct pieces, Hexodic is played on a 37-cell hexagonal board instead of a square grid, and the Hexodic board changes height every turn while the chessboard never changes.

Hexodic and chess share the properties that define the abstract strategy genre: two players, no dice or card draws in the rules, and no hidden information. This page explains the differences and does not declare either game better.

## Side by side

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th scope="col">Property</th>
      <th scope="col">Hexodic</th>
      <th scope="col">Chess</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">Players</th>
      <td>Two</td>
      <td>2 (FIDE Laws, Art. 1.1)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">Board</th>
      <td>37 hexagonal cells, each at one of three height tiers</td>
      <td>8×8 grid of 64 squares (FIDE Laws, Art. 2.1)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">Pieces</th>
      <td>One stone type, placed from a reserve</td>
      <td>16 per side at the start, of several kinds (FIDE Laws, Art. 2.2)</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">Does the board change?</th>
      <td>Yes: each turn raises or lowers one cell</td>
      <td>No</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">How a game is won</th>
      <td>Network, Takeover, or Strangle, all live at once</td>
      <td>Checkmate, as defined in the FIDE Laws</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

## Why the differences matter

A chess player's plans rest on knowing how each kind of piece moves on a fixed board. A Hexodic player's plans rest on terrain: a Hexodic stone is exactly as strong as the tier of the cell under it, so reshaping a cell can turn a safe stone into a capturable one. Hexodic has two ways to capture: by **encirclement**, when the surrounding tiers outweigh the stone's own, and by a Move capture, when a stone steps onto an adjacent enemy stone on a strictly lower tier (see [capture](/rules/capture)). In Hexodic, height decides whether a capture is possible at all, which no chess capture depends on. Hexodic also spends a per-game resource: each player starts with three **Echo charges**, used to trigger an extra capture check or lock a tier-2 cell. The full Hexodic rules are on [how it works](/how-it-works).

## Frequently asked

**Do chess skills transfer to Hexodic?** Reading threats, counting tempo, and calculating forcing sequences all apply in Hexodic. Knowledge of chess piece movement and opening lines does not, because Hexodic has one stone type and no opening book.

**Is Hexodic a chess variant?** No. Hexodic is a separate game with its own board, pieces, and win conditions.

## Sources

- Chess facts (players, board, pieces): FIDE, [Laws of Chess, Handbook E.01](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023), read 2026-09-15.
- Hexodic facts: the Hexodic rules engine; see [how it works](/how-it-works) and [the bot gauntlet](/bot-gauntlet).

More pairings are on the [comparisons hub](/games-like-hexodic); the genre is explained on the [deterministic strategy game](/deterministic-strategy-game) page. Reviewed 2026-09-15. [Get the Hexodic app](/download).

Part of the [Hexodic comparison hub](/how-hexodic-compares), which links every side-by-side comparison on this site.

## Where to go next

- [Hexodic vs Go](https://hexodic.com/hexodic-vs-go) — Territory against height, compared on cited facts.
- [Strategy](https://hexodic.com/strategy) — The principles that follow from the rules, not from habit.
- [How it was measured](https://hexodic.com/how-hexodic-was-measured) — The evidence behind every published number, and the method.

## Questions this page answers

- How does Hexodic differ from chess?
- Is Hexodic like chess?