What Is 3 Dimensional Chess Like?
Have you ever heard of 3-dimensional chess? No? Well, then, you’re in for a fun read!
Do you remember the episode of The Big Bang Theory when Sheldon and Leonard play chess on a tiered board?
Being big fans of Star Trek and board games in general, it's no surprise that the duo loved the game. Even though it was Sheldon’s much more exaggerated version.
Who would have thought that it was based on a real thing?
But what’s the connection with Star Trek? How do you play chess on such a board? We have all the answers!
The Evolution of 3 Dimensional Chess
So, where did the idea of 3-dimensional chess come from?
I mean, you might have recognized it from Star Trek. But did you know that its roots run far deeper, going back to inventors who wanted to challenge the limits of traditional chess?
After digging, we found that 3D chess appeared in the late 19th century with a German invention called Raumschach, or “space chess.”
It is heavily inspired by modern warfare’s aerial and underwater tactics. Ferdinand Maack created a 5x5x5 board layout, adding an entirely new layer of strategy.
Maack wanted to capture the feel of attacks coming from above and below—a battle in every direction, not just on a flat board. His vision even introduced a new piece, the “unicorn,” which could move in triagonal directions, adding a surprising twist to the game.
This wasn't the first attempt, though. Legendary chess master Lionel Kieseritzky came up with a concept known as Kubikschach (Cube Chess) in 1851. He started with an 8x8x8 cube, meaning 512 squares to play across! Even for experienced players, this format was challenging and, for some, utterly confusing.
Then came Star Trek. It introduced its version of 3 dimensional chess, which took things to a whole new level.
What's so incredibly fascinating is that the show’s creators wanted a futuristic look. They crafted multi-layered boards that looked like equal parts chess sets and abstract sculptures.
But wait, that's not all! Did you know that when those scenes were filmed, there weren’t any actual rules!
Fans quickly noticed inconsistencies in the game’s pieces and boards from one episode to the next. This led to decades of speculation until Franz Joseph published unofficial rules in the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, with further refinements later by Andrew Bartmess.
Since then, this form of chess hasn’t been confined to the Star Trek universe. It became a metaphor for complex strategic thinking in fields like politics, diplomacy, and even business.
These days, when someone says, “They’re playing 3D chess,” it implies they’re seeing beyond the obvious, maneuvering on multiple levels while everyone else is stuck in two dimensions.
3 Dimensional Chess Board Structure
The 3 dimensional chess board isn’t just about stacking layers; it’s a whole new way to rethink chess.
The three main boards are in a step-like arrangement, each adding fresh levels of possibility to your game. But here’s where it gets interesting—you start with two smaller, movable attack boards on the corners of your edge.
These attack boards add a tactical punch, giving you new ways to approach the game.
Your back row has the usual setup—king, queen, bishops, knights—but with a twist.
The queen claims her spot, and the rooks? They take their places on the attack boards.
Pawns stand guard in front of each main piece.
This setup pushes you to think differently—not just about sideways or forward moves but also how pieces can travel vertically between levels.
The movement in 3D chess keeps the basic feel of regular chess but takes it up a notch. Your queen, bishops, and other pieces still move in familiar ways, but now they can leap between levels when the path is clear.
Pieces can land on overlapping squares, glide across main boards, or even travel to attack boards. Moving between boards isn’t just a quick skip; you have to cross one square on the main board you’re leaving, adding an extra step to consider.
Then, there are the attack boards—these change the game. Instead of just moving a piece, you could shift an attack board as long as it holds only one pawn.
They can switch corners or move up and down levels but must stay on their side (king’s or queen’s) and can’t overlap with another attack board.
So, in the end, every turn becomes a new challenge for you, pushing you to think not only about classic chess strategies but about an extra dimension (literally).
Star Trek Tridimensional Chess: How Does it Work?
The rules mostly follow standard chess, with a few notable twists. The bottom board belongs to White, the top to Black, and the middle serves as a neutral zone.
These three levels are stacked one above the other, each slightly shifted horizontally by half its width so that half the squares on any board are directly over or below half of the squares on the board above or below.
Although this alignment may not look perfectly accurate from some angles, this is the intended overlap. You should remember that squares stay aligned by their colors.
The small, movable platforms are called attack boards. They’re positioned at the rear pin spots of both the White and Black boards, with corner colors aligned to show which squares overlap.
Place White’s pawns on the second row of both the main board and the attack boards.
On White's main board, in the nearest row, arrange the knight, bishop, bishop, and knight. On the attack boards, place the rooks at the outer rear corners, the queen on its matching color, and the king on the other.
Black’s setup mirrors White’s.
So, you don’t always have to move a chess piece each turn. You actually have the option to move an attack board! But there’s a catch: the board you’re moving needs to have exactly one piece on it.
That’s the only way you get control.
When it’s in your control, you can slide it to a different pin on the same row or column or even up or down a level to the nearest pin. If there’s more than one nearest pin, you get to pick.
You can rotate the board 180 degrees if you like, as long as the colors on the overlapping boards stay lined up.
The fun part is that all the regular chess pieces move in the same ways as usual—just with a little twist.
Let’s say you’re moving sideways on a board: any square directly above or below that square counts as “in the same spot.”
Multiple pieces could technically stack up on one square due to the overlaps, making it feel like one big, complex playing field.
Attack boards add a wildcard element, too. If your pawn is the only piece on an attack board, you can move that whole board to another spot.
Just keep it on the same side — king’s side or queen’s side — and don’t overlap with any other attack board. This move adds a new dimension to planning since it lets you reposition entire sections of the board to set up unexpected attacks or defend key pieces.
Pieces can also jump levels as long as their usual move path on the board checks out. It’s almost like they’re taking the stairs, square by square, and once they reach a new square, they can shift up or down a level, provided there’s an empty space for them to move into.
But there’s one rule to remember: once a piece leaves a level, it can’t return to that level in the same move, adding an extra layer of strategy in deciding the best routes for your pieces.
And yes, rooks, queens, and knights have some extra tricks. Rooks can bypass blocks if they’re moving up multiple boards in one go, dodging obstacles in their path.
Knights can leap through the void without touching down on each level, landing directly on their target square.
And queens and rooks can even cross the void to land on a different attack board, but only if they go over the empty space, giving them a unique advantage in traversing multiple levels without interruption.
Pawns, too, get some neat adaptations here: they can capture diagonally across levels, making for unexpected captures.
Those that start on attack boards keep their two-square opening move unless the attack board itself moves. Just like in regular chess, en passant still applies if an opponent’s pawn moves two squares across levels. This lets you choose which level to capture and adds an extra tactical option to the game.
Finally, castling works almost as usual.
Kingside and Queenside castling has the same setup as in regular chess. But you can’t use this move to dodge a check, and none of the involved pieces or boards can have moved before. Every move counts in this multidimensional setup, and thinking strategically across the levels becomes essential to checkmate and victory.
And as always, checkmate wins the game!
Final Thoughts
So what do you think? 3-dimensional chess might seem daunting at first, but we promise you it’ll be a lot of fun! It definitely will make you think beyond your usual strategies and even make some bold moves!
It’s a great chess variant that brings fresh excitement to the game and keeps you on your toes. So, if you decide to give it a go, let us know how it went!