Animal Chess

How to play

1. 2, 3 or 4 teams play. Each team has 6 animals, and turns go clockwise.
2. On your turn, tap one of your animals: the squares it can reach light up. Tap a square to move.
3. Move onto an opponent's animal to capture it.
4. If a team's Lion is caught, that team is out and all its animals leave the board.
5. To win, take your Lion to the 🌴 Oasis in the middle and stay there until your next turn — or be the last team standing.
6. If nobody has won after 300 moves, the team with the most points left wins (Elephant 6, Cheetah 5, Eagle 4, Giraffe and Kangaroo 3).

The animals and how they move

Green dots show where the animal can go.

• 🦁

  🦁 Lion

  One square in any direction. The leader: if your Lion is caught, your team is out.

  💡 Lions are the only big cats that live in groups called prides.

  Meet the animal: Lion →
• 🐘

  🐘 Elephant

  One or two squares straight (forward, back or sideways). It is so big that only a Lion or an Elephant can catch it.

  💡 Adult elephants have almost no enemies in the wild.

  Meet the animal: African elephant →
• 🐆

  🐆 Cheetah

  One or two squares in any direction. It can't pass over other animals.

  💡 The cheetah is the fastest land animal: over a short distance it can run faster than 100 km/h.

  Meet the animal: Cheetah →
• 🦅

  🦅 Eagle

  One or two squares diagonally. It flies, so it can pass over other animals.

  💡 Golden eagles have very sharp eyes: they can spot a hare from kilometres away.

  Meet the animal: Golden eagle →
• 🦒

  🦒 Giraffe

  Jumps in an L shape: two squares straight, then one to the side. Its long legs step over other animals.

  💡 A giraffe's legs are about 1.8 metres long — taller than Yaman!

  Meet the animal: Giraffe →
• 🦘

  🦘 Kangaroo

  Hops exactly two squares in any direction, jumping over whatever is in between.

  💡 A red kangaroo can cover up to 8 metres in a single hop.

  Meet the animal: Red kangaroo →