Greetings!

I’m Zac Burns of Ludeme Games, and I just launched my first indie game – Chess 2: The Sequel.

Chess 2 takes all the great strategic elements of chess and expands them, while cutting out the cruft from classic chess like memorized openings, long endgames, and draws. Basically we’re going back to the days before long names like “The Arkell-Khenkin Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense” got in the way of the real fun – positional play.

There are 3 simple but potent additions to Chess 2: The Sequel over classic chess.

• 6 armies to choose from makes 21 possible starting matchups. Select one that matches your playstyle, then mold the board to play to its strengths.
• Midline invasion (if you manage to cross the midline of the board, you win) makes the end of the game tense and climactic, while virtually eliminating draws.
• Dueling during captures introduces “yomi” – getting into your opponent’s head.

You can play the game with a standard chess set, but with OUYA we can finally create a competitive online community of players who love the game.

So, why OUYA? Games as a medium communicate something that text, images, and video cannot (at least not efficiently). If that were not true, there would not be reason for games to exist at all… considering how much harder they are to make. Ever read the rules to a game and go “huh?”, but then after playing a few minutes all the ways which the systems relate just click in your head? Something happens in our brain when we do. We understand intuitively, even if we can’t explain it. That’s what games are.

It follows one will never know if they will love a game before trying it. It’s one thing to read on Kotaku that Chess 2 is “More like Chess than Chess”, but what does that even mean? To really understand the wealth of meaningful choice every game (every move, even) that Chess 2: The Sequel offers, there’s no substitute for trying it for yourself. That’s what makes OUYA a great fit for Chess 2. Having every game free to try means every OUYA player sits down in the mood to hit that “Free Download” button. I know, because I’ve done it a hundred times myself.

This is only the beginning for Chess 2. There are a lot of features and even some surprises planned for the future. Vote for the next feature here.

Chess 2 wasn’t just the game I wanted to make, it’s the game I want to play. So, if you’re looking to challenge the dev you can find me playing online most days around 5:30 PST (and maybe even a few more times throughout the evening). See you across the board.

–Zac

Ludeme Games’ Playlist

• Chess 2: The Sequel
• No Brakes Valet
• Rose and Time
• Myth Defense
• Inferno
• Hero of Many
• Antichromatic
• Hidden in Plain Sight
• Hide the Baby
• Otra Galaxia