You love the pure strategy of chess. The outthinking, the planning, the satisfaction of a well-executed trap. But maybe you’re tired of the same openings, or your skill gap with friends makes games one-sided, or you simply want something fresh that scratches the same itch.
The Quick Answer: Games like Hive, Onitama, Santorini, and The Duke offer chess-like strategic depth with different mechanics that keep things fresh. Abstract strategy games—games with no luck, perfect information, and pure skill—are the closest relatives to chess, while some modern designs add just enough variety to feel new while rewarding the same type of thinking.
I’ve been playing abstract strategy games for over fifteen years, and I’ve introduced dozens of chess players to alternatives that captured their imagination. Here are the ten games that consistently win converts.
What Makes a Good Chess Alternative?
Before the list, let’s define what chess players typically want:
- No luck – Winning should come from better play, not dice rolls or card draws
- Perfect information – Both players see everything; no hidden elements
- Deep strategy – Simple to learn, lifetime to master
- Meaningful decisions – Every move should matter
- Quick to set up – No elaborate preparation required
Some games on this list are pure abstracts like chess. Others bend the rules slightly—adding cards or asymmetric setups—while maintaining the strategic depth that chess players crave.
The 10 Best Strategy Games Like Chess
1. Hive
Players: 2 | Time: 20 minutes | Why chess players love it: No board, no luck, pure positioning
Hive might be the closest thing to “chess evolved.” You’re placing hexagonal insect tiles around a central hive, trying to surround your opponent’s queen bee while protecting your own. There’s no board—the pieces themselves create the play area, constantly shifting and growing.
Each insect has unique movement rules reminiscent of chess pieces. The queen moves one space (like a king). The beetle can climb on top of other pieces. The ant can move anywhere around the hive’s edge. The grasshopper jumps in straight lines.
What makes Hive special is how the “board” evolves. Unlike chess, where the battlefield stays constant, Hive’s shape changes dramatically. A piece that seemed trapped suddenly has escape routes as new pieces create new edges. It rewards both tactical awareness and long-term planning.
Best for: Chess players who want something portable and deeply strategic. The bakelite pieces are nearly indestructible and fit in a small bag.
2. Onitama
Players: 2 | Time: 15 minutes | Why chess players love it: Chess-like setup with constantly rotating moves
Onitama is what happens when you take chess and add a brilliant twist: instead of fixed piece movements, you choose moves from a hand of cards—and after using a card, you must pass it to your opponent.
The 5×5 board has each player starting with a master (the “king”) and four students (pawns). You win by capturing the opponent’s master or moving your master to their starting square. Simple enough. But here’s the catch: only five movement cards are in play each game, and they rotate between players.
This creates fascinating dynamics. You can see exactly which moves your opponent will have in two turns. You can set up traps knowing they’ll gain access to the exact card you need them to have. It’s chess-like positional play combined with hand management—and every game plays differently because of the random card selection.
Best for: Chess players who want something faster with high replayability. The box transforms into the game board, making it perfect for travel.
3. Santorini
Players: 2-4 | Time: 20 minutes | Why chess players love it: Spatial reasoning meets vertical strategy
Santorini asks you to think in three dimensions. On a 5×5 grid, you move one of your workers and then build a tower level adjacent to them. First player to stand on a third level wins. Simple rules, extraordinary depth.
The beauty is in the blocking. You can cap a tower to prevent anyone from winning on that space. You can trap opponents by building around them. You can create staircases only you can climb while denying paths to others.
For an extra layer, the game includes god power cards that give each player a unique ability—like moving workers extra spaces or building before moving. These add variety but can be left out for a pure abstract experience.
Best for: Chess players who want something visually striking that plays quickly but rewards repeated play.
4. The Duke
Players: 2 | Time: 30 minutes | Why chess players love it: Chess meets randomized setup and flipping pieces
The Duke takes chess’s core concept—different pieces with different movements—and makes it dynamic. Each tile shows movement patterns on both sides, and every time you move a piece, you flip it to reveal new capabilities.
Instead of a fixed starting position, you draw tiles from a bag and place them as you go. This eliminates opening theory completely while maintaining deep tactical play. Your Pikeman moves differently after attacking. Your Wizard teleports but then becomes a simple stepper.
Win by capturing your opponent’s Duke (their king equivalent). The game creates situations where a seemingly weak piece becomes powerful after flipping, or a dominant piece becomes vulnerable. It rewards memory, planning, and adapting to chaos.
Best for: Chess players frustrated by opening memorization who want pure tactical thinking.
5. Go
Players: 2 | Time: 30-90 minutes | Why chess players love it: The deepest abstract game in existence
If chess is the king of Western strategy games, Go is its Eastern counterpart—and arguably deeper. On a 19×19 grid, players alternate placing stones, trying to surround territory and capture opponent’s pieces.
The rules are simpler than chess. You place a stone; if you surround enemy stones, you capture them. That’s essentially it. Yet from these simple rules emerges complexity that makes chess look modest. The number of possible Go positions exceeds the number of atoms in the observable universe.
Go develops different skills than chess. It emphasizes influence over territory, whole-board thinking over local tactics, and intuition developed over thousands of games. Many chess masters have called it the ultimate strategy game.
Best for: Chess players ready for a lifetime journey into a new strategic universe. Start on a smaller 9×9 or 13×13 board before attempting the full 19×19.
6. Shobu
Players: 2 | Time: 30 minutes | Why chess players love it: Simple rules, complex positional play
Shobu uses four small boards—two per player—with identical starting positions of four stones each. On your turn, you make a “passive” move on one of your home boards, then must make the same move (direction and distance) as an “aggressive” move on a different board.
Aggressive moves can push opponent stones, potentially knocking them off the board. Push all four of someone’s stones off any single board, and you win.
The mirrored movement creates puzzles where what’s good on one board might be disastrous on another. You’re essentially playing four chess games simultaneously, with your moves linked. It sounds confusing but becomes intuitive quickly.
Best for: Chess players who enjoy positional maneuvering and can hold multiple situations in their head.
7. Azul
Players: 2-4 | Time: 30-45 minutes | Why chess players love it: Abstract pattern building with vicious blocking
Azul isn’t quite a pure abstract—there’s a drafting mechanism with some information hidden at game start—but it scratches similar itches. You’re drafting colored tiles from a shared pool to build patterns on your player board.
The strategic depth comes from hate-drafting. Taking tiles your opponent needs, forcing them into bad positions, reading their board to anticipate their plans. The best Azul players are thinking several rounds ahead, just like chess.
Unlike chess, Azul doesn’t require years of study to enjoy. Players can jump in immediately while still finding depth over many plays. It’s often cited as one of the best two-player board games for couples who have different experience levels.
Best for: Chess players looking for something their non-chess-playing friends will also enjoy.
8. Quoridor
Players: 2-4 | Time: 15 minutes | Why chess players love it: Racing and blocking on an ever-changing maze
Each player has a pawn trying to reach the opposite side of a 9×9 grid. On your turn, you either move your pawn one space or place a wall segment. You can’t completely block an opponent’s path, but you can make it very, very long.
Quoridor is about path efficiency—making your route shorter while lengthening theirs. Wall placement becomes critical: spend walls too early and you’re defenseless; hoard them and you fall behind. Games often come down to single-turn differences.
The rules take 30 seconds to explain. The implications take months to explore. Quoridor is pure spatial reasoning with just enough wall-placement strategy to create fascinating decisions.
Best for: Chess players who want something extremely quick that kids and adults can enjoy together.
9. YINSH
Players: 2 | Time: 30 minutes | Why chess players love it: Part of the GIPF series—designed for abstract strategy lovers
YINSH is the second game in Kris Burm’s GIPF Project, a series of abstract games that are each brilliant in different ways. In YINSH, you move rings and flip the markers they jump over, trying to form rows of five of your color.
Here’s the twist: when you complete a row, you remove those markers and one of your rings. First player to remove three rings wins. But rings are your only means of movement. The game becomes about timing—building toward rows while keeping enough pieces to finish the job.
It’s deceptively simple looking but creates agonizing decisions as the board state evolves. Games shift dramatically as players sacrifice rings, changing what’s possible.
Best for: Chess players interested in exploring the world of modern abstract strategy games. The entire GIPF series (GIPF, TZAAR, DVONN, PÜNCT, ZÈRTZ, and YINSH) deserves attention.
10. 7 Wonders Duel
Players: 2 | Time: 30 minutes | Why chess players love it: Strategic card drafting with multiple paths to victory
This one bends our “pure strategy” criteria—there’s randomness in card layout—but 7 Wonders Duel rewards chess-like thinking so consistently that it deserves inclusion.
You’re building ancient civilizations by drafting cards from a shared pyramid. You can win three ways: military dominance (push a track to the opponent’s capital), scientific supremacy (collect certain symbols), or most points. The card pyramid means you can see what’s coming and plan several turns ahead.
What chess players appreciate is the blocking. Taking a card your opponent needs matters as much as what you build. The multiple victory conditions create tension as you balance offense and defense across different fronts.
Best for: Chess players who want something meatier while their partner wants something more thematic. One of the best compromises between abstract and themed gaming.
Comparison Table
| Game | Pure Abstract? | Learning Curve | Game Length | Best Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hive | Yes | Medium | 20 min | Portable, no board needed |
| Onitama | Yes* | Easy | 15 min | High variety, fast games |
| Santorini | Yes | Easy | 20 min | 3D spatial thinking |
| The Duke | No (random draw) | Medium | 30 min | No opening theory |
| Go | Yes | Hard | 30-90 min | Deepest strategy possible |
| Shobu | Yes | Medium | 30 min | Multi-board linked play |
| Azul | No (drafting) | Easy | 30-45 min | Accessible to non-gamers |
| Quoridor | Yes | Easy | 15 min | Simplest rules, deep play |
| YINSH | Yes | Medium | 30 min | Elegant sacrifice mechanism |
| 7 Wonders Duel | No (card layout) | Medium | 30 min | Multiple victory paths |
*Onitama uses cards but has perfect information once dealt.
Where to Start
If you’re just beginning to explore beyond chess:
- Want the most chess-like experience? Start with Onitama or The Duke
- Want something easier to teach? Santorini or Quoridor
- Want maximum strategic depth? Go (but commit to learning)
- Want portability? Hive travels better than anything else
- Want something your non-gaming partner will enjoy? Azul or 7 Wonders Duel
Common Mistakes When Transitioning from Chess
- Expecting opening theory – Most abstract games don’t have memorized openings; appreciate the freedom
- Undervaluing new pieces – Learn how different movement rules create different tactics
- Playing too slowly – Faster games mean more games mean faster learning
- Giving up too soon – New abstracts feel chaotic at first; patterns emerge with practice
- Sticking to one game – Try several to find what clicks with your style
Tips for Chess Players Trying Abstract Games
- Play fast at first – Don’t overthink until you understand the flow
- Focus on controlling space – A universal concept that transfers from chess
- Watch your opponent’s options – Count their possible moves just like in chess
- Play the same game repeatedly – Depth reveals itself over dozens of plays
- Try online versions – Many abstracts have free digital implementations
Final Thoughts
Chess earned its reputation over centuries because it offers deep strategy without randomness. But the board gaming world has expanded dramatically, and games like Hive, Onitama, and Go offer equally rigorous intellectual challenges with different flavors.
The best chess alternatives don’t try to replace chess—they complement it. Playing Hive teaches you about piece mobility in ways that improve your chess. Go develops whole-board thinking. Onitama sharpens your tactical sight.
If you love the pure competition and strategic depth of chess, you have an entire world of games waiting to be explored. Pick one from this list and give it ten games. You might just find a new obsession.
Looking for games you can play with larger groups? Check out our board game night ideas for recommendations beyond two-player games.
