Tri-Dimensional Chess: Play

Playing the Game

Please read Jens Meder's "International Rules for Three-Dimensional Chess" before playing your first game. Some of the rules may be hard to follow at first, but an overview is very helpful.
The game consists of a single window that contains four areas (see figure 1):

Menu: Presents options to start a new game, load a previously saved game, or save the current game.

Control area: Provides the ability to change the board display's transparency, change the game's difficulty level or take back previous moves.

Transcript area: Provides the sequence of moves performed so far.

Board display: Provides a visualization of the Tri-Dimensional chess board.

Note: In the discussion below, the terms "primary mouse button" and "secondary mouse button" are used when referencing mouse button clicks. For a right-handed mouse configuration, the primary mouse button would be the left button, and the secondary mouse button would be the right button. For a left-handed mouse configuration, the primary mouse button would be the right button, while the secondary mouse button would be the left button. If the mouse has a middle button, the middle button will also be treated as a secondary mouse button. If using a trackpad that supports gestures, the primary mouse button generally maps to a single finger tap on the trackpad, and the secondary mouse button usually maps to a double finger tap on the trackpad.

Transcript

The transcript area displays the sequence of moves performed so far. The entries use a modified Algebraic notation to simplify reading. Each entry begins with a player designation: W for white and B for black. Next comes a piece designation (K=king, Q=queen, R=rook, B=bishop, N=knight, P=pawn). The entry ends with a source and destination, each of which is presented in file/rank/board notation (e.g. a1W). For attack board moves, the piece designation is blank. For moves that result in a capture, a suffix is added in the form "(x)" (e.g. xN for capture knight). An "(ep)" suffix is added for en passant captures.

Game Board

The game board display begins in a top-down view of the tri-dimensional chess board, as if the player is standing over the game board. The display provides perspective to give the impression of depth. The boards begin with medium transparency, enabling the player to view pieces on lower boards without expanding the game board. Placing the mouse pointer over a square and letting it hover will result in the square's location being displayed. As the game progresses, the player will want to view the boards from different perspectives. The boards can be expanded or contracted in a number of ways:

Mouse wheel: Place the mouse pointer over the board display. Movement of the mouse wheel will expand or contract the boards.

Scroll gesture: If equipped with a trackpad that supports scroll gestures, place the mouse pointer over the board display. Scroll gestures will expand or contract the boards.

Click and drag: Place the mouse pointer over the board display. Press and hold the primary mouse button while moving the mouse up or down the screen to expand or contract the boards.

Keyboard: Place the mouse pointer over the board display. The arrow keys will expand or contract the boards as follows:

Up and Down keys: The game board display has nine positions, from completely contracted to fully expanded. Pressing the Up key without modifiers will expand the game board one position. Pressing the Down key without modifiers will contract the game board one position.

Ctrl with Up and Down keys: Pressing and holding the Ctrl key while using the Up and Down keys will result in two-step position changes (i.e. twice the rate of expansion/contraction.)

Alt with Up and Down keys: Pressing and holding the Alt key while using the Up and Down keys will result in four-step position changes (i.e. four times the rate of expansion/contraction.)

Left and Right keys: The Left key fully contracts the game board (see figure 2), while the Right key full expands the game board (see figure 3).

Movement

Game pieces are moved in a similar manner to conventional chess computer games: The player selects the move's source and destination squares by placing the mouse pointer over the squares and clicking the primary mouse button. However, Tri-Dimensional chess players must consider all squares at selected (file, rank) positions. The game interface assists the player by presenting all legal square options. After selecting a source square, all legal destination squares will be highlighted. When selecting a source (file, rank) where squares on multiple boards contain valid pieces, the interface will present a popup menu giving the possible squares. If there is only one valid source square, that square will be selected as the move's source square (even if the square is obscured by higher-level boards.) Similarly, when selecting a destination (file, rank) where squares on multiple boards are legal destinations, the interface will present a popup menu giving the possible squares. If there is only one valid destination square, the square will be selected as the move's destination (even if the square is obscured by higher-level boards.) This interface makes it possible to move pieces without expanding the boards to access obscured squares. It also improves the flow of the game.
Unique to Tri-Dimensional chess, attack boards may also be moved (if certain conditions are met.) To select an attack board for movement, place the mouse pointer over any of the board's squares and click the secondary mouse button. The attack board will be highlighted, as well as all valid destinations. To select a destination for the attack board move, place the mouse pointer over any of the destination location's squares and click the secondary mouse button.

1. The main window

2. A fully collapsed board

3. A fully expanded board

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