The historic game of chess has been fertile ground for literature, film and music over the decades. As you’d expect from a game that is arguably one of the classic board games of all time, it has inspired many games and slots are among them.
These slot games take on the theme in various ways. Although there have been few massive hit chess-themed games by big developers, there are titles out there that offer unique takes from historical chess atmosphere to actual chess piece moves in the bonus games. And.. Christmas chess.
Shah Mat is a Unique Chess-Themed Online Slot
Shah Mat is the most atmospheric chess-themed casino game on the market today by some distance. The title is taken from a Persian phrase which means (roughly) “The King is Stunned”. This is the ancient precursor to the familiar chess term “Checkmate”.
Casino games like this, and thousands of others, can be found at jackpot city casino. Players try their luck with chess-themed and other slots at this globally known operator, alongside virtual and live casino classics. Plus bonuses, promos and game guides to get them started.
Shah Mat has gorgeous visuals too, with the fantastical Persian-inspired chess theme really shining through with the visuals, the music and the bonus round construction.
If you’re a fan of slots – you’ll be able to tell this one by Red Tiger is a cut above most. It has a 4332x maximum win and an 8×8 game grid, with some interesting mechanics.
Including a modern cluster pays system, with cascading reels that drop in new symbols when you make a winning line. This can potentially chain your wins, like when you force your opponent into a series of moves in a real chess game. Easy.
The bonus round comes with Wild symbols that merge into each other if they’re adjacent on a winning spin. And when they do they add how many of them there were to a multiplier. This can chain up, for up to a 20x multiplier on each win. Free spins symbols can also give you extra spins during the bonus round.
Queen of Thrones Uses Actual Chess Mechanics
This game might make you think you’re playing chess at first. However, it is a slot game. The fusion of chess mechanics and slot reel spinning is certainly unique though.
This Leander Games title came out in 2013 so the looks are a little dated now. But if you like chess, the gameplay is still fresh.
- 5×3 reels
- 30 paylines
- 2500x maximum win
That’s all well and good but it doesn’t tell you about the cool point of this game. The reels are on a chessboard. They play out like a normal slot. The pieces all go up in win value as they do in chess, so pawns are the lowest and queens are the highest. There are black and white versions of each. The king is the Wild symbol, which substitutes for any winning line.
However, if you hit a winning queen line on the center square the queen moves out and takes all the pieces in a square around her. This adds the symbol’s value to your win. Some of them may turn in to King Wilds after.
The free spins bonus triggers when you collect three Kings. You get assigned either black or white, and then whenever that color appears on the center reel it will move according to the chess rules and take the piece it ends up on. That value is added to the win, and the position is converted to a king wild for a respin.
Other Chess Slot Games are More Variable
Some other slot game options include Chess Royale, Chessmate and the Christmas-chess themed-slot Chessmas. Neither one matches the atmosphere or gameplay quality of Red Tiger Gaming’s Shah Mat however.
The best of them – despite the odd combo theme – is Chessmas by Elysium Studios. This game… does what it says. It combines Christmas symbols with chess symbols. Rooks that look like nutcrackers. Bishops like Christmas trees. Pawns with bauble heads. You get the idea. It has decent graphics for a modern slot game but nothing special.
It has five by five reels and fifteen paylines, and a higher maximum win that Shah Mat at 9021x your bet.
Chessmas is not a bad game by any means, but the theme means it feels a bit weird to play it any other time of the year. But it might be worth a shot if you’re into the festive spirit.
Chess has also been used for videogames for a long time too but modern games have fused it with a variety of styles. Chess player and creator Alexandra Botez even had a hand in an upcoming Chess battle royale game – Chess Arena. Another is Passant: A Chess Roguelike – where you (and your opponents) upgrade your chess set with more powerful moves as you go.