We have all heard of chess. We have all heard of dice games like Yahtzee, Bunco and, in a casino setting, craps. But have you heard of dice chess, which takes the traditional game of chess and gives it a major twist to create an innovative, challenging and fascinating game?

The purpose of adding the dice to the ultimate cerebral game is to introduce unpredictability and chance, something that casino game players know all about. Slots, for example, are far less about strategy than they are chance. Slot players often rely on tactics outside the game itself, like managing their bankroll. In the UK, many look for operators that allow 5 pound casino deposits, so they can place smaller bets and keep better control over their funds. Players in other countries use similar approaches. The same idea applies to dice chess – rather than players depending entirely on careful planning, each move is influenced by the roll of the dice, leaving much of the outcome in the hands of Lady Luck.

A Bit About Dice Chess

Dice chess requires players to think on their feet. In it, the basic rules of chess remain the same, with the ultimate goal of creating a checkmate situation on the opponent’s king. However, instead of reaching deep into memory to recall the right moves and planning five steps ahead, each player has to roll a die on every turn.

Each number on the die relates to a specific game piece. The number one, for example, relates to the pawn, and number two, the knight. So whatever number is rolled, that’s the only playing piece that the player can move for that turn.

The introduction of dice produces enormous elements of luck that are not found in regular chess, making it extremely dynamic and challenging, but could this hypothetically cross into the world of online casinos?

Slot Dice Chess

Slots are highly popular, and there would be a way to integrate the theme of dice chess into one. Themes are fairly easy to integrate into a slot, and that’s why you can find everything from classic American Diners to underwater adventures and dinosaurs.

Chess pieces could make up the symbols, with the King and Queen being at the top of the paytable. Polished 3D symbols would stand out and could easily be animated, with things like captures and perhaps a checkmate mechanic for a jackpot play.

The dice could be worked in, with the sound of them being rolled on every spin. They could also be integrated into a mini bonus game, where a specific winning number has to be rolled, or a player has to get matching pairs in a pick-and-win type feature.

Another relatable bonus feature could be rolling a die like in dice chess. Whatever piece that number relates to, it settles which bonus symbol will appear as scatters, extra wilds or even symbol transformations.

Live Dealer Dice Chess

Live dealer dice chess would be a little more immersive for a real game experience. The rolling of the dice would have to be completely automated for game fairness, much in the way that live craps dice are rolled by a mechanical arm.

There would be the standard multiple angles, and a digital overlay showing the bets, along with an in-game chat to engage with the dealer. This could be a direct game where the player just bets on a successful outcome on the board.

For each round, an RNG could set up a chessboard with a few static pieces of the opposing color. The player then would attempt to create a checkmate in a certain number of turns, by only moving a piece from a corresponding dice roll.

Pre-game bets could be placed on the number of moves taken to achieve checkmate, along with the player backing themselves to win. This could potentially then cross into player v player scenarios with money riding on the outcome.

Video Dice Chess

Playing video poker pits a player against a random number generator for outcomes. A version of dice chess could be produced for a casino with the same kind of mechanics by pitting the player against the machine.

In video dice chess, the computer, driven by AI, would roll the dice and then have to decide which piece to move, just the same as the player. This would naturally keep all the randomness of dice chess in focus, and each round could play out to its natural conclusion after pre-game bets on the player winning the round.

This could potentially be adapted for levels of difficulty as well. The more challenging the level of an RNG AI opponent is, the longer the odds of the player beating it.

A Natural Fit

Because the whole purpose of dice chess is elements of chance, the game would fit very nicely into the casino environment. There are adaptations of it that would certainly work, especially in a video and slot format.