Władysław Gliński's hexagonal chess is played on 91 hexes across eleven files
(a–l, skipping j). Each army has 18 men. The goal is the same as
chess: deliver checkmate to the enemy King.
The board
Three shades of hex tile the field. The board never turns — your army always
sits on the edge nearest you, and pieces always advance toward your opponent.
The army & how it moves
♚
King · ×1
One hex in any of the 12 directions. Cannot move into check.
♛
Queen · ×1
Any distance as a Rook or Bishop — the most powerful piece.
♜
Rook · ×2
Any distance along the 6 edge directions (through the flat sides).
♝
Bishop · ×3
Any distance along the 6 diagonals (through the vertices); each stays on its own colour.
♞
Knight · ×2
Leaps to the nearest hexes that are neither a Rook nor Bishop line — up to 12 targets. Jumps over anything.
♟
Pawn · ×9
Steps straight forward; captures one hex diagonally forward.
Pawns in detail
Each of the nine pawns may step two hexes on its first move, and captures
only on the two forward-diagonal hexes. En passant applies. A pawn reaching
the far edge of its file promotes to Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight.
Check & checkmate
A King attacked by an enemy piece is in check and must be made safe on the
very next move — by moving the King, blocking the line, or capturing the attacker.
If no legal move ends the check it is checkmate and that player loses the game.
There is no castling in Gliński's chess.
After every move the app looks at the player about to move and asks
two questions: are they in check? and do they have any legal reply? Those
two answers decide check, checkmate, and stalemate below.
Stalemate
If the player to move is not in check but has no legal move at all, the
position is stalemate. Unlike ordinary chess, Gliński's rules treat it as a
near-win rather than a plain draw — and you can choose which:
Gliński scoring
Settings ▸ Stalemate scoring ▸ Gliński ¾–¼
The player who delivered the stalemate scores ¾ of a
point; the stalemated player scores ¼. This is the default.
Plain draw
Settings ▸ Stalemate scoring ▸ Draw
Stalemate counts as an ordinary ½–½ draw, as in
standard chess.
Draws
A game can also be drawn in three ways. The two automatic conditions are each
switched on by default but can be turned off in Settings — when a check is off,
the app never declares that draw, and play simply continues.
Threefold repetition
Settings ▸ Threefold repetition
If the exact same position occurs three times — the same pieces
on the same hexes, the same player to move, and the same en-passant
possibility — the game is drawn. Turn the toggle off to disable the check entirely.
50-move rule
Settings ▸ 50-move rule
If 50 moves by each side (100 plies) pass with no capture and
no pawn move, the game is drawn. The counter resets to zero the instant any pawn
advances or any piece is captured. Turn the toggle off to disable it.
Agreement
Settings ▸ Request / Accept Draw
Either player may offer a draw with the 🤝 Draw button; the game
is drawn if the opponent accepts. Disable this toggle to hide the offer flow.
There is no automatic insufficient-material or dead-position
draw — a King-vs-King ending is settled by agreement or by the 50-move rule.
Resigning
At any time a player may concede with the 🏳️ Resign button, awarding the full
point and the game to their opponent.
One board, two players, one device. Each side has its own console on
the edge nearest them — the board stays put while you both read it right-side-up.
Making a move
👆
Tap a piece
Legal destinations light up: a quiet move,
a capture. Tap the piece again to deselect.
🎯
Tap a target
The piece glides there. Captures, en passant, and promotion are all handled for you.
⚪
First move claims White
Whoever moves first plays White; the opponent's army recolours to Black.
The buttons
↩️
Undo
Open the move history and request a rewind to any earlier point.
🤝
Draw
Offer a draw; your opponent accepts or declines on their side.
🔄
Flip
Rotate the whole view 180° — handy when one person plays both sides.
⚙️
Settings
Rules, theme, coordinate labels, and sound. The panel faces whoever opened it.
🏳️
Resign
Concede the game and award the win to your opponent.
🔇
Mute
Silence move and capture sounds.
Score & captures
Tap your score card to pop out the pieces you've captured and your material
lead. The big number is games won in this match.
Tip: the brass highlight trails the last move, and the King's
hex glows red when it's in check.
Off by default — Gliński's is untimed unless you add a chess clock. Turn
one on in Settings to play against the clock.
Turning on a clock
Pick a time control
Settings ▸ Clock
Choose Off, a preset (5+0, 3+2, 10+5, 90+30), or Custom to dial in
your own. A time control is a base time per player, sometimes with an increment
(a few seconds added back to your clock each move). It takes effect on the next new game.
Starting the game
With a clock set, the board waits until someone starts it. Tap your own clock to
begin: that picks you as Black, makes your opponent White, and starts
White's clock — White then makes the first move. (Just like a real chess clock, pressing
your side starts your opponent's time.)
During play
⏱️
Your clock runs on your turn
The side to move has the highlighted clock; the other is dimmed.
🔁
Ending your turn
By default, completing a move hands the clock to your opponent (with any increment). You can instead require a clock tap to end each turn — Settings ▸ Clock
🚫
No takebacks
Undo is unavailable while a time control is set.
Running out of time
If your clock reaches zero you lose on time — unless your opponent has no
way to checkmate you, in which case it's a draw.
In Gliński's hex chess even a single knight or bishop can mate, so a
timeout is only a draw when the other side is down to a bare king.