I missed playing Catan & Civ, so I built my own strategy game over the weekend with AI's help.
Rajasuya, 12 turns, two rival claims to the high kingship of ancient India based during the times of Mahabharata.
Free to play, in-browser.
Hope you find it fun.
Heads up for anyone in/near London:The 30th Mind Sports Olympiad runs 22–30 August at the Mercure Hotel in Earls Court and includes Carcassonne tournaments (plus a whole load of other games).It’s open to all levels and ages. You can enter the Carcassonne events or just turn up and spectate for free.Full schedule and registration here:
https://mindsportsolympiad.com/2026-schedule-and-registration/Might be a fun chance to play some serious (or not-so-serious) Carcassonne in person if you’re around. Rumor has it that several former Carcassonne world champions will be playing including Matt Tucker!
I’d love some feedback on a little asymmetric 2-player tactical game I’ve been working on this summer, currently called Esc Ctrl.
One player tries to escape while the other tries to capture.
I’ve set up a browser version for blind playtesting, so if you try it, please rely only on the in-game rules.
Playtest:
https://esc-ctrl.net/playtest
Critical feedback is very welcome!
Karn
Looking for feedback
What is Karn:
Karn is an abstract strategy game I created where you build in 3D; the aim is to build as high as possible and have the most pieces at the highest level. You and your opponent should use strategies to both gain height while trying to stop each other. You can hinder your opponent by blocking them off; this can be done in many ways, and you must plan your structure to give yourself the most options and give your opponent the least.
The pieces:
This game has 3 pieces: blocks (15 per player), pillars (10 per player). These are building pieces, and platforms (20) are shared between both players.
How to play:
This is a turn-based game starting with white, then black. You start by placing a building block on the board, and then your opponent does the same; from there, you need to work out how to build up and block your opponent from doing the same.
Rule 1 – Blocks and Pillars may only be placed on the Board or on a Platform.
Rule 2 – A Platform may only be placed between a Block and a Pillar that are orthogonally adjacent and on the same level.
Rule 3 – You cannot place a building piece on the part of a Platform directly above a Block, unless your Platform is owned (see Rule 6); then a Pillar can be placed in that area.
Rule 4 – Your opponent’s pieces are inverted for you: their Blocks act as Pillars, and their Pillars act as Blocks.
Rule 5 – You cannot place a Pillar next to an opponent’s Block unless that Block has a Platform above it.
Rule 6 – A Platform is owned by you if both supporting pieces are yours, shared if one supporting piece is yours, and off-limits if neither supporting piece is yours. You cannot build on a Platform that is off-limits to you.
Rule 7 – A 2×1 tower may only continue directly upward for two Platforms. To build higher, the next Platform must connect from a different stack or direction.
Rule 8 – Running out of legal moves: If your move leaves you with no legal moves, your opponent gets one final turn, and then the game ends. If your move leaves your opponent with no legal moves, that move counts as the final turn and the game ends immediately.
Rule 9 – Scoring: When the game ends, find the highest occupied level, where a level encompasses all platforms at the same height and building blocks on them. On that level, Blocks score 1, Pillars score 2, and Platforms owned by you score 1.
Win: The player with the higher score on the highest occupied level wins.
Draw: If both players have the same score on the highest occupied level, the game is a draw.
Prototype image (last two images):
I have uploaded an image of a prototype Karn board after a game.
For the prototype, I borrowed draughts pieces to represent the Blocks and several differently sized Catan pieces to represent the pillar. Even though the Catan pieces are different sizes and shapes, they all represent the same pillar piece type in Karn.
n Crooked Derby, you secretly bet on one of six equally matched horses—but everyone can see exactly how much money you risked.
You must then publicly claim which horse you backed. You can tell the truth, construct a believable lie, or choose whichever story your cards can support.
During the race, every card is played face-up. You might push your real horse towards the finish, help another horse to build an alibi, or sabotage the leader to mislead the table.
Your opponents are constantly comparing your actions with your story, and before the finish they can call your bluff.
The game is designed for 2–6 players, with solo bots and Steam multiplayer.
It is still in development and has not been released yet. The Steam page is now live! Check it here - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4908960/Crooked_Derby/
Hello :)
In my spare time I designed this chess variant called Kumulus. Here are some pictures of my prototype as well as the main additional game mechanics explained.
I also vibe coded a playable app, if you want to playtest it yourself. Link is in the comments.
I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks!
Most advanced chess so far. Comment if you could beat the hardest bot. Link -> hexhearth.lovable.app
We significantly improved the AI in Nannon, the original nano-Backgammon. Play at http://nannon.com and join the leaderlboard or share your score on X!
Its free to download & Play
You can play online and offline
Play versus different level of Ai (No Internet)
Play versus other players online
Play with friends through Local wifi(No internet)
STAY TUNED
I asked an AI like a year ago how long until I can just type what I want a game to be and get a game, and it said five years. Tonight, I typed, in very great detail, exactly this board game I designed a long time ago, and it crapped out the HTML nearly instantly. It did one thing wrong then, after prompting, it fixed it. I loaded the game to my site and it worked! I'm blown away. I asked it if it could make it rudimentary multiplayer, where if two people are on the site, the first one to click white sets the sides. And that worked too! I'm blown away. GameofGates.com -It's janky, but I was about to pay a guy on fiverr a thousand bucks to make just this a year ago and Gemini did it in seconds.
Rules: Turn a gate, move your piece, get to the other side square in the corner or pin your opponent against the edge so they can't move.
It's still a little janky, because there are no rails, but hey, its my game on the web!
LUX ET UMBRA
Follow the Dice
Components
Chessboard + pieces in standard starting position (just like classic chess)
2 dice: instead of numbers — Light (white) and Shadow (black).
Don't have themed dice? Use regular ones: even numbers = Shadow, odd numbers = Light.
How Pieces Move
Everything is exactly like in classic chess. Pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queens, and kings move and capture the same way. No changes.
How to Play
Roll the dice — two colors appear (sometimes the same).
The Rule: you can only move a piece that stands on a square of the rolled color.
Pick any of the two rolled colors and make a move.
After this, you must make a move using the color of another die (if possible).
One piece can move twice if, after the first move, it ends up on a square of the required color.
Made at least one move during your turn? Now it's your opponent's turn.
Couldn't make a single move? You lose.
Allowed
Move from either rolled color (you choose which one goes first)
Move the same piece twice in a row
Capture the king if it's under attack
Promote a pawn on the last rank (choose any piece you want)
Not Allowed
Skip a move if you have a legal move available
Castling
En passant capture
Check and checkmate (they simply don't exist)
Draws
How to Win
Capture the opponent's king — instant victory
Capture all opponent's pieces except their king — they lose (bare king = defeat)
How to Lose
Couldn't make a move from either rolled color
Your king was captured
You have only your king left
Dice Odds
Each die has 3 Light faces and 3 Shadow faces.
Light + Shadow: 50% — the most flexible roll, you can choose either color.
Light + Light: 25% — both dice push you toward Light.
Shadow + Shadow: 25% — both dice push you toward Shadow.
In half of your rolls, you'll have both colors available. In the other half, you'll have to work with just one — so plan your piece placement wisely!
Quick Summary
Roll.
Move from the first color.
Move from the second color (if you can).
Made at least one move? Keep playing.
Couldn't make any? You lose.
Goal: destroy the king or all of your opponent's pieces.
Everything else is like regular chess. Just no check, checkmate, castling, or en passant.