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Strato Chess. Information (no rules) about a quarter-century old three dimensional chess variant. (3x(8x8), Cells: 192) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

j. mcadams wrote on Wed, Mar 30, 2011 07:44 AM UTC:BelowAverage ★★

Just found this.  Looks like fun possibilities, but the rules are unclear.
One player starts on top level, other on bottom.  Otherwise standard
arrays.  Each piece MUST change level on it's first move, afterwards it
seems to be optional.
King & Rook move straight up & down as expected.
Bishop moves 'diagonally from plane to plane' - I can't tell if that
means pick a diagonal and a plane to run along, if you can change in the
middle of a move to avoid pieces, or if the inter-board move is limited to
2 squares along a 3D diagonal.  
Knight can move one or two planes in addition to it's normal move.
Pawn can move up or down one plane during a normal move.  It's implied
that this is after moving forward.

You cannot capture during a move that changes planes.
In general, the rules are ambiguous and not very clear.  The discussion of
minimum force ignores possible movement between boards.

In summary - OK equipment, but you're better off making your own rules.