Board Games Like Chess: 9 Strategy Games Worth Playing

People who love chess are usually not just looking for another board game. They are looking for a very specific feeling: deep decisions, visible consequences, and the satisfaction of winning because they planned better than the person across the table.

That is why the best board games like chess are not always the loudest or most complicated games on the shelf. The best ones reward timing, positioning, pattern recognition, and nerve.

If chess is your baseline, these are nine strategy games worth trying next.

What makes a board game feel like chess?

Before getting into the list, it helps to define what chess players usually mean when they ask for "games like chess." Most are looking for some mix of these qualities:

• Two-player tension
• Low randomness
• High skill expression
• Strong positional play
• Clear consequences for mistakes
• Enough depth to keep improving over time

That is why the best games like chess are often abstract strategy games or tightly designed tactical duels.

1. Go

If chess is about force and tactics, Go is about influence and territory. The rules are simpler than chess, but the strategic depth is enormous. It is one of the purest skill-based games ever made.

Why chess players like it: every move matters, there is no luck, and long-term planning decides the game.

2. Hive

Hive looks nothing like chess at first glance, but it scratches a similar itch. Each insect moves differently, and the goal is to surround the opposing queen. The game is compact, sharp, and brutally tactical.

Why chess players like it: piece coordination and tempo matter almost immediately.

3. Onitama

Onitama is one of the cleanest chess alternatives around. The board is small, the rules are elegant, and players share a rotating pool of move cards, which means both players can see a lot of the tactical landscape in advance.

Why chess players like it: it is readable, tense, and rewards anticipation.

4. Santorini

Santorini adds a spatial puzzle to a two-player duel. Instead of trying to checkmate a king, players are building upward and controlling movement. The board changes quickly, so short-term tactics and long-term geometry both matter.

Why chess players like it: initiative and future board shape are everything.

5. War Chest

War Chest has more battlefield flavor than chess, but it still rewards careful maneuvering and timing. Unit identity matters, positioning matters, and a local skirmish can quickly become the center of the entire game.

Why chess players like it: tactical clashes connect into bigger strategic plans.

6. Quoridor

Quoridor is simple enough to teach in minutes and nasty enough to hold attention for years. Players race to the far side of the board while placing walls to interfere with each other's plans.

Why chess players like it: the game is really about path control, timing, and keeping options open.

7. Shogi

Shogi is often described as Japanese chess, but it deserves to be appreciated on its own terms. Captured pieces can be dropped back onto the board under the captor's control, which creates a much more volatile strategic environment.

Why chess players like it: it starts familiar and then becomes wonderfully wild.

8. Xiangqi

Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, is another classic choice for players who want something close to chess but not identical. The board geometry creates a different rhythm, and direct attacks can appear early and often.

Why chess players like it: it is aggressive, tactical, and still deeply strategic.

9. LEGATUS

LEGATUS starts from classic chess foundations, then changes the shape of the battle in a way that feels fresh without becoming random. Standard piece movement still matters. Checkmate is still the win condition. But before normal play begins, players build their own starting formation, and during the game each turn can include one limited command order.

That single design shift changes a lot. You are no longer relying on memorized opening sequences. You are solving a battlefield that both players created.

Why chess players like it: it preserves king safety, tactics, and positional play while adding more adaptation from move one.

Which game should a chess player try first?

That depends on what you love most about chess.

• If you want the purest possible duel, try Go.
• If you want fast tactical tension, try Hive or Onitama.
• If you want another classic with a long learning path, try Shogi or Xiangqi.
• If you want chess roots with a redesigned opening phase, try LEGATUS.

The right answer is less about theme and more about what kind of thinking you want to reward.

Why this category keeps growing

The audience for games like chess is bigger than many people think. Some players want more variety than standard chess offers. Some want a game that feels strategic without requiring years of opening theory. Others simply want another two-player game where winning feels earned.

That is exactly why the category keeps producing strong titles. Good strategy games do not need huge rulebooks. They need meaningful decisions.

Final thought

The best board games like chess are not copies of chess. They are games that preserve the parts chess players care about most: depth, tension, clarity, and outplay.

If you want the most direct bridge from classic chess to something fresh, LEGATUS is worth a look. It keeps the logic of the duel but makes formation-building and tactical timing a bigger part of the story.

FAQ

What is the closest board game to chess?

That depends on what you mean by close. Shogi and Xiangqi are the closest classic relatives. If you mean modern strategy board games with a similar feel, Onitama and LEGATUS are strong options.

Are abstract strategy games like chess?

Many of them are. Abstract strategy games often emphasize skill, positioning, and long-term planning over luck, which is why they appeal to chess players.

Is LEGATUS a chess variant?

LEGATUS is best described as a chess-inspired strategy game. It keeps standard piece movement and checkmate, but adds custom deployment and limited command orders to reshape how the battle begins and develops.