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Tactics Trainer Name the tactic, then play the winning move. 
Play a Bot Play a bot that moves like a real person at your level. 
Play a Friend Share a room code and play a friend online. 
Tactics Rush Solve as many as you can in 90 seconds. All activities
Solve tactics
Tactics Trainer Name the tactic, then play the winning move on a real board. A hint appears when you get stuck. Tactic Motifsnew Eight advanced motifs beyond the six core tactics — each taught by the character who lives by it. Pattern Detective Quick-fire: read a position and spot which of the six tactics wins. Build your pattern sense. Tactics Rushnew Solve as many tactics as you can in 90 seconds — they get harder as you go. Beat your best. Puzzle of the Day One fresh tactical puzzle every day — the same one for everyone, no account needed. Basic Checkmatesnew Drive the lone king to the edge and mate it — Queen, the two-rook ladder, and Rook. Solitaire Chessnew Clear the board! Every move must capture — chain your captures down to a single piece. Pure calculation, no opponent, no clock.
Sharpen your board sense
Sir Pinwell's Kingdomnew A story campaign: six champions, one per tactic. Meet each one, learn their signature move, then win their duel to be crowned. Program #186 flagship. Grandmaster Trainingnew The full curriculum: sixteen 3-minute training rounds across the rules, tactics, checkmates, openings, endgames and strategy — each with a memory hook, a joke, and a quick check. Win rounds, climb the rating, earn a certificate. Gem Huntnew Learn how each piece moves — slide the rook, jump the knight, step the king — by moving it to collect every gem. A movement primer for new players. Board Vision Know the board by heart — square names, colours, and how the pieces see. Quick drills. Master Gamesnew Guess the move a master played in a famous game — like the Opera Game — then see why it works. Teach the Cast Teach a tactic to a cast member still learning it — teaching it is how you make it stick. Trick Questions Chess brain-teasers with a twist — spot why the obvious-looking answer is a trap.
Play & analyze
Free Play Play a full game against the coach — pick your side and difficulty, then use your tactics. My Games Every game you play against the coach is saved on this device — replay it move by move and get a kind, move-by-move review. Nothing leaves the device. Human Bot Play a bot that moves like a real person at your level — natural games, all on-device. King of the Hill A chess variant: race your king to the four centre squares to win, or win the normal way with checkmate. Three-Check A chess variant: give check three times to win, or win the normal way with checkmate. Racing Kings A chess variant: no pawns and no checks allowed — the first king to race to the 8th rank wins. Horde A chess variant: 36 king-less pawns vs the full army — White checkmates, Black captures every pawn. Antichess A chess variant: captures are forced and you win by losing all your pieces — every instinct flipped. Chess960 A chess variant: the back row is shuffled into one of 960 legal setups — no memorised openings, think from move one. Atomic A chess variant: every capture explodes, taking out the neighbours too — win by blowing up the enemy king. Crazyhouse A chess variant: a piece you capture joins your reserve and can be dropped back onto the board — a relentless, ever-refilling attack. Fog of War A chess variant: you see only your own pieces and where they can go — the rest is hidden in fog. No checks; win by capturing the enemy king. Duck Chess A chess variant with a twist: every turn you move a piece AND then move the duck to any empty square. The duck blocks it and can never be captured. No checks; win by capturing the enemy king. Analysis Board Set up any position and explore the lines with an on-device engine — nothing leaves the device. Review Your Misses The tactics you got wrong come back — spaced so they return just as you’re about to forget them. Gambit Quest A progression trail through every kit — clear each stop of real practice, then move on.
Play a friend
Board Pass & Play Play a real chess game against a friend on one device — two humans take turns, no computer. Play a Friend Share a room code and play a friend online — one game, two devices, no accounts. Gambit Duel 2–4 players take turns on one device — same questions for everyone, highest first-try score wins.
More ways to play
Meet the cast — the characters who teach this
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Sir Pinwell Pin pattern — freezes pieces along a line -
Twin Knights of Fork Hill Fork pattern — attack two targets at once -
Lady Skewer Skewer pattern — force a valuable piece out of the way -
Veil & Vow Discovered attack — step aside to reveal a hidden threat -
Captain Crossfire Double attack — one move threatens two targets -
The Glass Lantern X-ray attack — light pierces through to the piece behind -
King Pumble & King Sable Two kings — librarian and gardener; one step at a time -
Queen Vesper Queen — ranger-messenger; any direction, any distance -
Captain Castle Mentor + narrator — rook archetype; the mascot who introduces the cast + scaffolds the lesson -
The Pawn Cohort Ensemble piece — the four pawn-paired sets (Pawn Patrol + Sienna & Bran + Trotter & Trundle + Gable & Garrett) acting as one in the world layer -
Merle the Gleaner Hanging Piece — a piece with no defender is a free piece -
Sir Sidetrack Deflection — chase the guard off its duty, then take what it protected -
Warden Snare Trapped Piece — a piece with no safe square falls where it stands -
Mason the Interposer Interference — cut the line between a defender and its charge -
Siren Lyra Attraction — lure a piece onto the square where your next move wins it -
Vale the Wayclearer Clearance — move your own piece off the line so the power behind lands -
Kester the Finisher Checkmate — a check the king cannot escape, block, or capture -
Linnet the Netweaver Checkmate in Two — the first move forces the reply, the second springs the mate
Ensemble stories — the cast together
📚 Books for GambitTales
- Storybook
- Storybook (advanced)
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- Activity book
- Puzzle book
- Strategy book
- Strategy puzzle workbook
- Flash cards
- Joke book
- Poster