Bughouse chess is a chess variant for four players who form two teams of two and play on two chessboards at the same time. Ordinary chess rules apply, with one addition: a piece captured on one board is passed to the capturing player's teammate on the other board, who may then choose to put that piece onto their own board. The game is usually played at a fast time control, and together with the passing and dropping of pieces this can make play look chaotic to a casual onlooker, which explains the name, since bughouse is slang for a mental hospital. It is also called exchange chess, tandem chess, transfer chess, double bughouse, doubles chess, cross chess, swap chess, Siamese chess, or simply bughouse, bugsy or bug. The name Siamese chess should not be confused with Thai chess. Dedicated bughouse tournaments are organized each year at national and international level.
Facts
Playing Time Band Playing Time Skill or Luck Game Category Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Minimum Players Maximum Players Classification
Player Count Sport
Game Type (category) Connections
Derived From
Chess, Games Source Bughouse chess (Wikipedia)
Long-Form Articles
Sources
1. Bughouse chess (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
Bughouse chess is a popular chess variant played on two chessboards by four players in teams of two.
Infobox: playing_time
Usually 5-10 mins.
Infobox: random_chance
None
View the Source2. Bughouse Chess (BoardGameGeek)
- Origin Year: 1960
- Playing Time: 10
- Designer: (Uncredited)
- Publisher: (Public Domain)
- Game Category: Abstract Strategy
- Game Mechanic: Grid Movement
- Game Mechanic: Real-Time
- Game Mechanic: Team-Based Game
- Minimum Players: 4
- Maximum Players: 4
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