ShahmatWhere Loyalties Lie

One player is the King, and everyone knows it. Everyone else gets a secret role:

• Loyalists protect the King, who does not know who they are.
• Rebels win when the King falls.
• The Usurper wants to be the last one standing, and has to pretend to be on whichever side is useful right now.

Every turn you play cards to strike, defend, heal and scheme, and every card you play tells the table a little about which side you are on. The King is trying to work out who his friends are before the Rebels work out how to reach him.

Shahmat is the Persian shah mat, the phrase English turned into "checkmate": the king is helpless.

Eranshar is a realm of Shahs and champions, demons and divine Glory. Its throne is held by whoever carries the Farr, the Glory that marks a rightful ruler, and the Farr abandons anyone who lies or grows proud.

Four powers fight over that throne. The Kayan are the royal house. Turan is the rival empire to the east. Zabul is the house of Zal and Rostam. The Aneran are everyone else: tyrants, healers and wanderers who answer to no Shah.

1. One person opens the game and clicks Create a room. They get a four-letter code.
2. Everyone else opens the same page, clicks Join and types the code. No accounts, no downloads.
3. The host can fill empty seats with bots, then starts the game.

The host's browser runs the game, so the host keeps their tab open until the end. Want to learn first? Practice mode is a full game against bots.

• 25 characters across four factions, each with their own abilities and story
• 108 cards: Slashes, Parries, Pomegranates, schemes, curses, weapons, armor and Legendary Steeds
• The Farr: the King can anoint a player he trusts, and the Farr turns on anyone who betrays him
• Bots that fill empty seats, and take over if someone drops

Shahmat is in playtesting. The full base game is in and every rule is enforced by the game, so the arguments at the table are about trust, not about what a card does. Found something broken, or a character that feels unfair? Tell us at [email protected].

Shahmat is an original game by Duraan Olomi. Inspired by San Guo Sha and the many hidden-role games he loves.