Chess with fights on the board
Battle Chess is a turn-based strategy game that plays by normal chess rules, but every capture turns into a short combat animation. When a knight takes a pawn, the two pieces actually fight it out on the board instead of one simply replacing the other. The whole game is set as a medieval world at war, with an isometric pixel-art board and animated pieces that give each capture its own character. The tagline says it took 2000 years for someone to make chess better, and that is exactly what the game goes for: familiar chess, made watchable.
Playing together
You can play against the computer, play against your friends, or let the computer play against itself while you watch. Remote Play Together is supported, so one person who owns the game can invite others along for a session. Since the game is turn-based, a group can take their time over each move and treat it as a shared match rather than something you have to rush through. Watching the AI face itself also works as a way for a group to study how pieces behave in the animated fights.
What to know before starting
Battle Chess: Enhanced is included, and the game offers 10 levels of play to work through, aimed at challenging even experienced players. The AI is described as having over 30,000 moves, so there is plenty of depth to dig into once the novelty of the animations wears off. The core of it is still chess: the same rules, the same turn order, the same tactics. If someone in your group already plays chess, nothing needs relearning, and if someone does not, the combat animations make it easier to see what each capture actually means on the board. Expect a classic presentation with pixel graphics and isometric views rather than a modern look.