Chess. MMOs. As far as games go, they’re nothing alike. But what if they were? That’s the central thesis of One Million Chessboards, the brainchild of a single developer where you and hundreds of other players engage in simultaneous games of chess. This is less a mass board game, however, and more of an outlandish social experiment where you interact with others like passing ships in the night. Either way, you absolutely need to try it for yourself.
One Million Chessboards starts exactly like you think it does. You, and however many other people are playing at any given time, can move pieces on one of a million chessboards in an effort to get a checkmate. It sounds simple at first, but this chess MMO has a lot more going on underneath the surface. Developed by Nolen Royalty, who’s also made bizarre multiplayer games like One Million Checkboxes and an experience that teaches you to smile like Mark Zuckerberg, Chessboards is so much more than a game.
For starters, moving a piece on any of the one million boards changes its position for everyone. This happens instantly, meaning there are no traditional turns. You can even move across different boards with your pieces, winning (or losing) as many games of chess as possible.
When booting the game up, I was staring down 12 different matches of chess on my screen, but you can also click anywhere on the map to see what everyone else is doing. Some areas of One Million Chessboards are a barren wasteland, with the occasional lone pawn or rook just sitting there, begging to be moved. I also came across a board filled with queens, while one other player systematically took them all out one at a time, almost taunting whoever put them there. One player even built what they dubbed ‘Rooklyn’: a board filled with rooks that another player came and defended from outside attack.
I made a website. It’s called “one million chessboards dot com”. it has one million chessboards on it.
moving a piece moves it for everyone, instantly. no turns. you can move between boards.
that’s it. have fun! pic.twitter.com/T9GqvfwJKC
— nolen (@itseieio) April 28, 2025
Some screens have absolutely no movement, while others are filled with multiple players darting across boards, with their own tasks in mind. Other players have made gigantic, board-spanning fortresses, where a blockade of black pieces is surrounded by white ones, like they’re daring each other to make the first move.
If it hasn’t become clear by now, One Million Chessboards is so much more than a simple board game. It’s a strangely alluring look at human behavior, where all players do their own thing. In my brief time with the game, I was never really playing chess. Instead, I was eagerly watching everything other players were doing, and finding unique stories buried in the sea of pieces.
You can play One Million Chessboards for yourself right here. Just pick a spot and go wherever the wind takes you.
We’ve also put together all the best strategy games and co-op games, if MMO chess isn’t enough for you.
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