This article was published on May 19, 2011

Fancy some three-man chess? This board has you covered.


Fancy some three-man chess? This board has you covered.

In a recent episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper devised a game of three-man chess, complete with a set of rules only an asexual physicist could understand and strange new pieces and gameplay mechanics such as the serpent, old woman and transporter.

It turns out the three-man chess has been around for a lot longer — this board sold at 3 Man Chess has been around since at least 1999 according to the dated review on the site, though I can’t find a reference to the product’s actual launch date. It’s still in production, and you can order one for yourself.

Like Cooper’s version, 3 Man Chess contains a few new gameplay mechanics to solve some major issues — such as a “moat” that prevents the rook from quickly knocking out the neighbouring opponent’s king — though we think they’ll be a lot easier to learn.

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