Eat Chess
Royal Merge is a chess merge puzzle on a compact 4×4 board. Pick one piece. Move it by simplified chess rules. Match it with another of the same type and level. Pawns become Knights, then Bishops, Rooks, Queens, Kings, and higher-level Pawns. The ladder loops, and starts again at double the value.
chef's note: Out now for iPhone and iPad on the App Store, and on Android via Google Play.
Three frames from the game. A Solo board, the New Game picker, and a Versus match mid-turn.
The board fills fast. A quiet setup move can matter as much as the merge it opens. The rules are short enough to fit on a coaster.
Select a piece. Legal squares light up. Pawns step one square forward and merge on a diagonal. Knights jump in their L. Bishops, Rooks, and Queens slide until something stops them. Kings step one square in any direction. The constraint is the puzzle.
Two of the same type and level fuse into the next type up. Pawn, Knight, Bishop, Rook, Queen, King. Two Kings collapse into a higher-level Pawn and the ladder restarts. Back-to-back merges build a combo multiplier. A move into empty space breaks the chain, so timing matters.
King and Rook of the same level, lined up with a clear path between them, can swap places. It scores nothing. It saves runs. Use it when the board pinches and you need a piece to breathe before the next merge.
One player against the board. Play without a clock, add a Player Clock, set an Increment, or cap the run with a Turn Limit. Personal bests stick around.
Two players share one board on the same device. Pieces are shared, not owned. The active player scores only when they make a merge. Hand the phone over and let the other side cook.
Player 2 can also be a local Computer opponent at Mild, Zesty, or Spicy. It thinks on your device. No network, no account, no leaking out the back.
Every legal move into empty space adds a new Pawn. Pawn Spawn adds one on every second merge. Royal Reserve drops a Level 1 piece after every five successful actions. Every arrival can help. Every arrival takes space.
Back-to-back merges build a multiplier. Chain a few and the next one is worth a lot more than the first. A Castle Swap or a move into empty space breaks the chain.
Versus only. If a timed Player Clock hits zero, Clock Collapse keeps 20% of that player's score, resets the clock, and leaves that player on turn. The match continues.
Solo only. Tap once for promising pieces, tap again for a recommended move. It costs part of your current score and never plays the move for you.
Official Solo runs can count toward local records, Game Center leaderboards, and achievements. The toggle lives in Settings.
Tap Share Result and Royal Merge renders a portrait card with the final board, score, longest combo, and a few stats worth bragging about. Built on your phone, handed off to the iOS share sheet.
No accounts. No ads. No analytics. Saves and stats live on your device. The whole game runs in airplane mode if you want it to.
One universal app, sized to whatever you opened it on. Built for big Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion. Arrow keys work on iPad.
Start with the free chess sets and the Quiet Royal theme. Add optional cosmetic sets, themes, and the Royal Patron badge if you want. Purchases do not change movement, scores, spawns, hints, timers, Castle Swap, leaderboards, or match results.
Royal Merge is the second dish in the Eat Chess series. Familiar chess vocabulary, short rules, and a board small enough to read at a glance. The kind of puzzle a clever player can chew on for a while and a kid can still pick up.
