Comparing Chess with The Battle of Polytopia

If you’re reading this, then you’re most likely a megafan of chess; or at the very least have more than a passing interest in the game! 

Chess has been loved for centuries, and ingrained in strategic game design. It’s a topic I recently wrote about for GameDeveloper.com. With chess being played throughout history, it’s of course challenging for modern-day titles to rival the age-old classic. Nevertheless, you’ll find countless frumdiscussions and social media posts discussing how other games compare; not least in the form of Elon Musk comparing The Battle of Polytopia with Chess on X. 

As the General Manager of Midjiwan (The creators of The Battle of Polytopia), I’d like to provide some insight into the debate by highlighting some of the similarities and differences between each game.

Turn-Based

Starting with the major similarities, Chess and The Battle of Polytopia are, of course, both turn-based strategy games. In both games, players take turns to strategically outmind an opponent and gain dominance over the board. As a video game, Polytopia joins other titles such as Stellaris and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI in the 4x strategy genre.  

Objective

Chess has one simple goal: to checkmate the opponent’s king. In Polytopia, defeating your opponent remains important but there are various modes to achieve this. ‘Domination’ is a battle to the death; defeating your fellow tribe conclusively. ‘Perfection’, our classic mode, is all about making the highest score. Whilst defeating tribes makes the score counter go higher, there are other ways to succeed too; such as growing a vast economy. 

When it comes to turn-based combat, winners are decided by predefined rules rather than being left to chance. In the same way a chess player can determine whether an opponent’s piece can be successfully captured before making a move, the attack and defense scores of a unit displayed in Polytopia can allow a player to decide whether a duel will be successful before heading into battle. 

Board

Where the games begin to differ is the board on which the game is played. Whilst Chess is restricted to a flat - often wooden - board, there’s much more variety in Polytopia. On a chess board, there are no lakes or mountains to traverse; both randomly-generated landmarks players face in Polytopia. The size of the board is also a key difference between the games. Chess is made up of 64 squares in an 8 x 8 grid, however Polytopia players can choose to play in worlds composed of 121 tiles to an almighty 900. Another difference Polytopia has is the ‘fog of war’ which hides surrounding land in a low-poly cloud until a daring unit ventures closer. 

Units

In many ways, the unit system of chess and Polytopia is similar with each unit’s movement, attack, and defense capabilities all known to the other player. Yet, Polytopia’s ‘tech tree’ allows the tribes’ move set and abilities to be upgraded in a myriad of ways, distinguishing the game from chess. ‘Chivalry’ and ‘Spiritualism’ aren’t abilities applicable to static chess pieces, but they are an option in Polytopia. 

By giving Polytopia units the ability to learn how to shoot, build embassies, and mine; there are considerably more ways in how a game may play out. 

This does however make it more difficult to predict an opponent's move when compared to chess. In both Polytopia and chess, each possible move creates new positions, offering endless combinations as to how a game plays out. The further a game progresses, the more complex it is to predict the opponent’s next tactic.

Competition

Finally, both games have a healthy competitive scene with both games using the same Elo rating system to assess player skill. We’ve partnered with Challengermode to bring frequent tournaments to Polytopia, and competition is also integral to chess; whether that be in schools or on the international level. In fact, Midjiwan is the official sponsor of the National Swedish Chess Team! 

In November 2023’s European Team Chess Championship, the Swedish team wore ‘The Battle of Polytopia’ logos on their uniforms, a testament to how both chess and The Battle of Polytopia can live in harmony, and be enjoyed by a range of fans. 

Conclusion

So there you have it: five ways in which the two games compare. Enjoyed by millions, both games take a different approach to strategic gameplay. Chess has always been loved by players. New strategy games such as Polytopia were never set out to; nor will they, replace the age-old classic of chess, but instead offer an additional way for gamers to apply their strategic-minded thinking!