The Goal
Ludus is a chess-like duel. Each commander leads 24 pieces.
Capture your opponent's First Lord (★) and you win instantly. Guard your own —
if it falls, the game is over. As in the novels: discipline over ferocity, and pieces
that support one another are stronger than pieces fighting alone.
The Two Boards
You fight on a ground board of 11×11 squares. Floating above its centre is a
smaller sky-board of 5×5 squares — the skies above the battlefield. Each sky
square sits directly over the shaded centre square it shadows. Only aerial pieces
(ringed in cyan) can fly up to the sky-board; from there they can drop back down onto
the ground square beneath them.
Taking a Turn
- One action per turn. White moves first, then players alternate.
- Click one of your pieces to select it — its legal destinations light up
(green = move, red = capture).
- A piece either moves (landing on an enemy captures it) or, for the
Knights and High Lords, fires a furycraft attack that removes a target without moving.
- Flying up to or down from the sky-board uses your whole turn.
The Pieces
LLegionare
Moves 1 forward/left/right (2 forward on its first move). Captures only forward-diagonally. Reaches the far rank → becomes a Veteran.
VVeteran
A promoted Legionare. Moves and captures 1 square in any of the 8 directions.
FKnight Flora
Slides up to 2 squares diagonally. Woodcraft: instead attack an enemy up to 2 diagonal squares away. Moves only on its own colour of square — like a bishop, each Flora is bound to light or dark for the whole game.
TKnight Terra
Leaps in an L-shape like a chess knight. Terracraft: strike an adjacent enemy — and any enemy directly behind it.
IKnight Ignus
Moves up to 2 squares straight (no diagonals). Firecraft: instead burn an enemy up to 2 squares away in a straight line.
RKnight Ferrous
An armored metalcrafter. Slides up to 2 squares in any direction, capturing by landing. Metalcraft ward: it cannot be struck by any furycraft attack — only taken by a move-capture.
AKnight Aeris air
Moves 2 squares any direction. Can fly to the sky-board (from the centre) and strike down onto the ground.
HHigh Lord air
The most powerful piece short of the First Lord. Moves 2 any direction, flies, and steps across the sky. Wields furycraft: an orthogonal strike to range 2 that pierces the enemy directly behind its target.
CCursor
A swift courier and scout. Glides up to 4 squares in any direction (blocked by pieces) and captures by landing. Fast and far-ranging, but no furycraft.
SSteadholder
A stubborn defender of the land. Steps 1 square in any direction. Shelter: any friendly piece orthogonally beside it cannot be struck by enemy furycraft — and shields whatever stands behind it. Pair it with a Cursor: a sheltered Cursor is fury-proof and still glides 4, so the two together rival a First Lord.
★First Lord air
Your king. Moves 2 any direction and may fly. If captured, you lose — protect it above all.
Opponents & Modes
- Vs a character — each foe from the Realm plays at a set difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard); change it any time in Settings.
- Pass & Play — two players share one screen (use Flip Board to turn it around).
- Online — Create a room, share the 5-letter code, and your opponent joins to play live.
- Choose your side — before a game against a character you pick White, Black, or Random (let fate decide). Online, the room's creator is dealt a random colour and the joiner takes the other.
The Realm Online
- Pick a name — the first time you play you're asked what the Realm should call you. It's saved on your device and used across the Hall and online features; change it any time in the 🏆 Hall.
- Who's online — the header shows a live ● online count. Click it to expand the roster of everyone currently connected (players without a chosen name show as Anonymous). Anyone sharing a game shows a 📡 Watch button right there — tap it to jump straight into spectating.
- Let others watch — in a game against a character or in Pass & Play, press 📡 Let others watch to share it live. It appears in the Open Games lobby for anyone to spectate; press again to stop. (Spectators can only watch — they can't take a seat in your game.)
- Spectate — from Play Another Player, any in-progress or shared game in the lobby can be opened with Watch.
Note: only the canonical board sizes, the First
Lord, and the support theme come from Jim Butcher's novels — the piece moves and furycraft are
a balanced design for play. Full notes in LUDUS.md.