Martian Chess is a game of capturing pieces. Like Chess, Martian Chess is turn based, and played on a chessboard. In both games, players move and capture individual pieces, and each type of piece has distinct moving rules.

However, Martian Chess differs from Chess in critical ways:

• Piece ownership is determined not by color but by location.
• Instead of capturing a specific piece, winning is determined by points, making it possible to force the end of the game and still win with no pieces left in that player's control.

• Lastly, Martian Chess easily supports 4 players as well as two, and can also be played with 3, 5 or 6 players if you use geomorphic chessboard sections.