Chess Poker

Chess and poker in one game. Every piece on the board carries a hidden playing card. Capture a piece and its card goes into your hand. But the board never scores: points come only from poker showdowns, and the first player to score 5 wins.

Pieces move as usual, but there is no check or checkmate. Kings are captured like any other piece and the game goes on.

A pawn carries a 2 to 7, a knight or bishop an 8 to 10, a rook a jack or queen, and a queen or king a king or ace. Every king also holds an extra ace. Nobody knows a piece's cards, not even its owner, until that piece captures something. Then its cards are turned face up for both players.

Once per turn, before you move, play 1 to 4 cards from your hand. Your opponent answers with up to 4 cards, or none. Both hands add the 3 shared middle cards, and the better poker hand scores a point. The showdown doesn't cost you your move.