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Ponderchess / Chess variants

Three-dimensional chess

From Ferdinand Maack’s Raumschach of 1907 to the stacked boards of Star Trek: chess played in a cube.
Created
1907
Creator
Ferdinand Maack
Where
Germany
Board
5×5×5 (Raumschach)
What changes
Several stacked boards
Also called
Raumschach, 3D chess

Where it came from

Well documented

The first well-known 3D chess is Raumschach (“space chess”), published by the German Ferdinand Maack in 1907. It is played in a 5×5×5 cube, and Maack later founded a club in Hamburg devoted to it.

The most famous 3D board is fictional: the tri-dimensional chess set built as a prop for Star Trek in the 1960s. Fans later wrote playable rules for it.

Why it was made: To add a dimension: pieces gain new directions, and the king can be attacked from above and below.

How it differs from chess

  • A cube of squaresRaumschach uses five stacked 5×5 boards. Pieces move along files, ranks and levels, and some through the cube’s diagonals.
  • A new pieceRaumschach adds the unicorn, which moves through the cube’s corners.

Questions

Can you play Star Trek chess?
Fans have written several rule sets for the prop board. The board design is owned by the franchise, so we describe it rather than recreate it.

Sources