Joker Chess and Geister are two experimental modes on Rovian’s hidden-piece games page, and in both only you know what your pieces are. In Joker Chess your opponent sees every piece as the same masked joker; in Geister they can’t tell your good ghosts from your bad ones. Both are unrated: learn with a tutorial, practise with a bot, then play one-on-one on video. The interface and tutorials are currently in Turkish.
Some poker players sit down in sunglasses. On camera, there are no sunglasses. Moving a pawn like a queen is easy when you know it’s a pawn; the hard part is keeping a straight face while your opponent decides whether to call your bluff. In these two games, the face on the screen matters as much as the information on the board.
How do you play Joker Chess?
In Joker Chess you have the usual 16 chess pieces, but their identities are hidden. Here are the rules:
1. Your pieces are shuffled across your first two ranks, and only you know what they are. If you like, swap two of them, then press “Dizilişim hazır” (My setup is ready).
2. You can move a piece as if it were another piece, so your pawn can travel like a queen. That’s a bluff, and the piece’s real identity never changes. You can’t pass through other pieces; only a knight’s move jumps.
3. After your opponent moves, you have two options: “Blöf! İtiraz et” (Bluff! Challenge) or “Hamleyi kabul et” (Accept the move). Making your own move counts as accepting.
4. If your challenge is right, the lying piece is revealed and removed from the board, the piece it captured comes back, and it’s still your turn.
5. If you’re wrong, the piece is revealed, the capture stands and you lose that turn. Your opponent also gets to guess one of your pieces: a correct guess reveals it for the rest of the game, a wrong one only rules out that piece type.
6. There is no check or checkmate; capture the opposing king to win. If your king is caught bluffing, you lose on the spot. You each have 5 minutes, and the clock runs for whoever has the decision.
This trial version has no castling, en passant or promotion.
Why does the decision appear on the board?
The heart of Joker Chess is the few seconds after your opponent moves. That’s why the decision card opens inside the board, right next to the move, rather than off to the side. It shows the move and asks whether you think it’s real or a bluff. Its clue uses only open information, for example that only a bishop or a queen could really make this move. If your king has been captured, the card warns you that accepting ends the game.
The board helps when you move, too: a solid dot marks your piece’s real path and a mask marks a bluff move. If you try to bluff with your king or with a piece whose identity is already known, the board asks you once more.
The sounds come from a masquerade ball. A jester’s bells are the game’s signature; a bluff call is a hand slapping the table, a caught bluff cracks like a breaking mask, and a wrong challenge earns a sad trombone. Piece moves use your selected site sound pack, and one sound button turns everything on or off.
With the camera on, will your face give you away?
When a video game of Joker Chess begins, the screen switches to the camera layout of Rovian’s classic chess table. On desktop, your opponent’s camera sits on the right with yours below it. On a phone, the order is your opponent’s camera, the board, then your camera, so while you weigh up a bluff your opponent’s face is right above the board. Each side’s clock runs in the camera header.
It works both ways: your face is on screen too. You can switch your camera and microphone off at any time, mute your opponent or hide their video. One honest note: video Joker Chess has no move log. You have to remember what was played and when; the card on the board shows only the last move and the result of the latest challenge or guess. When the game ends, the screen shows whether the piece identities you saw match the record sealed at the start.
What are the rules of Geister?
Geister has no chess pieces, just ghosts on a 6×6 board. Here the bluff starts with your setup, not your moves.
1. Each player has four good and four bad ghosts. Tap two of your ghosts in turn to swap them on your eight starting squares, then press “Dizilişim hazır” (My setup is ready). Your opponent sees them all as identical. White starts once you’re both ready.
2. Each turn, move one ghost one square horizontally or vertically; no diagonals and no jumping. Move onto an opposing ghost to capture it, and its identity is revealed.
3. There are three ways to win: capture all four of your opponent’s good ghosts, get your opponent to capture all four of your bad ghosts, or bring a good ghost to one of your opponent’s two corners and, on your next move, take it off the board with “Köşeden çık” (Exit at the corner). Bad ghosts can’t exit.
The second way changes everything: the easy prize your opponent leaves in front of you might be a trap. Geister has no clock, and you can see a move log throughout the game.
Learn by watching, practise with a bot, play on video
Both games follow the same three steps. “Tanıtım oyunu” (Tutorial game) sets up an example position and gives you one task per step; if you get stuck, “Hamleyi göster” (Show the move) plays it on the board. After the final step, “Botla tam oyun oyna” (Play a full game against the bot) takes you into a real game.
In Joker Chess your opponent is a bot called Maske. On Easy it bluffs often and gets caught easily, on Normal it bluffs now and then and challenges carefully, and on Hard it bluffs rarely but cleverly. In Geister your opponent is Gölge, which also has Easy, Normal and Hard levels. Neither bot can see your hidden identities, and you don’t need a camera to practise.
When you’re ready, press “İki kişi görüntülü oyna” (Two-player video game). You need to be signed in with a completed profile and age verification. After agreeing to join a video room, you can look for an opponent with “Rakip bul” or create a private room with “Arkadaşını davet et” and share the link. These modes keep no rating or permanent game history, and if you leave the room mid-game your opponent wins.
Is your bluff stronger than your face?
In Joker Chess only you know what each piece is; in Geister only you know which ghost is good. But with the camera on, your face says things too, and someone is reading it. If you enjoy taking risks, read our Ordu 21 guide, and for the other games see our game modes guide.
Ready? Open the hidden-piece games and start with Joker Chess or Geister. You’ll also find both in the game lobby with a “New” badge. Open your camera. Make your move.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Joker Chess?
Your pieces are hidden and any piece can move like any chess piece; a move that doesn’t match its real identity is a bluff. Your opponent can accept the move or press “Blöf! İtiraz et” (Bluff! Challenge). Capturing the opposing king wins, and a king caught bluffing loses.
What happens if my bluff is caught in Joker Chess?
The bluffing piece is revealed and removed, the piece it captured returns, and the challenger keeps the turn. If the bluffing piece was your king, you lose immediately.
What are the rules of Geister?
On a 6×6 board each player has four good and four bad ghosts, and ghosts move one square horizontally or vertically. You win by capturing all four opposing good ghosts, getting your opponent to capture all four of your bad ghosts, or escaping with a good ghost from one of your opponent’s corners.
Can I play Joker Chess and Geister against a bot?
Yes. Play Maske in Joker Chess or Gölge in Geister without turning on your camera. Both bots have Easy, Normal and Hard levels.
Does video Joker Chess have a move log?
No. Video Joker Chess doesn’t show a move log; the card on the board shows the last move and the result of the latest challenge or guess. Geister shows a move log throughout the game.