r/chessvariants is a subreddit with 14k members. The most common kinds of discussions are ideas and self-promotion, and the community frequently discusses chess, variant, chess variant, stockfish, and chaos.
A subreddit dedicated to sharing and discovering different styles of chess.
1. No promotion of the same app/site/event/channel more than once every two weeks.
2. A variant is defined as "chess, but with modifications". Not a different game entirely, but with elements of chess.
3. When discussing a particular variant, put its name clearly in the title of the post.
4. Discord links are by default not trusted.
5. No AI slop.
6. Rules must immediately visible and easily accessible.
Popular Themes in r/chessvariants
#1
Ideas
: "Dire Fog Is a Deckbuilder + Chess Game with Pre-Arranged Decks, Unique Factions, and No Shuffling — Looking for Weekly Playtesters!"
3 posts
#2
Self-Promotion
: "PyChess.org now supports user-defined variants!"
3 posts
#3
Solution Requests
: "I made a chess inspired browser game with deck-building elements and I’m looking for a few chess variant players to test whether the game is fun to play"
1 post
Popular Topics in r/chessvariants
#1
Chess
: "Before Chess reached Scandinavia, the North had its own "Game of Kings" for 700 years. Chess drove it extinct around 1200. I rebuilt it with a Glicko-2 ladder, and I'm curious what Chess players make of a game with asymmetric win conditions."
51 posts
#2
Variant
: "I made a chess inspired browser game with deck-building elements and I’m looking for a few chess Variant players to test whether the game is fun to play"
20 posts
#3
Chess Variant
: "NNUE from scratch for a Chess Variant where pieces evolve mid-game"
6 posts
#4
Stockfish
3 posts
#5
Chaos
: "I made a chess game with 60+ custom pieces: Chaos Chess"
2 posts
#6
Arena
2 posts
#7
Drawless Chess
2 posts
#8
Guards Chess
: "Guards Chess"
2 posts
#9
Chess Set
: "I designed a 40 cm folding dragon Chess Set with 125 printable parts"
2 posts
#10
Dragon Chess
: "I designed a 40 cm folding Dragon Chess set with 125 printable parts"
2 posts
Flair Used in r/chessvariants
#1
New Variant
: "I built Void Chess — every capture creates a permanent void on the board, and there's a new Minister piece that can heal them"
79 posts
#2
Discussion
: "I may have found the first surviving image of "Khaki Modern Chess" by E. L. Perry"
16 posts
#3
others
: "Are you a chess player but also a weeb? try shogi today!!!"
13 posts
#4
Puzzle
: "Explaining chinese chess (xiangqi) to all you chess lovers! ❤️"
6 posts
#5
Removed: Rule 2
: "I spent the past 6 months building a chess MMO"
2 posts
#6
Removed: Rule 4
: "Mad Chess just pushed a big update (0.9), I have a few free keys for those interested to test it out."
1 post
#7
Removed: Rule 3
: "anyone interested to play a Chess game with Hidden Information?"
1 post
#8
Theory Discussion
: "Standard or common heights of certain pieces"
1 post
Member Growth in r/chessvariants
Yearly
+4k members(39.3%)
Similar Subreddits to r/chessvariants
r/gamedesign
300k members
13.2% / yr
r/gamedevscreens
97k members
53.0% / yr
r/indiegames
327k members
27.9% / yr
r/MobileGaming
123k members
92.9% / yr
r/roguelites
117k members
60.3% / yr
r/SoloDevelopment
139k members
74.6% / yr
r/Unity2D
191k members
12.8% / yr
r/Unity3D
474k members
12.4% / yr
r/WalkScape
25k members
13.8% / yr
r/youtubestartups
19k members
39.0% / yr
About
GummySearch helps people research Reddit communities by organizing activity, growth, themes, and post-level signals into one place.
This page gives a focused view of r/chessvariants, including current member size, discussion patterns, product reviews, and related communities to explore.
This data is synced periodically so insights stay current and useful for ongoing research.
Last updated: August 13, 2026