If you haven’t heard all about Chess Rush already, don’t worry: you will. Tencent’s latest game is the company’s much-vaunted contribution to the ascendant auto chess subgenre, which mashes together the best bits of chess and MOBAs.
Followers of Tencent will be aware that the company has already published a number of eSports titles, including Arena of Valor, which was the official eSport title of The Asian Games 2008. And, of course, there’s PUBG Mobile. Nuff said.
Tencent is clearly betting on its auto chess effort, and it looks like this might be the company’s next big eSports focus.
In fact, to celebrate the game’s launch Tencent is holding the Chess Rush Global Star Challenge later this month. More on that later. First, let’s take a look at the game.
Chess Rush sees you playing on an 8×8 checkered board/ You have over 50 different pieces, or heroes, to choose from, and you’re up against seven opponents at once.
It’s all about strategy (and a bit of luck). You need to decide on formations, equip items, and do more involved stuff like claiming affinity bonuses by combining identical heroes. Matches take up to 40 minutes to play out, but Chess Rush mixes things up with Turbo Mode, which cuts this right down to ten minutes.
There’s co-op, too, with you and a group of friends going head to head with another group from anywhere in the world.
I challenge thee
So what’s the deal with the Chess Rush Global Star Challenge? Tencent’s event will see eight influencers from across the globe (Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, the US, Thailand, Germany, Korea, and Japan) going up against each other in three rounds of frantic auto-chess action.
Naturally, you’ll be able to watch it all happening live on the game’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. If you’ve never played the game before, it should be a great introduction to the different modes.
Plus, you’ll be in with a chance of winning a prize. Viewers will be entered into a prize draw, with three lucky so and sos walking away with three handsets each.
The competitors, meanwhile, are in line for much more. First place gets $10,000, second gets $5,000, third gets $1000, and everybody gets in-game rewards. On top of that, the top two influencers will get the chance to be a Chess Rush partner on a more permanent basis.
We don’t yet have a precise date for the Chess Rush Global Star Challenge, so keep an eye on the game’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for more news as it comes in.