Atomic
Nuke your opponent's king to win.
Every capture is an explosion.
The rules
When a piece captures, both the capturing piece and the captured piece are
removed, and so is every piece on the eight surrounding squares — except
pawns, which are only removed if they were the piece actually captured.
You win by blowing up the enemy king. Checkmate also wins.
Two consequences of the blast rule:
- a king may never capture, since it would destroy itself
- the two kings may stand next to each other, because neither can take the other
What changes
Material means very little. A single capture can clear six pieces at once, so
being a rook ahead is no comfort if their bishop can reach a square next to your
king.
Games are extremely short. Losses inside ten moves are ordinary, not
embarrassing.
What to watch for
Keep a pawn shield, but the right one. Pawns survive nearby explosions, so
the pawns around your king are what stops a blast from reaching it. Pushing them
is often what loses.
Look at every square adjacent to your king, every move. Anything that can be
captured next to your king is a bomb with a fuse — including your own pieces.
Defending a piece does not help when taking it is fatal anyway.