BALL Chess – Rules & Gameplay

🎯 Object

Players must try to sink their golf balls into the hole using the fewest number of shots. Shots are determined using chess piece cards and an 8-sided die, which dictate the ball’s path and distance. The player with the lowest score (fewest strokes) after 12 holes wins the game.

🛠️ Setup

1. Course Setup: Shuffle the 16 course cards and place them face down in a 4x4 grid. Flip each course card to reveal the layout.
2. Starting Position: Each player places their golf ball on the “Tee” card.
3. Decks: Separate and shuffle the chess piece card decks. Give each player one deck and one golf ball.

🎲 Order of Play

• Determine First Player: Each player rolls the 8-sided die. The highest roll goes first.
• After Each Hole: The player with the lowest score (fewest strokes) takes the first shot on the next hole.
• Starting Hand: Each player draws 4 cards from their deck.

⛳ Playing the Game

1. Taking a Shot
   • At the start of their turn, the player draws cards until they have 4 in hand.
   • If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile back into the deck.
   • To shoot, discard one card from your hand. This determines the ball’s movement path.
   • Roll the 8-sided die to determine the distance traveled.
   • Important: The current square counts toward the distance. Rolling a 1 means your ball stays in place—you’ve “failed to golf.”
2. Landing on Another Player’s Ball
   • If a player’s ball lands on another ball, the landed-on player adds one stroke to their score.
3. Turn Order
   • After all players have taken their first shot, the next player to shoot is the one farthest from the hole.
4. Ending the Hole & Resetting the Course
   • Once all players have sunk their ball, shuffle the course tiles and place them face down again.
   • The next hole's play order is determined by current scores—lowest to highest.

About Ball Chess
Six years ago, BALL Chess was born as a free print-and-play game that combined golf mechanics with chess-inspired movement. All  inspired by a joke in a Monster Factory Episode on YouTube.

 Players used chess piece cards and an 8-sided die to navigate a modular, ever-changing course, aiming to sink their ball in the fewest strokes. The game’s unique blend of strategic planning and randomized challenges made it a fresh take on both sports.

Fast forward to today, and FOGGY.Golf builds on that idea. The core concept stayed the same—using chess pieces as clubs to determine movement—but now with a fog-covered course and a single-player focus. What started as a simple tabletop experiment became the initial catalyst for a larger, more ambitious project. BALL Chess laid the groundwork, and FOGGY.Golf is taking it to the next level. ⛳♟️