Chess, but your partner keeps handing you more pieces.
Bughouse is four-player chess on two boards. Capture a piece and your partner can drop it straight onto theirs. It is the fastest, loudest, most argued-about way to play chess — and it plays online here.
How it differs from chess
Three rules change, and they change everything.
Two boards, four players
You and your partner play opposite colours on adjacent boards. Their opponent is your ally's problem, and vice versa.
Captures become ammunition
Every piece your partner captures lands in your pocket. Drop it on any empty square, on your turn, anywhere it is legal.
One clock, no mercy
Games run fast. Sit on a move to starve your partner of a piece, or go quickly to feed them the bishop they are begging for.
Full rules
The authoritative reference — drops, promotion, checkmate, and every argument you are about to have.
Leaderboard
Individual and partnership ratings. Partnerships rate separately — find someone you play well with.
Glossary
Sit, go, hold, flag. Learn what your partner is shouting at you before they shout it.