Wataku Classic
Build. Awaken. Conquer. Wataku Classic is a 9x9 intersection game built around one idea: your kingdom must stay connected through your Kings, even while parts of it can fall Dormant and wake again later.
9 x 9 intersections
81 intersections. Pieces stand on points, not inside squares.
2 per player
Your two Kings must stay connected through your kingdom in War.
Debut -> Coronation -> War
Build first, crown both Kings, then fight.
Checkmate, Royal Collapse, or King Disconnection
A single broken kingdom or trapped King can end the game immediately.
1. Board and turn flow
Classic is played on intersections, not squares, and its three phases create a clear build-then-battle rhythm.
Coordinates run from a1 to i9. Every piece stands on an intersection; the board never uses square occupancy.
Debut
White places first, inside the central 3×3 area (D4–F6) except the exact centre point (E5). Black's first piece goes in that same central area but must NOT touch White's. Every later placement must touch one of your own pieces and must not touch any opponent piece — anywhere on the board.
Coronation
White places King 1, then Black King 1, then White King 2, then Black King 2. Kings must join their own formation and avoid attacked or adjacent-King squares.
War
White moves first. Each turn you either move a piece or deploy from Reserve. Your two Kings must remain connected after every action.
2. Armies
Both players use the same locked Classic composition. Kings are not part of either army; both are placed during Coronation.
Placed during Debut. The two founding pieces meet in the central 3×3 area; every later piece must touch your own formation and no opponent piece.
Knightx2
Pawn (Mouse)x2
Turtlex2Held back until War. Each turn in War you may either move one on-board piece or deploy one Reserve piece.
Rookx2
Queenx1
Elephant (Bishop)x2Pawn (Mouse)x2Turtlex2Classic uses a special terrain piece called the Turtle, a short-range diagonal skirmisher shown here as Pawn (Mouse), and an Elephant (Bishop) instead of a standard long bishop.
3. Pieces
Classic mixes standard sliders and jumpers with three signature pieces: Turtle, Pawn (Mouse), and Elephant (Bishop).
1 step in any direction
May capture adjacent enemy non-Turtle pieces. Never gives check. May never stand adjacent to an enemy King.
Slides any distance in 8 directions
Standard long-range attacker. May also path-travel through friendly non-King chains.
Slides any distance orthogonally
Standard orthogonal slider. May also path-travel through friendly non-King chains.
Standard chess L-jump
Jumps over intervening pieces. Present only in the Debut army in Classic.
Slides 1 or 2 squares diagonally
Does not jump by default. Gives unblockable check at diagonal distance 1 or 2.
1 square diagonally
Short-range skirmisher. May path-travel only through Turtle and Pawn (Mouse) chains.
1 orthogonal step to an empty intersection
Terrain piece. Never captures and cannot be captured by displacement.
4. Connected Kingdoms
Classic is not just about where your pieces are. It is about whether your two Kings still hold the kingdom together.
----···The Rook is still on the board, but because it is no longer connected back through the Pawn (Mouse) to a King, it becomes Dormant until reconnected.
- During Debut and Coronation, every placement must keep all of your pieces in one 8-connected group.
- During War, your two Kings must stay in one connected friendly group.
- A king-less fragment may be shed. It stays on the board, but it becomes Dormant and loses agency until reconnected.
- If your opponent severs your two Kings but you can reconnect them in one legal action, you must reconnect on your next turn.
5. Path travel
Classic's signature mobility rule lets key pieces ride through friendly structure, but only under tight constraints.
→→→↗- Only Queen, Rook, and Pawn (Mouse) may path-travel.
- Exit squares must be empty. Path travel never captures on exit.
- The chain may never pass through an enemy piece or any King.
- Classic path travel depth is capped at 3 friendly non-King pieces.
6. How a full game plays
The essentials below match the live Classic preset used by the browser game and online play.
Debut
- White places first, anywhere in the central 3×3 area except the exact centre point.
- Black's first placement must be inside that same central area and must NOT be 8-adjacent to White's first placement.
- Every later placement must touch one of that player's own pieces and must not touch any opponent piece.
- No Kings are placed during Debut.
Coronation
- White places King 1, then Black King 1, then White King 2, then Black King 2.
- A King must join its own formation.
- A King may not be placed on an occupied square, on an attacked square, or adjacent to any King.
War
- White moves first.
- On each turn, either move one on-board piece or deploy one Reserve piece.
- Your action may not leave any of your own Kings in check.
- Your two Kings may never end your turn in separate connected groups.
7. Winning and drawing
Classic is sudden-death around King safety and kingdom integrity.
One enemy King is in check and the defender has no legal action that leaves both of its Kings safe.
Both enemy Kings are simultaneously in check and no single legal action can save them all.
The opponent's two Kings are severed into separate friendly groups. If they can legally reconnect in one move, they must do so immediately.
Important defaults
- Threefold repetition is an immediate draw.
- Clock loss is an immediate loss in timed games.
- Dormant pieces keep blocking space but cannot move, attack, or give check until reconnected.