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Strato Chess. Information (no rules) about a quarter-century old three dimensional chess variant. (3x(8x8), Cells: 192) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

Rick Allen wrote on Thu, Jun 13, 2002 10:56 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

I HAVE PURCHASED THE STRATO CHESS GAME AT AN ANTIQUE STORE BUT I HAVE NOW IDEA HOW TO PLAY IT. I DONT KNOW IF YOU GO ACROSS THE BORED BUT ON THREE LEVELS OR YOU GO FRO TOP RIGHT TO BOTTOM LEFT IN A 'Z' PATTERN. I KNOW HOW TO PLAY CHES BUT I DO NOT KNOW 3D CHESS CAN YOU HELP AND EXPLAIN IT TO ME? THANX

Jo Wall wrote on Mon, Aug 19, 2002 07:44 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

I owned the game in the 70's but it wasn't 's' shaped...it was the traditional three regular 8x8 boards overlapping by 1 square so they were somewhat offset instead of directly over each board and the way we used to play was regular chess moves uninterrupted and costing one move for each level jump (directly up) so you actually had to think with multi-level possibilities since telegraphing forth coming moves was entirely too obvious. One player began on the top and the second began on the bottom with normal set-up...jumps to the middle made play functional. It was my favorite game growing up because my dad who taught me how to play never mastered it...we didn't play much after I mastered it. I haven't played much chess since I lost that board and I'm looking for another. I've been watching Trek since it began and never noticed the similarity. My board came from May Cohens in Jacksonville, Florida...a now defunct company...don't know who made it. Any hope on finding one interests me...let me know.

John wrote on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 01:16 AM UTC:

This game can be found at Walmart.com and Amazon.com. It costs $25.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10669096
http://www.amazon.com/John-N-Hansen-529-Strato/dp/B000J00XI0

If someone buys this, please post the full rules.

johnnyt wrote on Fri, Dec 24, 2010 09:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

I just bought this chess board looks fun but I noticed that the cover of the box is wrong I guess bad marking but I can't wait to learn to play it.

j. mcadams wrote on Wed, Mar 30, 2011 07:44 AM UTC:BelowAverage ★★

Just found this.  Looks like fun possibilities, but the rules are unclear.
One player starts on top level, other on bottom.  Otherwise standard
arrays.  Each piece MUST change level on it's first move, afterwards it
seems to be optional.
King & Rook move straight up & down as expected.
Bishop moves 'diagonally from plane to plane' - I can't tell if that
means pick a diagonal and a plane to run along, if you can change in the
middle of a move to avoid pieces, or if the inter-board move is limited to
2 squares along a 3D diagonal.  
Knight can move one or two planes in addition to it's normal move.
Pawn can move up or down one plane during a normal move.  It's implied
that this is after moving forward.

You cannot capture during a move that changes planes.
In general, the rules are ambiguous and not very clear.  The discussion of
minimum force ignores possible movement between boards.

In summary - OK equipment, but you're better off making your own rules.

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