press kit
Pocket Pawns
A chess RPG where you catch pieces by solving checkmate puzzles. Everything on this page may be used freely in coverage of the game.
Factsheet
| Title | Pocket Pawns |
|---|---|
| Developer | Pocket Pawn Games |
| Genre | Piece-collecting chess RPG |
| Platform | Windows 10/11 (64-bit), on Steam |
| Players | Single-player, offline once installed |
| Price model | Premium. One purchase on Steam, no in-game purchases, no ads, no account. |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse, or an Xbox controller. Controllers are detected automatically, prompts change to match, and every binding can be remapped. |
| Release | Free demo out now on Steam (September 18, 2026). Full game: coming soon. |
| The demo | The first 2 towns (Openfield and Frostford), the road between them, the first Chess Club and the first of the six Sigils, and 60 of the 202 lessons. It ends at the gate of the third town, contains no casino and no 3D areas, and saves carry into the full game. |
| Languages | English, 简体中文, Русский, Español, Português (Brasil), Deutsch, 한국어, Français, 日本語, Türkçe |
| Steam | Full game · Free demo |
System requirements
✓ measured on real hardware · ~ engineering estimate. The GPU rows were sampled on the 3D casino floor, the heaviest surface in the game.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit ~ | Windows 10/11 64-bit ~ |
| Processor | Dual-core from ~2015 (i3-6100) ~ | Quad-core from ~2018 (i5-8400 / Ryzen 5 2600) ~ |
| Memory | 4 GB ✓ | 8 GB ~ |
| Graphics | Any WebGL2 GPU for the 2D world; GTX 1050 / RX 560 class for the 3D floors on low ✓ | RTX 2060 / GTX 1660 Super class for the 3D floors on high at 1080p ✓ |
| Storage | 2 GB for the demo, 3 GB for the full game ✓ | 3 GB ✓ |
| Display | 1280×720 ✓ | 1920×1080 or 2560×1440 |
Renders at 1920×1080 and 60 fps by default, with options up to 4K and 240 fps or uncapped. On the 3D casino floor the low preset more than doubles the frame rate of high. The demo has no 3D areas and has lower graphics requirements. Memory stayed between 120 and 222 MB across every preset tested.
The game in one line
A chess RPG where you catch pieces by solving checkmate puzzles.
The game in three lines
Walk the continent of Casteria and collect 272 chess pieces. Catch wild pieces by solving checkmate puzzles. Beat six Chess Clubs, then play eight rounds at the World Championship against a rival who has been one step ahead of you the whole way.
The numbers
- 272collectible pieces
- 5,890verified mate puzzles
- 589chessboards (588 collectible)
- 202chess lessons
- 9towns
- 6Sigils
- 8championship rounds
- 76original music tracks
Chess matches use Stockfish 18, unmodified. Catch puzzles are machine-verified forced mates. Shops list item effects before purchase, and casino tables display their house edge before you bet.
Screenshots
Six 1600×900 screenshots from the current build: the catch, a town, a battle, a lesson, the collection, and a gambit board in a meadow. More on request.
The trailers
Two 1080p cuts with the game’s own soundtrack. The Catch shows how you catch a piece: a wild piece sets a checkmate puzzle, you solve it, it joins you. The World tours the continent: nine towns, the lessons, the boards, the six Sigils.
- the-catch-web.mp4 — The Catch, 1:09 24.00 MB
- casteria-trailer.mp4 — The World, 1:05 23.68 MB
For creators
Videos and streams featuring Pocket Pawns are welcome, monetised or not. The 76-track soundtrack is original, so gameplay audio is safe to stream. All clips below are silent. Knight Derby and The Catch are 1280×800; the others are 1280×720.
- frostford-walk.mp4 — Frostford under snow 2.85 MB
- the-canopy.mp4 — the treetop world at night 2.51 MB
- grand-hall.mp4 — the entrance to the championship hall 2.82 MB
- the-roost.mp4 — the inn's top suite 2.56 MB
- puzzle-explorer.mp4 — browsing the 5,890 puzzles 0.87 MB
- knight-derby.mp4 — the Knight Derby (Chessino — simulated-gambling scenes) 0.53 MB
- the-catch.mp4 — catching a piece 0.20 MB
- endcard.mp4 — a clean branded outro card 0.04 MB
Higher-resolution captures and specific angles on request, by X or email.
Art
The crest, the wordmark, the world map, collectible boards, and renders from the 272. Higher-resolution originals on request.
Contact
Press and creator enquiries are welcome, by email at therealpocketpawns@gmail.com or on X at @PocketPawnsGame. Creator b-roll and clips live in For creators above.