Superficially Fogs of Otmoor's boards look just like chessboards. The pieces you play look just like chessmen, and move in the same ways. Moreover, each player plays 16 pieces, just like in chess. This is where the similarity ends. Fogs of Otmoor actually has three interrelated playing boards:

• The Top Board
• The Lower Board
• The Overview Board

All three boards are necessary for play, although players do not need to use all the boards. Each player has one board he or she plays pieces on, either Top or Lower. The Overview board provides a high-level view of the Lower Board, and is the only one of the three that is display-only. Other than as a reflection in the Top Board or the Overview Board, the full state of the Lower Board can not be seen.

The Top Board is a standard game of Chess. However, each piece represents a player, and every square represents an 8x8 chessboard-like area on the Lower Board. From that description you can see that the Lower Board is a 64x64 grid. Other than its large size, the Lower Board is just like a standard chessboard.

During a Fogs of Otmoor game the players on the Lower Board see only what their representing piece on the Top Board would see. A chess king moves one space in any direction. Therefore, a Lower Board player can see:

• An 8x8 block of squares equal to the king's square on the Top Board
• An additional block of 8x8 squares in each direction

If the king is at the edge of the board, the Lower Board player's "home" 8x8 block of squares is also at the edge of the Lower Board. In all cases the player playing the king piece on the Lower Board can see only those 8x8 areas that map to squares in the Top Board directly adjacent to the square held by the king piece.

As you will see, a Lower Board player's field of play changes through out the game. This change happens as the Top Board piece that represents the player is moved by the Top Board player. And the field of play determines:

• The "effective board" (the part of the Lower Board visible and reachable for a player)
• Threats and opportunities
• Other players' pieces that are engaged (more then 128 pieces may be visible)

And keep in mind that while you may suddenly come face to face with an opponent's pieces, that opponent may be wholly unaware of your presence. This circumstance occurs when your effective board includes an opponent's position, but their effective board does not include your pieces.