Dragonchess was a game of skill, played on a three-tiered checkered board twelve squares wide and eight squares deep. The game was between two players, one who commanded crimson pieces and one who commanded gold, both starting on opposite sides of the boards. In total, each had eighty-four pieces of thirteen types: Sylphs, Griffons, Dragons, Warriors, Oliphants, Unicorns, Heroes, Thieves, Clerics, Mages, Kings, Paladins, Dwarves, Basilisks, and Elementals.
The upper board represented the air, the middle board represented the land, and the lower board represented underground, collectively forming a three-dimensional battlefield. These boards were generally colored light blue and white for the upper board, light green and amber for the middle board, and red and brown for the lower board.
The goal of the game was to checkmate the opposing player's king. Some pieces could only stay on the board they started on, whereas other pieces could move between boards. Pieces had different movement rules depending on what level they were on, but the gold player always had the first move.