Veiled Dominion is a 4-player chess variant that reimagines the board not as a battlefield of conquest, but as a classroom for restraint. One player controls Rebirth, a piece dangerously overpowered by standard rules. The other three must cooperate—without a formal alliance—to suppress her by mastering restraint.
Status: Early open prototype (v0.1). Core rules and architecture are documented; engine implementation is in progress. See ARCHITECTURE_OVERVIEW.md for what's built.
P.I.X.I.E. — Paraconsistent Inclusive Xenodochial Intuitive Ecstatic is a cross-project Loptr Lab interface and stewardship layer. Veiled Dominion is one receiving production context in which PIXIE may be presented; this repository does not make the game engine the sole canonical home or owner of PIXIE. PIXIE is an ethical, accessibility-oriented presentation and mediation presence: she can help a person encounter, navigate, hear, and engage with the work without deciding what the work means or making choices on the player's behalf.
PIXIE is not Rebirth, and PIXIE is not the Keeper. The Keeper/archive and PIXIE/interface have distinct functions. Individual prototypes may expose PIXIE capabilities differently; those implementation choices do not create a new character identity or rewrite narrative canon.
Current review surface: 50 Ways to Leave Another. Its browser prototype includes an opt-in PIXIE reader using the browser's available speech synthesis. This is a review implementation, not a claim that the full PIXIE runtime is complete.
See docs/interactive/PIXIE_50_WAYS_INTEGRATION.md and docs/CANON_AND_CONTINUITY.md for the current boundary and continuity rules.
See docs/CANON_AND_CONTINUITY.md for canon, continuity, reinterpretation, and IP boundaries.
See docs/interactive/PIXIE_50_WAYS_INTEGRATION.md for the current PIXIE review integration and accessibility boundary.
This repository currently ships a TypeScript/Jest engine exercise harness (not a runnable Unity/.NET game client).
- Node.js 20+
- npm 10+
npm cinpm run typecheck
npm test- Open the repo in VS Code.
- Reopen in Dev Container.
- The container runs
npm ciautomatically.
No environment variables are required for local test runs right now. If needed later, copy .env.example to .env.
This repository is the actual Veiled Dominion game engine (C#/.NET, Unity) — game design, rules, and architecture.
If you're looking for the candidate coding exercise (TypeScript, used for hiring and VRS-supported training), that's a separate, self-contained repo: github.com/Loptr-Lab/training.
- The Radius of Ruin — Rebirth emits a 1-square aura. Any piece that ends its turn within it becomes Veiled: stripped to pawn-level movement for one turn.
- The Sanctuary — Death, Rebirth's mentor, provides a 1-square safe zone immune to the aura.
- Martyr's Boon — sacrificing an ally grants a token that can disable the aura for a turn.
- The Soul Reservoir — every 3 friendly pieces lost unlocks Rebirth's ability to phase through other pieces.
- Victory is possible three ways: standard checkmate, Rebirth reaching 10 Leadership Points through merciful (non-capturing) play, or the Mortal Factions winning collectively if Rebirth Veils 5 of her own pieces.
Full rules: RULEBOOK_v0.1. Full design doc: docs/design/GDD.md.
Veiled Dominion's visual identity relies on extreme contrast (void-black vs. amber glow), which creates real risk for photosensitive and vestibular-sensitive players if not engineered carefully. We're building accessibility-first:
docs/ENGINE_ACCESSIBILITY_A11Y_PARADOX.md— rendering/temporal-safety rulesdocs/ENGINE_ACCESSIBILITY_AUDIO_AURA.md— non-visual play design for blind/low-vision playersdocs/ACCESSIBILITY_GRANT_POSITIONING.md— current build status against these specsdocs/interactive/PIXIE_50_WAYS_INTEGRATION.md— current PIXIE reader/accessibility review surface
These docs track implementation status honestly (planned vs. built) — check there before assuming any given accessibility feature is live.
This project follows a Code of Conduct. See SECURITY.md to report a vulnerability.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for engine contribution guidelines and docs/CONTRIBUTOR_SKILLSET_AND_RESOURCES.md for the skills and arc you'll need.
Interested in contributing but new to the codebase? The training curriculum is a structured on-ramp, including a hands-on graded exercise that mirrors this engine's architecture.
Start with the Loptr-Lab/training repo — a self-contained TypeScript exercise built as a proxy for real engine work. Complete it before opening a PR here.
Loptr Lab is an independent creative studio. If you'd like to support this project's development: see SPONSORS.md and SPONSORSHIP_STRATEGY.md, or become a sponsor.
Software is MIT-licensed; original rules, narrative, documentation, and original art are CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Loptr Lab names and marks are reserved. See LICENSE.md and FAN_FORK_GUIDE.md before redistributing or publishing a fork.
Direct pull requests, design manifestos, or structural inquiries to:
questions@loptrlab.com (Include links to your portfolio or repository footprints. We respect the craft.)
Audio: Returning to the Void (Paragon Homage) — the original 2019 teaser built from Epic's audio assets.