# Shroud — Hidden Deployment Chess

> Hidden Deployment Chess (iPhone/iPad app by Joshua Katz.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shroud/id6787332007 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Joshua Katz](https://appshunter.io/developer/6787332009)
- Category: Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 5 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-07-09
- Data updated: 2026-10-31

## What is Shroud?

Shroud is chess with one rule changed, and everything changes with it: the opening is a secret. You place your whole army anywhere on your first three ranks, hidden from your opponent, who is doing the same. Then the shroud lifts, two battle plans collide, and the game begins in a position nobody has ever seen before. There is no checkmate; you win by actually capturing the king. No opening theory. No memorised lines. Just you, reading a board that didn't exist a minute ago.

That one twist carries a long way. Stack both rooks on a file you plan to tear open. Wall off your king behind pawns. Spend a 39-point budget on thirteen knights and see what happens. Play the reveal, or play fog of war — where the shroud never lifts and you see only what your pieces see. Fight the campaign's seven rivals, each with their own formation and plenty to say about your defeat. Take on the daily puzzle, the same one the whole world gets. Or host a room and ambush a friend.

And when the battle ends, Shroud teaches. The recap grades every move you played, names the moment the game turned, and then walks you back through it — putting the pieces in your hands and challenging you to find the move you missed. Losses stop being losses; they become next game's opening idea. If you invent a formation you're proud of, submit it from the built-in Lab — the best ones become daily puzzles, credited to their inventor.

All of it runs on one little machine: a handheld LCD from a parallel 1989, with real button-feel sounds and fourteen shells to dress it in. Dark and Light mode are free; the rest come in a single one-time cosmetic pack — the only purchase in the game, and it never touches gameplay.

Free. No ads. No accounts. Fully offline except online play itself.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Colourways Pack | $1.99 | one-time |


## Is Shroud safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Shroud.

## Is Shroud legit?

Shroud has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Shroud is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 2.0.1 — 2026-07-26

The Colourways Pack can now actually be purchased (it was stuck behind the scenes). 
· The material bar: while deploying, the bar fills with the points you've placed.  
· The Lab improvements: a live material counter for both sides, plus MIRROR and ROTATE buttons that copy your White setup to Black
· Rating a generated setup now uses proper pixel-art thumbs, as nature intended. 

More soon: smaller boards are in the workshop.

### 2.0 — 2026-07-12

THE BIG ONE: PLAY A FRIEND
Online multiplayer is here. Host a room, share a four-letter code, play — no accounts, no sign-in. Your friend can join from another phone or from a browser at shroudchess.com. Codes last 48 hours. Fog of war works online too, if you both dare.

THE DAILY
One puzzle, the whole world, every day. The enemy army is revealed — deploy 39 points of your own and take their king. Streaks are counted.

FOURTEEN COLOURWAYS
The little machine got new shells: AMBER, EMBER, MIAMI, TERMINAL, FROST, VAPORWAVE, DMG and more. Backlight (dark mode) is free; the full dozen come in a one-time cosmetic pack — the only purchase in the game.

A SHARPER COACH
The post-game recap now grades every move, names the turning point, and walks you through the moments that mattered — with the board challenging you to find the better move yourself.

AND THE REST
· Material bar fills as you deploy
· Clearer how-to-play, bigger text everywhere
· Deployment recap after fog games — see what you never saw
· Dozens of small fixes and polish passes

Chess, with the opening you never saw coming, now with someone to ambush.

### 1.0 — 2026-07-09

No release notes.

## Apps similar to Shroud

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Great PatchWork](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/great-patchwork/id6749806575) | — | Free | Games |
| [Renju Rules Gomoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/renju-rules-gomoku/id1499954884) | 4.0 (10) | Free | Games |

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-31.*