Bughouse Rules

• Players play in teams of two, one player plays black and the other white (teams decide among themselves who plays what colour).
• When a player captures an opponents piece, he/she gives it to their partner.
• Each time it is their turn, a player can make any regular chess move or if they have a captured piece (from their partner) they can place the captured piece anywhere on the board, EXCEPT, pawns may not be placed on the 1st or last rank.
• When a pawn gets to the last row, it can only be promoted to one of the pieces the other team is holding in reserve (a piece they have captured but not yet played). Thus, the pawn can only be promoted to a queen if the other team has a queen in reserve. If the other team does not have any pieces in reserve when the pawn gets to the back row, the pawn remains a pawn for the rest of the game. If the pawn is promoted, the pawn becomes part of the other teams reserve.
• Turn control is clock-move: a player's turn ends when he/she stops their clock. This means the player can move a piece, let go, and decided to move it back and move a different piece, as long as they do not stop their clock.
• Talking to your partner is allowed and usually necessary! However, you are not allowed to touch your partners pieces.

Winning in bughouse

• Either team member check-mates an opponent.
• Either of your opponents runs out of time (and you notice it before you lose).
• If either of your opponents makes an illegal move and you report it on your next turn. (If you don't notice the illegal move before ending your turn, it becomes a legal move).
• King take: since illegal moves can happen, if you take an opponents king, your team wins.
• If you touch any of your partners active pieces (pieces that are on their board) - you lose.