After taking break from anime my mind cleared and now I see that I'm just adding apples to oranges.
I was wrong, but I never gonna admit it.

Take this guide more as a sh*tpost than a serious argument, but it still represents my objectively right point of view.
Also this text has been written only for this game and may not apply for other multidimensional chess.

In mathematics dimension is a number of coordinates needed to describe position of an object. Simply speaking dimensions are ways to move. For example right now (assuming you're a 3 dimensional being) your coordinates can be expressed in form (x, y, z) and you can move 3 ways: Up-Down, Forward-Back and Left-Right. So, if you're not sure, you can check if you still within borders of known universe by trying to move all of these three directions.



In the same way we can find out how much dimensions our chess pieces experience. So, if you're trying to move a Queen you have basically two options: go Forward-Back or go Left-Right. We don't count diagonal movement as it just a simultaneous movement in two directions (for example one "step" diagonally Up-Right it's just a one step Up and one step Right done at the same time). Because the game doesn't provide the player with ability to move pieces over other pieces we can assume there is no physical ability for a piece to go ether Up or Down. Therefore we can say for sure that our fellow solders can experience only two dimensions.

"But what's up with Knights" you may ask, "Aren't they jump over other pieces?!" Well, because the game doesn't show us any animations when pieces move across a board we can assume that the game's code just teleport them to desired positions. In this case we can say for sure that knight doesn't jump over pieces in any way.



And you might be thinking: "So from all this we can conclude that the game itself takes place on two dimensional field. Plus abilities to move in time and move between timelines. It makes total number of dimensions of 4. It means that the game is actually 4D, right?" Wrong. The game consist not just from one board.
There is:

• Some amount of boards (with chess pieces on them)
  
• Some amount of "timeline arrows"
  
• The "Present" line
  
• The Background
  
• The Light source

Last two are particularly interesting for us. In the game we can see how boards, arrows and the present line casts shadow on the Background. Shadows aren't just a part of Boards and Arrows. If we click on "History View" and "Parallel View" the perspective changes (which is by itself a prove of third dimension) also changing shadows. From this facts we can discover two things. First, there is some mystical light source which we will not discourse in this guide. Second, the Background is laying on a different plain than other objects. It means there some difference in heights between objects and the background. It means there some way to go Up or Down.



So from all presented facts and if we think that assumption about teleporting pieces is true, we can say that the game takes place within a 3D space while chess pieces experience only 2D.

So from previous part we discovered that our game pieces can't experience more than two dimensions. But it might rise a question: what is the player than? Some people can assume that the player's entity is the King piece on whatever side they playing on. But there a couple nuances if we are going with this way of thinking.



We gonna do little though experiment. Lets assume we are actually the King piece. And here the first problem rises: which one exactly? In the game we can create a theoretical infinite amount of boards meaning there is possible infinite amount of Kings. So how to determine of which piece we take role?



Because within the game a timeline can end only if the game ends, there always will be the "original" timeline with "original" King piece. I will refer to this piece as "The Original". Let's assume we posses The Original. Then there comes out another question: what other King pieces to to The Original? Clones? Than why the game ends when the opponent captures one of them? Copes? Then we lose all concept of The Original. What about common consciousness? Well, that's more interesting! If we assume that all of Kings pieces have some sort of hive mind, than we solving our problems with relations to other Kings and game ending. Yes, this theory eliminates all meaning of The Original as much as copes, but in this case The Original is just the first carrier of common consciousness.



But all these theories crush under one single fact: while playing the game you experience 3 dimensions while chess pieces (including King) can experience only 2. In previous part we established that the game takes place in 3D space. We did it by direct prove using what the game itself presents to you as to a player. Therefore the player does not "posses" any pieces but instead controls them as a separate entity. Sure, we can make up a lot of invisible magic forces until everything fits in. But, that's no difference to my schizophrenic bulls*it about The Original and common consciousness (and this guide).

Anyway, remember - even if you are not the King within the game you sure are the one in real life.

As was stated in the first part dimensions are coordinates needed to figure out position of something. If there is a coordinate for an object it means it can move in the direction that this coordinate represent. Our chess pieces, besides going Forward-Back and Left-Right they can move back in time and between parallel timelines. We know that these two movements are different as there two different animations for them.

Also, as in diagonal movement across the board, "diagonal" move on past board in another timeline is just two simultaneous movements. In this case it's a move back in time and a move to another timeline.



So that adds 2 to total count of dimensions, making it 5. From now own there is only one thing - decide in which way to count total dimensions. From perspective of pieces there is 4 dimensions as there is 4 ways to move: Forward-Back, Left-Right, Forward-Back in time (you do move forward in time as you submit moves) and Up-Down between timelines. From the perspective of the player there is total of 5 as to 4 previously listed coordinates there is the fifth one - Up-Down within the game space. In the second part we figured out that the player is a separate entity from pieces, so counting dimensions from the perspective would be weird. Therefore we use total from the player side.

You may argue that if the game allows to use only 4 dimensions it suppose to call itself accordingly, but the game also allows you to use the fifth one too. It doing it very stealthy and it doesn't affect anything, but it is there. Accept it.

The game of "5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel" is indeed is a 5D game.