Monkey Queen is played on a 12×12 board with the following setup:

Each player starts with a single (queen), that during the game will give birth to a number of (babies). The both start with a strength value of 20 (originally represented by stack height).

Players take turns to move their or one of their . Both unit types move and capture like a chess queen, with some additional rules:

• If a makes a non-capture move it must end up closer to the enemy
• When a makes a non-capture move it leaves behind a new and strength drops by one
• If a has a strength of 2 it may not make a non-capture move (since that would turn it into a )

After Player 1 has made her first turn, Player 2 can choose between making her move or invoking the pie rule, swapping pieces with Player 1.

Win by killing the opponent or leaving her without a valid move!