Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to develop rules for three dimensional (3D) chess using three standard 8 by 8 chess boards (3x8x8), however, many of these games suffered from major problems that distracted the players from the essential characteristics of traditional chess. Some of these 3D chess variations created new chess pieces while other 3D rules imposed mandatory or unusual moves. In addition, many of these "rules" were generally incomplete causing inconsistent interpretations. None of these game variations offered a truly playable chess game.
Because of the lack of playable rules, the Millennium 3D Chess rules were written with the objective of extending the traditional chess game into a multilevel environment without distorting the basic game. To this end, Millennium 3D Chess has not "created" new chess rules, but instead extended the traditional rules to allow for multi-board play. Other than the concept of moving between chess boards (levels), all traditional two (2D) chess rules apply.