<p>Anichess rolled out Season 5: Winter Clash on Dec. 15, introducing a new competitive season centered on the Checkmate Arena. The new mode gates entry behind a 5,000 M8 buy-in and distributes 1 million&nbsp;<a href="http://illuvium/">CHECK tokens</a> across its leaderboard.</p><p><a href="https://funjible.games/games/anichess">Anichess</a> Season 5 packs CHECK rewards into Checkmate Arena, and there will be no token rewards for Ranked Mode this season.</p><div class="raw-html-embed">
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            <a href="https://t.co/vas1ddcO5g">https://t.co/vas1ddcO5g</a>
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        — Anichess (@AnichessGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnichessGame/status/2000541925586198847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a>
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</div><h2>How does Checkmate Arena work in Anichess?</h2><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:65.52%;"><img src="https://assets.funjible.games/checkmate_arena_anichess_82b8ec9e07.jpg" alt="Checkmate Arena Anichess screenshot" srcset="https://assets.funjible.games/checkmate_arena_anichess_82b8ec9e07.jpg 226w, https://assets.funjible.games/checkmate_arena_anichess_82b8ec9e07.jpg 500w" sizes="100vw"></figure><p>You need to pay 5,000 M8 to enter Checkmate Arena in Anichess. Once you’re inside, you’ll get to compete in standard Anichess matches, and each of them can grant you Arena leader points based on performance.</p><ul><li>Wins grant 300 points</li><li>Defeats or draws grant 100 points</li></ul><p>Every Arena entry in Anichess is an independent run with no carryover between entries. The 1 million $CHECK prize pool will be distributed at the end of the season. The top 100 players also enter a raffle for an Anichess Ethernal NFT.</p><p>Ranked Mode still serves a purpose in Season 5 as you need to complete Ranked matches to unlock the season's Christmas-themed cosmetics.</p><ul><li>10 ranked matches for a background</li><li>25 ranked matches for a chessboard</li><li>50 ranked matches for a chess piece set.</li></ul><p>Anichess looks to transition to shorter competitive cycles, with quarterly playoff events. Winter Clash is the first season under this vision.</p><h2>Illuvium Brings Back Leviathan Rules</h2><div class="raw-html-embed">
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            Arena is back to Leviathan. ⚔️
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            Ranked Arena now runs on Leviathan rules, with Illuvial ownership enabled.
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            This means:
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            • Ranked = Leviathan
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            • Ownership matters in competitive play
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            • Free-to-play queues still exist, but you’ll face owned collections
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            This shift brings Arena… <a href="https://t.co/TWajOFrU9W">pic.twitter.com/TWajOFrU9W</a>
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        — Illuvium (@illuviumio) <a href="https://twitter.com/illuviumio/status/2001327045163499799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a>
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</div><p>While Anichess experimented with competitive structures,&nbsp;<a href="https://funjible.games/games/Illuvium-Overworld">Illuvium</a> made its own changes to Arena's ranked system. The Dec. 10 update merged Leviathan and Ranked queues into a single competitive mode where Illuvial ownership matters.</p><p>Previously, players could compete in ranked matches using any Illuvials regardless of ownership. The merged queue now requires owned Illuvials for competitive play. Free-to-play queues still exist, but players in those modes will face opponents with owned collections.</p><p>The update also introduced 10 new drone augments, revamped region effects across all eight regions, and added an augment recycler that lets players swap unwanted components for random alternatives. Considering&nbsp;<a href="https://funjible.games/news/illuvium-scales-with-base-network-launches-staking-v3-on-november-20">Illuvium also recently scaled with Base Network and staking v3</a>, it’s clear that the devs aim to look after the collectibles and the in-game economy as the gameplay experience settles down with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.funjible.games/news/illuvium-overworld-pivots-to-an-mmo-lite">Illuvium Overworld MMO finalizing</a>.</p><div class="raw-html-embed">
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Anichess

Anichess is classic Chess with a twist—spells! Earn mana as you play and use it to teleport pieces, summon pawns, and cast powerful abilities.

Illuvium Arena

Illuvium Arena is an auto-battle sci-fi game that features teams of colorful creatures fighting each other and offering both PvP and PvE modes.

Anichess Launch Winter Clash as Illuvium Merge Ranked Queues

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