What is Roller Coaster Chess?

It's a photo fad where riders glue chess pieces to a board, bring it onto a thrill ride, and pose calmly playing while the ride's souvenir camera fires.

Where did Roller Coaster Chess come from?

The idea started with xkcd comic #249 by Randall Munroe on April 16, 2007, and fans began recreating it in real theme parks that July.

What does Roller Coaster Chess mean?

The joke plays on the visual contrast between the calm concentration of a chess match and the terror of a coaster drop, staged for the on-ride camera.

How do you use Roller Coaster Chess?

Glue the pieces to the board so they survive loops, bring it onto a ride with an automated photo, and look deep in thought when the camera fires.

Is Roller Coaster Chess still popular?

It was most active in the summer of 2007 when xkcd hosted the chesscoaster fan gallery and humor blogs reposted the best shots, and is now a classic bit of early web photo humor rather than an active trend.

Roller Coaster Chess

2007photo fadclassic

Published August 1, 2026

Roller Coaster Chess is a photo prank where riders bring a chessboard onto a thrill ride, glue the pieces down, and pose mid-game for the souvenir camera. The joke started as a 2007 xkcd comic by Randall Munroe and turned into a wave of real fan photos from theme parks that same summer.

photo fad memes webcomic memes prank memes late 2000s memes body pose memes

Overview

Roller Coaster Chess, also called 'Extreme Board Game,' is a photo fad in which riders bring a board game onto an amusement park ride and pose as if calmly playing during the drop1. The trick depends on gluing every chess piece to the board so the game stays intact through loops and inversions, letting the automated ride camera capture the players deep in thought while everyone else screams2.

The bit works on visual contrast: chess is the game of quiet concentration, and coasters are the opposite. What made the joke feel specifically mid-2000s web is that automated on-ride souvenir cameras plus a suddenly global audience for silly photos gave the setup its whole punchline3.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

xkcd (webcomic origin) / BoingBoing + Digg (viral spread)

Creator

Randall Munroe

Date

2007

Cartoonist Randall Munroe drew the original concept as xkcd comic #249, titled 'Chess Photo,' on April 16, 20071. The strip imagines a prankster gluing down a chessboard so he can sit in the front seat of a coaster and appear absorbed in a hard problem when the souvenir camera fires.

On July 18, 2007, Munroe posted a real-life tribute on the xkcd blog: a photograph of Andrew Burke, Chris Ranker, Ryan DowlingSoka, and Chance Brown pulling off the stunt on Daredevil Falls at Dollywood in Tennessee2.

How It Spread

The same day the tribute went up, Cory Doctorow featured it on BoingBoing, calling the original strip one of his all-time favorite xkcd comics3. Two days later, on July 20, 2007, Munroe launched a dedicated fan gallery at xkcd.com/chesscoaster and began adding submissions, including Jared Meadows and Renea Campbell at King's Dominion and a Marine captain in full camo posing with a chessboard aboard a military helicopter3.

By August 6, 2007, humor site Neatorama picked up the compilation with a post titled 'Playing Chess on a Roller Coaster'4. Aggregator sites TheChive and eBaumsworld ran their own galleries of the best souvenir photos, and readers began submitting spin-offs with checkers, Jenga, and House of Cards, plus deadpan variants where riders read books or brushed their teeth on the ride5.

How to Use This Meme

The setup typically involves gluing every chess piece to the board so the pieces do not scatter during drops or loops, then bringing the board onto a ride with an automated souvenir camera2. Riders often wait until the camera fires and then stare thoughtfully at the game while other passengers react to the drop1. Common variations swap chess for tactile games like Jenga or House of Cards5.