Archon: The Light and the Dark was a game developed by Free Fall Associates which loosely modeled the game of Chess, with a number of additions to the gameplay. It was programmed by Anne Westfall, and released originally for Atari 8-bit computers in 1983. It was quickly ported to a number of different systems, and was well-received.

Archon is loosely based after the game of chess, but with the added trait that pieces do not simply kill other pieces-when an individual piece attempts to kill an opposing player's piece, a battle screen ensues, and a fight occurs. Generally, but not always-stronger pieces are able to overcome weaker pieces. Fights can also result in double-kills, where each piece involved in the battle is killed. Other additions to the game include special abilities held by certain pieces, as well as a Spellcaster piece, which acts as the leader of each side.