Training Video Philosophy

Published on 2022-03-05 by Stuart Spence

Most training videos are really bad. This is troublesome to me because I must constantly re-explain my philosophies and processes to colleagues or volunteers. This page aims to help.

Over the years I've made over a hundred training videos for public servants, high school and university students, workshops, and the …

Read more...


Patronware

Published on 2021-10-24 by Stuart Spence

I like that the full ChessCraft game is free and ad-free, and yet it is monetized. It has been a challenge describing this monetization strategy succinctly. I wish there were a word for it. In this post I'll explore how words like "donationware", "freemium", and "nagware" aren't a good fit …

Read more...



Oh, Stallman

Published on 2021-04-17 by Stuart Spence

Richard Stallman may be a legend in the world of software, but he also has decades of history promoting a toxic environment in software communities. Due to this, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has been pressured to kick out Stallman from the board of directors, which they did, though he …

Read more...


Release 1.12: Online Multiplayer

Published on 2021-02-09 by Stuart Spence

Today I'm incredibly excited to announce a test release of ChessCraft with online multiplayer! If you are a beta tester on Google Play, you'll soon get the latest version 1.12 which allows you to play your friends online.

Just like release 1.4 where you could share your designs …

Read more...


Bazaar

Published on 2020-12-01 by Stuart Spence

So... I bought myself a ChessCraft mug. Is that vain?

I'm really happy with this awesome mug!

chesscraft mug

In case anyone else is interested, here's a link to the new online store: ChessCraft Bazaar. Good to note: these are printed individually by Zazzle so they are quite pricey, and I hardly …

Read more...



Ode to the Public Servant

Published on 2020-09-04 by Stuart Spence

The privately employed

May say they're annoyed

about public servant perks.

-

What they fail to note

(and it's fair that they don't)

is that zombification lurks.

-

Zombies are not happy,

humans need to be scrappy.

-

Hold on to your fire,

stir the pots and aspire.

-

Are you a zombie?

Read more...



Release 1.9: Convenient Buttons and Bugfixes

Published on 2020-07-15 by Stuart Spence

This small update is all about convenience features and bugfixes.

  • Fixed a bug where the AI thinks a very long time then makes illegal moves.
  • Undo button in the board editor.
  • Drag release drift.
  • Swap button for white/black when placing pieces in the board editor.
  • New piece abilities: move …

Read more...