Release 1.16: Garbs! Custom piece images.

Published on 2024-07-31 by Stuart Spence

Since 2018 I've heard thousands of feature request ideas. By far the most popular feature request is to share your own custom images for pieces. Well it's finally here! I've just released version 1.16 on Google Play and Steam. It should be available within a few days, starting with …

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ChessCraft in 2023

Published on 2024-01-01 by Stuart Spence

I've often liked year-end reviews like from quanta magazine. So here's another short one for ChessCraft like last year.

660,000 Installs

It has now been 6 years and 2 days since my first git version of ChessCraft. Remarkably, the rate of installs per month is still increasing. We're now …

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Goodbye MongoDB

Published on 2023-05-27 by Stuart Spence

After years of strange problems and bad performance with MongoDB, this week I successfully migrated chesscraft.ca to PostgreSQL. This took lots of preparations, went smoothly, and is performing great, so I thought I'd write about it. Writing here is cathartic. Also, others might find it useful.

Performance

Look what …

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Release 1.15: Folders! And eight new piece rules

Published on 2023-03-09 by Stuart Spence

I've just released version 1.15 on Google Play and Steam. It should be available very soon on Steam, and a few days from now on Google Play.

What's new in 1.15:

  • Folders in the crafting hub!
  • Filter by title or description text.
  • Eight new piece rules: acidic, blacksmith …

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Release 1.14: Popular designs, acrobats, and online backups

Published on 2023-01-28 by Stuart Spence

I've just released version 1.14.0 on Google Play and Steam. It should be available very soon on Steam, and a few days from now on Google Play.

What's new in 1.14:

  • View the top boards and pieces this week, month, year, etc.
  • Backup and restore progress online …

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ChessCraft in 2022

Published on 2022-12-31 by Stuart Spence

I've often liked year-end reviews like from quanta magazine or Wendover. So why not do a short one for ChessCraft?

336,000 Installs

It has now been 5 years and 1 day since my first git version of ChessCraft. Remarkably, installs per month are still steadily going up, even though …

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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 …

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Release 1.13: Eight More Rules and Seven More Languages!

Published on 2021-07-01 by Stuart Spence

This amazing release has the most new piece and board rules ever in a single update! I've also added seven new languages. As usual, it may take a few days for Google to make the update available to everyone.

I must extend a special thanks to Politique 2.0, Maria …

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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 …

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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 …

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