Making My Automatic Chessboard

Three days to go and 2,688 backers are still on board.

Also there's an attained stretch goal: furniture for your eboard, and some more information regarding the project:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wondersubstance/phantom-the-most-advanced-chess-board-in-the-world/posts/3245266

The OP mentioned in his second post that he bought a Squareoff board and didn't really like the feel and that was the entire motivation for this project lol

I think it's a cool project either way. Even if he manages to improve the design only slightly that's what science and engineering is all about, working off existing projects, concepts, and ideas and making improvements or advancements.

It's just like Fender CEO saying he doesn't like the feel of Gibson guitars.

I mean fair point from a business standpoint, but after watching a few demos of the Squareoff boards I definitely can see the issue with them, you have to like, click the pieces in for them to register and they move slowly like you mentioned. So there's definitely room for improvement

Whether or not they'll be able to pull off something better remains to be seen but I think it's worth trying if only for a hobby project.

@Wind

Thanks for your suggestion! We'll record the video and share it with all of you.

@skipper_chess
The firmware is written in C++.

@TundraMike
The support has been beyond my expectations and that was the minimum goal I considered viable for Phantom. The good news is that now I can take Phantom to the next level with some of the new features I announced as stretch goals.

@bubbles_the_cat
Thanks for the suggestion! We'll record the video and share it with all of you. In the meantime, you can take a look at the project's videos in the IG account (@phantom_chess) and our Youtube channel.

@chessroboto
Thanks for sharing the link to our latest update. I hope you liked it!

Hi Carlos, 

I find you project very interesting. It looks like you will not reach the $2M mark before your KS campaign ends, i.e. your second stretch goal, that is Blitz Mode. 

I think that a Blitz Mode would make your product more appealing for a lot of people. I guess that this comes down to money and MOQ as you mentioned on the KS page. 

Just an idea, would it be possible to make it as an upgrade option for an additional charge, such as the Cordless Upgrade which you have?

Any way keep up the good work.

Kickstarter campaign is over, but Indiegogo continue to receive pre-orders. 

And there are good news in KS Update #7 - “Blitz Mode” is now unlocked, and all boards will support it!

Blitz mode for Phantom? Not that I've seen. Maybe you mean Square Off Swap? I read Square Off Swap will have blitz mode. 

Square Off Swap is blitz enabled, you are right. You can find information about Phantom blitz mode here: https://gamelevate.com/self-moving-chessboards/

Initially, the “blitz mode” upgrade was marked as a $2 million stretch goal but the latest project update suggests that the team will nevertheless include it in the final product.

In any case, the Phantom project is far from the final production date now, compared to Square Off Swap, which seems to be much closer to release.

I just put an order in on Indiegogo, and I am excited to see this thing in action!  Can you tell me about how the board will work when promoting a pawn?

Is it time to revive this thread now that some lucky beta testers have received their units? Would love to hear user feedback after so many years since the idea started here.

Here is the first impression of beta-tester Andrew: https://youtube.com/@andrewh5968

I've published a warning regarding chess related crowd funding projects here. I've also researched a different chess related project (Go Chess) and highlighted various red flags about whether the product existed or if it would ever be delivered to backers on-time or meet their expectations. I can't seem to find that detailed post, perhaps I'll post that research again.

I feel this project may have started with the best of intentions, however, some red flags remain.

• "Andrew H" YouTube profile was created January 2013, however, the only videos posted are for the Phantom chess board.
• The YouTube video shows Lichess user Maverick365. This account was created March 2024.
• The project's Twitter account was created May 2021, however, there are no tweets.
• The project's last Instagram update is July 2023.
• The project's last hackaday update is July 2021
• The project's last hackaday backer comment is December 2022
• The project's Kickstarter page shows one update per month. [I wonder if there are Kickstarter requirements to provide updates at atleast monthly to remain active]
• The Kickstarter backer comments are fairly active. About 3 or 4 users claiming to have received beta delivery. Other users are asking when they can expect theirs. Prior to discussions about delivery, all comments were expressing concerns about no updates and not receiving anything. "Andrew" is the only user to have posted a review and their online presence is also a mystery.

IMO, it still seems weird that only one user is posting reviews. I expect delivery of any product version would be a major milestone that the project would want to celebrate and share directly with users but the project's updates remain minimal.

This could be the project's attempt to show grassroots support and interest with the hope of attracting new backers that might think delivery is imminent.

As far as I know, Kickstarter has no requirement like that so it is at least a little better news that the updates are so frequent.

I truly hope this comes through, but looking at the "games" the one user plays on Lichess (funny none on chess[]com) he times out a lot, even on 19 move, 10+5 game.

This YT update from the creator’s channel is 9 days old only. Online play against Stockfish.

these are some pretty sick stopmotion skills