MasterPiece Chess UPDATE - PREORDER NOW

I have no idea how the pieces work, and I thought there was software needed, which would be OS specific.  Regardless, the website says works with any Android or iOS tablet.  Why wouldn't it say windows, or "any touchscreen tablet" if what you say is true?  

I have no idea how the pieces work, and I thought there was software needed, which would be OS specific.  Regardless, the website says works with "any Android or iOS tablet."  Why wouldn't it say windows, or "any touchscreen tablet" if what you say is true?  

What Windows device would you be trying to use with them? 

I have a couple of 2 in 1 type laptops.  An HP that you can fold the keyboard back behind the screen (360 type) and a Dell that has a Windows Surface type design with removal keyboard.  Both run Windows 10.  

I would venture to guess that the Surface type may work (as it uses a multi touch type screen, if it is truly a Surface type screen). 

Not sure about the other one. However, the other consideration is the size of the pieces. They do look to be small and the website states they are designed to work with a screen the size of a standard iPad. 

Using this line from the FAQ section on the website to make these assumptions: 

Does MasterPiece Chess work with any touch-tablet?

MasterPiece Chess will work with any modern touch sensitive device; however, the size of the pieces are scaled to fit best on a tablet that is similar in size to a standard ipad with a 9.7" screen size.

Hope this helps.

Hey everyone! Wow I stepped back from the thread to come back and find some great interaction. appreciate that!

To be clear, jjupiter is correct. Most modern touch devices since the ipad share the same touch  technology. I did test with my windows tablet computer and they do indeed react. I will say windows isn't the BEST and most responsive ios so while they respond, it's not quite as "snappy" as ios or android and in the instance of chess.com, you have to open internet exploder to access the website. so now you're fighting windows ios, and your browser for responsive touch. It's not ideal in my opinion.

One thing to also consider aesthetically speaking is scale. Setting these up on a larger device will certainly make the pieces look much smaller on the board and on smaller devices, you simply don't have enough surface area to fit all the pieces on them. 

We will be shipping our first units by the end of the month! I also plan on updating the website to give everyone a little look at how the pieces work with the chess.com app specifically.

As expected, every chess application is different in terms of user interface. I find chess.com to be the least "crowded" in game so accessing menus during a game with pieces sitting over top isn't impossible, but I certainly want to be open and upfront about limitations to this novelty product.

Will there be chess tournaments using these pieces? Absolutely not. Is this an product ideal for blitz games? No.  Is it a fun alternative to staring at a flat image on a screen that has become a commonplace representation of the physical game of chess?  Absolutely!

For me, the bottom line for my motivation in creating this product was that I wanted satisfaction of moving real pieces against real human opponents despite their distance around the world. 

The solutions that exist (squareoff, DGT boards) are out of my price range and for a patzer like myself, I can't justify investing the dollars for casual games. 

I pre-ordered mine when this topic was first started.  I look forward to using it on my iPad.

Totally! As i mentioned, I can't account for the chess.com interface or any of the other chess app interface capabilities. Perhaps this product will encourage the chess.com devs to make blindfold mode a little more accessible in game from the game menu as opposed to have to go to themes and selecting it. Personally, i'd be flattered if any developer thought highly enough of my idea to design their app with MasterPiece in mind...

But give me a couple days - I'll try to share some demos on the website! I appreciate everyone's support and interest in this project. It's a fiendishly simple approach to getting us all looking at physical chess pieces versus flat pictures on a screen. 

I want to thank everyone on their feedback in this forum. My first batch of MasterPiece chess sets are complete! Putting some finishing touches on the packaging and we should be shipping out the first orders in the next 2 weeks!

I've added an "app support" page on the website to give a little more information on how MasterPiece Chess pieces work with Chess.com 

The video I posted there will give you a good look at how to quickly and easily setup the board to play on your device!

Hope you check it out!

https://www.masterpiecechess.com/pages/chess-com

Dante

Awesome! Thanks! I wanted to be sure this was a functional set for offline OTB play as well. I know $15 USD isn't going to break the bank for most people, but it's nice to add a little more to the package. I also include a nice padded EVA zip up travel case with it!

We'll probably start shipping next week!

And a board too?  Can't beat that.  Is it cardboard?  

I'd like to see another video of how the play goes with these pieces.  The last video was mostly just putting pieces on the screen.  

The board is hard plastic. At it's core, this is perfect travel set especially with the padded zipper case. The case also has room to store some charging cables as well. 

I'll shoot a little vid to give everyone a little better idea of how it plays. The main kickstarter video on the website gives you a taste of how it works but I can spend a little more time with the function aspect. 

No offense but I would rather you spend that time shipping product so I can play with it myself.

How will we know when ours has shipped? Will we get a confirmation email? And if someone ordered two sets, will both sets be shipped together? 

Woo-hoo! My order has shipped. Should be here in time to take it with me on vacation late next week. 

Thanks very much Dante.

oh - and for those that still aren't sure about the sets, I'll do another video with a little more hands-on view.