App users still have opportunity to cheat on Puzzles (Tactics)
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No one cares about puzzle ratings anyway.
If I close the App and spend 3 days doing puzzles on the website and then return to the App I still see the same puzzle that the app showed 3 days ago and the clock starts at whatever time it was stopped at.
I cannot see how you can choose to dismiss the current puzzle and go to the next puzzle on the App. Is it possible to do this like you can on the website?
So many chess on this app that I have played, reported and admin has sent me a message saying they have contacted the cheats, but do i get my points back??
It seems like the website is now offering a preview of the next puzzle that the user can ponder as long as they want before opening the puzzle and starting the clock.
Suggest it would be better not to offer previews to puzzles on either the app or the website since the puzzle-points awarded is time-based so previews spoil the competition.
Aug 23, 2023
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#7
If people want to gain an advantage over the puzzles feature, it harms no one, except the person trying it.
There used to be a problem with the app version of Puzzles (formerly tactics) that allowed users to cheat by giving them a preview of the puzzle before starting the clock.
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/site-feedback/tactics-preview-on-app-vs-pc
That problem was resolved a few months ago. Thanks.
But now there is a new problem that still allows app users to cheat (but not website users).
When the app is closed while a puzzle is running and then reopened again later it reopens to show the same puzzle with the clock still at the time that was showing when the app was closed.
This again allows app users to cheat.
Anybody can take a screenshot of the puzzle as soon as it loads, then close the app, then think about the puzzle for 10 minutes using the screenshot and then go back to the app and solve the puzzle in 10 seconds.
As much as we like to give each other the benefit of the doubt regarding honesty, experiments show that if you give people the opportunity to cheat in ways that cannot be detected by others then a surprising number of people will cheat.
See Dan Ariely's revealing book The Honest Truth About Dishonesty
If a user closes the app while a puzzle is running then they should be given a different puzzle when they open the app again (this would match the website users' experience).
Otherwise the Puzzles ratings that players have on their profile are likely to be highly unreliable guides to their ability.