Chess Ultra Arrives on the Switch eShop, With Cross-Platform Play, This Week

Is it also cross platform with a physical board and pieces? That would be some feat.

I've Pure Chess on Wii U, excellent game and more than enough for me.

"Cross-platform online play against Xbox One and PC players"

Oh... i see.
Sony doesn't allow ps4 users to play together with Switch / Xbox1 / PC users.

If you have the switch on the table between you, wouldn't touch controls make more sense?

@SanderEvers Oh wow, that's neat. I didn't know that was a thing. I was just making a dumb joke.

System seller.

Tempted for sure.

Would this be a good way to teach some to play chess? I noted the tutorial mode, wondered if it’s 5e best way to learn. Anyone had any experience with this?

Anyone know if anyone has made a chess boxing video game?

Use the joy con to play chess? Isn't it easier to play with real chess set? It's not that expensive you know?

Hoping this will support motion controls for when you smack the board across the room in a fit of rage.

All sarcasm aside, I've actually had my eye on this and now I see it's only a tenner I'll very probably go for it.

I get playing the computer or online multiplayer... but wouldn't local multiplayer be more fun on an actual chess set that doesn't require controllers or batteries?

I like Chess but not enough to play it on my Switch

I've been waiting for this!

"Unique to the Switch will be 'cross-table' chess, in which you can lay the Switch down flat when undocked."

They do realise that the cooling vents are located on the back of the Switch, right? ..sounds like an overheating issue waiting to happen if you ask me!

...it's a nice idea - but unless there was some kind of accessory (eg. mini 'table legs' that you could slide in to the Joy-Con rails to aid ventilation when flat) that would alleviate that potential issue, I wouldn't recommend playing any game that way at all! :/

@westermac of course, but this is a good alternative if you don't have the actual physical board and pieces at home. I think this mode would be fantastic for playing two player local chess on the airplane with a friend or on a road trip with the family. Sure at home physical stuff is the way to go, but this mode has it's advantages. ^_^

Games like Rocket League and Minecraft I can understand Sony not doing cross-play, they have enough players in their install base to warrant that. But I feel like chess on consoles is a bit more of a niche market, by making it cross-play it just gives you a better chance to play with someone at anytime. I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch, Xbox and PC crowd is WAY larger then the PS4 only crowd. If the PS4 crowd doesn't grow fast enough, PS4 owners may have to wait to play with someone... I guess it can't be helped. I won't be waiting long on my Switch.

@westermac So what do you do with real board/pieces if you're mid-game and are going out?

With the Switch you can easily continue a game in a pub while waiting for food to be prepared, or while waiting for a bus/train, etc?

Strikes me a portable electronic version is a much better option than a real chess set, unless you're only interested in playing in the same place.

Excellent use of the Switch, right there.

@NaviAndMii

Nah, it's actually not an issue at all. They did tests and even laying down the Switch on its back on carpet which goes up into the vent and clogs it, it never overheats. The only way they were able to get it to overheat was laying it on its back on a blanket or carpet which sealed off the vent, and then throwing a blanket on top of it to trap heat, and then letting it run at full power trapped like that for half an hour.

Just putting it down on a hard surface with nothing on top of it will be absolutely fine.

@chardir It supports touch controls, too.

@TsukiDeity @gcunit You're both right, the portability definitely brings some advantages (makes me think of a mini magnetic chess set I had when I was a kid ha). I would assume most people interested enough in chess to buy this game would already own a set, but I could definitely be wrong there.

@JaxonH That's interesting - wasn't aware of those tests (maybe it's not as critical as I'd first assumed) ..I just notice that my Switch kicks out a fair bit of heat when I play (even handheld/tabletop) and I wouldn't want to stop that heat from escaping if I could help it

@SanderEvers That'd definitely work - like I say, I do like the 'cross-table' concept (especially for a board game like Chess) - I just never think that it's a good idea to block vents that must have been built in to the hardware for a reason!

I have played Pure Chess and it was great. Will be picking this up on Thursday! $12.49 seems a bit steep though, although it does seem to have a lot of content on what would have been the base game if it were a straight port.

I wouldn't mind a game like this on my Switch.

That's got to be the most dramatic trailer for a chess game, lol.

Will be getting.

@westermac It's not just the portability, it's also the online multiplayer and local 1-player. I own two Chess sets, and for actually sitting down to a face-to-face match nothing beats a physical board, but no one in my family has any interest in playing with me. I'm honestly pretty excited about this.

Yawn!! Lol

Get your power cord ready!

You can just do this on a smartphone and no need to carry around a Switch. You can play side by side on your own screen or online anywhere seeing how you always have online access on your phone.

I think the video takes itself too seriously lol, but nonetheless it looks great.

Pure Chess on Wii U was great.
This looks even better and it's nice to see we can play the classic Wii U setup that Nintendo first envisioned here on the Switch with the two remotes.

Nice, I'll definitely buy this. Pure Chess was great on Wii U.

@JHDK Of course it is! You just have to move the chess pieces manually (like, your opponent tells you the coordinates on the phone or something).

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Me too, do you still play it? I haven't played it in a long time due to the lack of people to play with. ^^

This has the potential to be a really cool niche title for some people. Glad to see the cross platform support, though boo on Sony for not playing well with others as usual in this regard. There are going to be a slew of cross platform titles at this rate!

@westermac Another advantage of electronic sets is that they'll automatically keep you from accidently making an illegal move and make sure you're notified of all instances of check, checkmate, and draw conditions that may possibly be overlooked when playing with a physical set. It also includes its own timer options, too. The pieces can't be accidently (or intentionally) scattered to ruin the game, either.