Image: Square Off
I ran into a few issues here and there where the team didn’t register some of my moves and wanted me to move again until it was registered. This can be frustrating when you’re on the clock, as all online matches are timed, but it only happened a few times. The board is usually pretty responsive, with beeps to indicate when you’re making an illegal move (like when you’re moving a pawn without realizing your king is in check). You can play by just looking at the board, or you can open the app during the game to see the actual team and information about your opponent (and send a message).
End of game
I won one game at Square Off Pro, and it was all downhill from there. But it doesn’t matter—I’m having so much fun. Sure, no player was sitting across from me, but that didn’t stop my friend from hearing me yelling, “No, no, no, no, no, no!” And I have nothing but envy when I lose. It’s amazing to see how other people play the game and the moves they use better than me.
I’d like to think that just like taking notes in school can help with retention, moving chess pieces helps me learn the game better, but I can’t say for sure. I just find it more fun than clicking a mouse or tapping a finger on the screen.
Square Off Pro is not just a game. You can replay matches from current tournaments and see how they played on the scoreboard, or even analyze your game. Hooray, I see all the stupid mistakes I made that caused me to die. I’m not salty, I swear.
It’s a lot higher than the original Square Off set, but I wish it came with travel-friendly accessories. Right now, you are wrapping up the chessboard, putting it in a round cloth, and keeping the pieces in two separate bags. It would be nice if I could keep everything in one kit.
Other than that, it’s hard to find much fault with Square Off Pro. It’s made me play a lot of chess lately, and that’s all I wanted.
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