Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Nov 27, 2021

  Completely changes the strategies of chess without changing the strategies of chess. I really like games that change the way I'm thinking about a problem, and this game does that. My one critique is that there's not a good one player mode. I can't wait until it gets a good CPU opponent is made, but I understand the development of that kind of AI is hard, about as hard as making the first good chess AIs in the 1990s.
• '(,o..o,)'

  May 27, 2022

  Does not seem to have a option to play against the pc. Its pretty but i just want the ability to play a local game against the pc
• gamedeal user

  Dec 13, 2016

  The idea is so alluring, the introduction so horrible, text during tutorial is a bit too fast during the bigger amounts (text in a game such as this should be something you decide to move on through) and you're all of a sudden playing a game vs. yourself and you never really got the hang of how/why. I suck at chess (haven't played it for 30 years I guess) but I do like it a lot, I am also very intrigued by quantum physics and theory (and a bit in string theory - that's the one that women wearing string is easier to get into bed, right? :P) I simply put have an inqusitive mind that needs a work out, for that to happen it does need some form of logic to the puzzle it's trying to break... A clear rule of movement, a strange rule of movement, both are fine as long as both are explained properly. I may buy this when it leaves (or is close to leaving) Early Access and they've made the way it teaches you how to play it better as I do believe I would like this game a whole lot, as it stands I'm afraid I have to give it a thumbs down though....and noone's more sad about that than I am...
• gamedeal user

  Dec 13, 2016

  This game is really more of an interface for a playable chess variant. Most human players 0<1400 should find the AI to play as a tutorial. However, if you like chess in general then the addition of a "quantum" game mechanic delivers something new in a way that seems easy to learn and difficult to master. The parametrics of Quantum chess make it an ambitious next step in the way chess could be played. I really can't wait for an update that improves the playing strength of the AI. Especially because a program that could more fully realize some of the possibilities available in QC might also function in a chess meta-game.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 5, 2017

  Great game... of regular old fashioned chess. As of now if you play against AI the chess game is rather normal. As of yet I haven't seen the AI use and quantum moves which makes the games rather repetitive. As of now I give this game a thumbs down, however i see the potential this game has and look forward to the full release.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 13, 2017

  The offline AI is the only predictable aspect of this game, everything else about it is mind-blowing from the first time you try to make sense of the game, to the first time you beat someone with your reality bending strategy. This game takes a genius spin on the age-old game of chess which not only requires an even greater sense of logic to comprehend, but also a great deal of luck. The initial reaction (including your own) of each person you demonstrate this game to is worth $10 on its own, but beating a masterful chess player through mind tricks and sheer luck is priceless. That being said, I encourage anyone reading this to buy this game and fill the online servers so that I have someone to play with after all my friends' brains explode!
• gamedeal user

  Apr 20, 2017

  DEEP IN THE QUANTUM RABBIT HOLE: It has PHASE and follows the actual math of QM. Moves (both classical moves (Cm's) and quantum moves (Qm's)) apply quantum gates involving 2 or more squares, and collapse happens whenever two different type and/or color appear on the same square. Collapse is random in accordance to the laws of QM and so introduces luck into the game, with the addition that capturing Cm's remove the wave amplitude in the destination square off the board (Qm's can't be used to capture). We are allowed to make moves for e.g. a Knight where is some amount of Knight at the origin square and the destination is within 1 (Cm) or 2 (Qm) Knight moves away. Cm's apply the NOT gate while Qm's apply the sqrt(NOT) gate. Every piece except unprompted pawns can make Qm moves, and even pawns can get involved in the fray when they i.e. capture half of a rook's wavefunction. How does phase matter? Consider white knight moves from B1 to C3. White doing the Qm version of this move twice is applying sqrt(NOT) twice, which is the same as applying NOT (a classical move). However, if white moves Qm, Cm, Qm, the Cm move (which will not appear to have done anything when it is done this way) means our total gate equivalent to applying the NOT gate 1/2+1+1/2 = 2 times, i.e. doing nothing at all. Thus a move that seems to do nothing (the intermediate Cm) actually had an effect. In a real game, more complex phase phenomena show up. When there part of a piece in the way (and only one path from A to B) we apply a CNOT gate for a classical move, which means that the ordinary NOT gate is "controlled" by the absence/presence of the blocking piece. If there are multiple paths through blocking pieces, multiple other pieces can get involved. Handling all of this complex and intuition is built gradually, mastery is hard but possible. In general the game favors parsimonious rules over what a human would expect. And by the way, two of the same piece/color combination are identical particles (spin 1/2 fermions). BRING A FRIEND: Overall the game plays well. It has a balance of obvious and deeper strategy and tactics with luck thrown in (whenever a collapse happens). There is no easy trick to force a draw, etc (no, splitting the king over and over again won't work. The opponent can capture most of your king, split his pieces to fill all vacant squares, and mop up your remaining sliver of king). The graphics are pretty (don't use the 3D view). Two main downsides: I don't think there are enough people for reliable online play yet; there is no AI to speak of (it is horrible and it will be much harder then chess to develop a good AI). However, this game makes a good cofeeshop topic with a friend. And the fact that developing an AI will (I think) be so hard means we can hone a skill that is both fun and beyond what machines can do, a claim few board games have.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 1, 2017

  Great game!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 24, 2018

  I understand the game, and it is interesting, but not very entertaining.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 29, 2019

  The ideas behind this are definitely cute and worthy of exploration. But the product isn't it. First, the AI is so bad you can consistently win in 6 moves. Try it. 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3.Bf1 Nf4 4. Qf3 Ng6 5. Bxf7 Kxf7 6. Qxf7 1-0. This is a combination of: 1. The AI is really, really bad. Maybe 800 Elo or something. 2. The AI (apparently) always does the same move in a given situation, no randomization (which is kind of ironic in a game about probabilities). 3. The AI never does quantum moves. So playing against the computer is pointless. Playing against people is also nearly impossible. So that leaves academic exploration of the game mechanics, but this also falls short because there's very little information about how the mechanics actually work. I've went through the tutorial and some online materials; and while the basic ideas are clear, I've seen some behavior I can't explain, and there's no technical reference I can use to determine if my logic is wrong, or there is a bug in the engine. This relates to the point that I've seen the designer claim that there's a complex (the a+bi kind) inner representation of the state, but I've seen no technical specification to back this, so it seems like a marketing gimmick. As it currently stands, it can be a nice free demo. But if they're charging money, I expect these two issues to be resolved - a decent AI, and more information on mechanics.