The game of chess is certainly enjoying its peak. There have been lots of first timers who recently discovered the game and are surely enjoying it. The Netflix series 'Queens Gambit' and Chess streaming community has really influenced people to play Chess. But one thing which is still lacking for many people is the experience of playing over the board, and this is not the case only with the beginners who have just played the game on their smartphones or laptops but also for some advance players who are not able to find people with whom they can play chess over the board. People who have played chess over the board knows that the feeling and enjoyment of it playing on the board is much greater as compare to playing game on smartphones or laptops. But let us face it, it's a busy world, people live miles away from each other .It's not quite easy to find people nearby who wants to play chess over the board and even if you plan to visit your friend, it requires a hell lot of planning and most likely the result of the whole planning ends up in playing chess online.
So, a natural question arises that the is there any way through which we can experience both the convenience of playing chess online and pleasure of playing over the board. It seems that SQUARE OFF has find an incredibly unique solution for the above problem. They have made such a device which can give the essence of both. Square off is all set to completely re-define the concepts of boards game as they have pulled off an engineering masterpiece.
 |
| Square Off Chess board Source - Google |
At first glance, Square Off looks like an ordinary chess boards on which you can play with any other player sitting on the other side of the board. But the real magic happens when you can still play with people even if they are not physically present on the either side of the boards. Yes, you read that right, and moreover it is not only just some kind of conceptual prototype, but they have managed to develop a fully functional device.
 |
| An Automated board where pieces glides on their own Source - Google |
Square Off is an automated chess board which allows you to play over the board chess with the people sitting in any corner of the world, provided they have an internet connection. The other person does not even need having a Square Off chess board, but should only have the app. When your opponent makes any move on the app, the same piece moves in the same fashion on the board as well. To be able to do this it uses a compact two axis robotic arm with a magnetic head beneath the box to move the magnetic chess pieces. When the move is made on the app, your smartphone sends the signal with the help of AtMega 2560 chip with Bluetooth BLE taking care of decrypting and execution.
Square Off provides you various features to play the game .The first is Square Off mode in which you can challenge anyone or can play with any random person across the globe just like we do on any online platform. There is also a Training mode in which you can play against the computer ranging its strength from 1 to 20 level. A very interesting feature is Live streaming mode in which you can watch live game from the top-level tournaments .You can also record those games and rewatch them on the board whenever you want.
 |
 |
| The Opponent can play both on Square-Off board or Square-Off app Source - Google |
To perform the above-mentioned task, they have also developed the Square Off app which helps in smooth functioning of the board .Moreover, app also helps in keeping the board button -free so that users can enjoy classic chess board experience.
 |
| Square-Off app Source - Google |
Square Off board is really very cool and unique innovation which will surely redefine the future of board games. It will surely enhance the experience of the game but then there is some shortcoming as well like the board generate some kind of sound which may cause disturbance to the players and occasionally pieces may collide with each other and fell. All in all Square Off has some of its own cons, but they can be surely overcome in future but the overall project seems to be quite interesting and will surely be good for both the Game and players as well.
0 Comments