I ended up cutting out most of the stuff in my document due to the time limit :') Web build won't be possible immediately, cause I'm using multi-threading for AI calculation. I failed to make a valid Mac build as I don't have a personal Mac. I did, however, manage to get a successful Android build. So if you have an Android phone or an emulator feel free to try it out!
The APK worked on an Android emulator (it kind of errored out on my phone, didn't open). Good suggestion!
Cool take on chess, with HP, attack and defence, in addition to different movement styles. What’s the difference between the Starter and Wonderland Crowns? I like the different tradeoffs that pieces offer. The joint attack and defence opens up some good possibilities, although probably the only downside here is that keeping track of all the joint effects was sometimes overwhelming. Good job on the UI that throws up the necessary detail when required. The attack and defence indicators are very useful. Further the net HP result shown for the attacking and defending pieces when planning an attack is invaluable. I mostly followed a strategy of keeping my pieces coordinated, something I felt the AI didn’t do too well. With that I could pick off the AI pieces one by one. Obtaining a calculated victory in the end was satisfying! For a jam scope I felt the AI did a good job. No doubt this can be improved in future. Neat game overall :) Wish you the best for further development!
Hey thanks for playing and the in-depth review!
The Starter Crown and Wonderland Crown are only different in aesthetics... The in-universe explanation would be the company selling Ludochess sells a tutorial "Starter Pack" for new players, which includes the Starter Crown and 5 copies of each Starter piece (cut to 2 for the jam, so the box is not too cluttered). Then whenever they release a new series of pieces, they come in the form of collectible blind boxes, and a crown to match the theme is sold on the side.
But since I didn't get the time to implement tournaments (where you earn prize money and possibly limited edition blind boxes preserved for specific tournaments) or the store (where you buy blind boxes, crowns and perhaps differently colored bases), I just provided players two of each piece to play with. But I do plan to add them in if the game gets a good overall reception ;)