Played the online demo. This is nicely done! I like the UI sound effects. I wished a few of the UI elements (the map buttons in particular) had a stronger rollover effect - I see that the cursor changes, but it didn't read as "clicky" as I'd like.
The first few puzzles are a great selection because they're clearly teaching me to look for particular kinds of opportunities. I'm used to chess puzzles feeling kind of random, and this got past that for me. I did bounce off of puzzle ten for a bit, and found myself wishing for a bit more feedback (as other reviewers have mentioned).
Viewing post in Schachkampf - Fantasy Chess jam comments
Thanks for the feedback.
I fixed a bug with those buttons a few days ago and thought the same. Maybe I'll just go with a resize or a little color switch for now.
The other part with the feedback is already on my to-do. I planned to show the last move of the opponent, so you can see where he could escape.
And for the puzzles...they are in fact random. I just decided how many mates per puzzle and the algo gets it from a db.
My first idea was exactly like that. I wanted to make worlds with different themes, like openings or endings and put more focus on the different chess tactics...but I can't play chess (or couldn't until I began with this game), so learning all these things is way out of scope for me.
In the end I switched to a randomized but endless version of weekly new puzzles.
Maybe if when this game is finished and I someday meet a chess player who wants to create the puzzles the original idea would get a new approach.