Join the Otherchess community
Active beta — play games, break things, report back.
Otherchess is in active beta. The game is real and the ratings are live — but the app is still being perfected. Right now, the most valuable thing the community can do is play games, stress-test the app, and file clear reports when something breaks or feels wrong. That feedback is what turns a beta into a finished product.
Beyond testing: Patreon for ongoing support, Kickstarter campaigns to fund concrete deliverables, and a growing Discord (coming soon). See the Beta page for full details on what to expect during beta.
Want to help build chess that stays human and creative? We’re looking for super testers, investors, engineers, AI researchers, and people who want in the room.
Tell us what else you want to see — features, boards, tournaments, or UI ideas.
Tell us what else you want to see
Features, boards, tournaments, UI improvements — we weight input from players and Patreon backers.
Best ways to engage right now
- Become a super tester — play the game, put the app through its paces, and submit reports. Paid role.
- Play rated games and report anything that feels broken, wrong, or confusing.
- Patreon — support steady progress and have your voice weighted in development.
- Back specific deliverables via Kickstarter (not vague promises).
- Discord for coordination and feedback (coming soon).
Beta priority: crash testing and QA
During beta, the main thing we need from the community is real players putting the app through its paces. That means:
- Play games on different boards and configurations
- Try edge cases: unusual move sequences, long games, rapid games, resigning, abandoning
- Report anything that breaks, behaves unexpectedly, or is confusing — including UI confusion, not just crashes
- Organize matches and mini-tournaments to stress the multiplayer system
A dedicated Discord feedback channel is coming. For now, use the Support / bug report form for anything you find.
Patreon backers and active players will have their input weighted more in development.
Patreon: keep it shipping
Patreon funds steady progress: server costs, UI polish, moderation tooling, and iteration on the competitive experience. If you want the game to keep improving week-over-week, backing on Patreon is how we get there.
For one-off milestones (e.g., “OTB kit” or “Tournament prizes”), Kickstarter is the place.
Kickstarter: prizes for the monthly tourney series
We're using Kickstarter to fund prizes for a monthly tournament series that will grow into a full tournament league. Online first; over-the-board (OTB) when we're ready. Back a campaign and you're directly funding what the winner can win.
Development directions
During beta, the primary development focus is ops stability and core gameplay reliability. The goal is an app that doesn’t go down, handles edge cases correctly, and gives players a solid foundation to play on. Feature work continues but comes second.
We’re especially interested in community input and contributors in:
- QA and crash testing — paid super tester role for people who play seriously and file good reports.
- UI/UX — game summaries, profiles, ratings, and “what happened?” clarity.
- New boards and variants — competitive boards and constraints that keep the game human-first.
- AI research — stronger play, evaluation, and search in a high-branching-factor game where humans still have the edge.
See the Development page for the full roadmap.
Investors + hiring
Otherchess has a mission: chess that’s good for the global community — human-first competitive play that sidesteps the AI-cheating trap and brings creative, expressive play back to the board. We’re building that in a way that stays accessible to everyone and funded by people who care about the game, not by ad-driven incentives.
I’m actively looking for growth investors who get competitive games and distribution, for engineers who want to ship fast, and for AI researchers who want to push playable strength and evaluation in a large, human-favorable possibility space. If you want to help give chess a path that stays human and creative — or talk funding — start here: Join the team →.
Read the mechanics
The rules are deliberately compact, but the consequences are not. If you want the deep explanation, the best entry point is the White paper (PDF).