Update Log

Previously Anansi, Yewande, Zuri and Nana all pulled from the same engine ranking and just described it differently. Now each one has a real personality score: Anansi hunts for forks and knight tricks (moves that attack two things at once or look like mistakes but aren't), Yewande follows the engine's highest-rated move and explains the position, Zuri prioritises captures and checks above everything, and Nana avoids sacrifices and looks for safe trades. The engine now returns 12 candidates instead of 5, giving each character more to choose from.

Every suggestion card now shows the advisor's actual reasoning in their character voice — Anansi references the Sky God Nyame and his spider tricks, Yewande speaks in proverbs about patience and rivers, Zuri uses warrior language about blades and drums, Nana is warm and grandmotherly. The explanation changes based on what the move actually does (fork, check, sacrifice, castle, etc.) so it never feels generic.

The setup screen now shows "Experienced Player" and "Learner — gets Oracle guidance" labels above each name input, so it's immediately obvious who fills in what.

Added a version number (v3.5) next to the Runechess logo. Hover or tap to see a quick summary of recent changes. A link goes to this page.

Added a ⚑ button in the bottom player bar. Resign asks for confirmation and ends the game. Offer Draw shows the other player a two-step accept/decline flow. Both lead to the existing game-over screen.

The intro screen shown after the experienced player's move (featuring Yewande, Anansi and Zuri) now uses real Stockfish centipawn scores. Yewande reports the actual position evaluation, Anansi flags genuine tactical threats like hanging pieces or mating sequences, and Zuri frames the opportunity based on whether you're up, down or level. Previously this was based on rough heuristics.

Added a small label next to the engine dot that says "Loading engine…" while Stockfish is fetching (it's 1.5MB), then briefly shows "Engine ready ✓" in green when it's done. Previously there was no feedback and it looked broken.

Browsers block loading a Web Worker from a different domain (cross-origin restriction). The fix: fetch the Stockfish script as text, create a Blob from it, then create the Worker from a local blob URL. This bypasses the restriction entirely and the engine now loads reliably.

Added a slider on the setup screen so the experienced player can set how strong the advice is. Lower ELO = shallower engine search depth = simpler suggestions. Higher ELO = deeper analysis = stronger advice. This keeps the game a real challenge for the learner at whatever level is appropriate.

A small dot shows whether the chess engine is loaded. Green means Stockfish is active and all advice is engine-powered. Grey means it failed to load and the game falls back to simpler heuristics.

On phones, the advisor panel and move chronicle were fixed sidebars that overlapped the chess board. Converted both to bottom sheets (slide up from the bottom) on screens under 700px wide. The full board is now always visible on mobile.

The move history sidebar can now be collapsed. On mobile it collapses to a thin strip at the bottom. On desktop it shrinks to a vertical label on the left edge. Clicking it expands it again. This frees up board space without losing access to the history.

Integrated the Stockfish.js engine to power all advisor suggestions. Previously the game used hand-written heuristics (value tables, basic piece scoring). Now all move suggestions come from one of the strongest chess engines in the world, filtered through each advisor's personality.

Added a transitional screen between the experienced player's move and the learner's turn, where Yewande, Anansi and Zuri each give a brief take on what just happened. Gives the learner context and builds character investment before they have to choose a move.

Added a ♟ button (bottom of screen) that opens a visual guide showing every piece, how many points it's worth, and a small board diagram showing how it moves. Aimed at beginners who don't have all the piece movements memorised yet.

Added a 💾 button that generates a compact code representing the current game state. You can paste this code into the Resume Code box on the setup screen to continue a game later or on another device.

Complete visual overhaul. Dark inkwork aesthetic with rune particles and Amharic script in the background. Each character has a hand-drawn SVG illustration. The board and oracle panel are redesigned to feel more like an artefact than an app.

The learner picks one advisor before the game as their primary guide. All four appear in the oracle sheet with move suggestions. The primary advisor's suggestion is highlighted in the persistent panel on the left and in the "Play this for me" auto-move feature.

Text input at the bottom of the oracle sheet. Ask questions like "how does a knight move?" or "what's a fork?" and the council answers. Responses are position-aware where possible — if you ask about the current board, it uses the actual game state to reply.

Optional special moves the experienced player can grant the learner at setup: Twin Souls (move twice in one turn) or The Ancestor (bring a captured piece back). These are intentionally "illegal" chess moves designed to give beginners a fighting chance and make the game feel magical.

Four options at setup: Oracle Assist only, No Queen (experienced player starts without their queen), Oracle + No Queen, or Pure Chess. Designed to level the playing field when there's a significant skill gap.

Added three variant modes alongside standard chess. Antichess (try to lose all your pieces), Pawn War (pawns only, first to promote wins), and King of the Hill (march your king to the centre squares to win). Each adds variety and different learning opportunities.