OffChess
Games
chess puzzles
SHOW HN2025
369points
169comments
#131of 3,837 in 2025
Top 4%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
18 positive, 27 neutral or asking, 10 mixed, 13 critical, out of 68 comments about the project. Thread score +0.14.
Execution: 2 for, 6 againstDesign: 5 for, 2 againstIdea: 3 for, 2 againstPricing: 1 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Ad-free, no subscription, and polished design.
From 3 comments
Solo developer, no ads, no subscription. Take my money! And thanks for writing decent software.
tigroferoce on HNVery cool app. Chess.com costs too much and lichess is rather ugly and has barebones puzzle support. I like how you can choose different categories. Will be using this from now…
eajr on HNI recently deleted the chess.com app due to monthly price, so I'm thrilled to start using this app instead! Good job!
ptrkrlsrd on HN
Adaptive puzzle selection and point-based rating.
From 2 comments
Nice, bought to replace 'chess tactics puzzles' the addition of rating changes sold me. Too late did I notice that there is no share fen button. I use that for harder puzzles…
kij on HNCongrats on the launch! I was wondering -- how does the point-based rating system work?
ryanrasti on HN
Objections
Layout overlaps Android system navigation or status bar on several devices.
From 4 comments
The app is full screen on my Samsung mobile so your bottom navigation is underneath the onscreen Android navigation and unusable. Happy to submit an issue and screenshots if you…
rprouse on HNLove it! The notification bar on my OnePlus 13 blocks access to the triple dot settings button on the top of my screen. ither than that it's clean.
spamalot159 on HNYou had me when you said some of your best thinking happens in the bathroom. Looks cool. On Android the UI seems to extend below the status bar at the top and below the drawer at…
johnnyfuego on HNI can't select the settings button on my Pixel 8 :|
wery on HN
Requires Google Play Services, so it fails on de-googled Android.
From 1 comment
Great! ...but doesn't work on my google-free Android. Ie, it requires play services. Please fix this :)
fractalf on HN
Paid unlock and no account make purchases hard to share across devices.
From 1 comment
Nice app. Using moto edge 60 pro. The app navigation gets hidden under the phone navigation icons. I'd like to pay. Except without user login, I am unable to figure out if the…
tangoalpha on HN
Requests
Auto-advance to next puzzle.
From 2 comments
Great start! Gentle feedback: - Text hints should probably be off by default, they give too much of a hint. - Auto-advance to next puzzle would be helpful, clicking “next puzzle”…
modernerd on HNNice! Quick feedback: - it plays sound even when my (iOS) device is muted - would love an option to automatically go to next puzzle
frankfrank13 on HN
Sound toggle, since sound plays even when muted.
From 2 comments
Love the app! Would love it twice as much if you allowed me to turn off the sounds (it turns off any existing podcasts or music).
yunwal on HNNice! Quick feedback: - it plays sound even when my (iOS) device is muted - would love an option to automatically go to next puzzle
frankfrank13 on HN
Share FEN/PGN buttons.
From 2 comments
Nice, bought to replace 'chess tactics puzzles' the addition of rating changes sold me. Too late did I notice that there is no share fen button. I use that for harder puzzles…
kij on HNWell designed app with a good collection. Have a few feature requests. * Ability to continue and play solved puzzles till the end by exporting to an external chess app using FEN…
t1nk3r3d on HN
Desktop, web or PWA versions.
From 3 comments
Very nice! but why not a webapp as well (for those of us who seldom use their phone and can get bored at the office)?
bambax on HNAre you going to make a desktop client?
sirjaz on HNI would love to see something like this for GNU / Linux desktop. Great work!
dustfinger on HN
Premoves.
From 1 comment
Amazing! Would love “premoves” so that I can input the next move before the first move’s animation completes. This will help maintain flow state for your more experienced users.…
thethimble on HN
Questions
Where the 100k puzzles were sourced from.
From 3 comments
I wonder where were those 100k puzzles sourced from?
tdiff on HNWhere did you get the puzzles from?
endorphine on HNYou attribute chess.js as MIT license ... But I'm curious where you sourced 1,000 addon puzzles for $3.99. .... As I doubt you thought them all up yourself. You may want to…
tenken on HN
What tech stack was used.
From 2 comments
Can you tell us about the tech stack you used and why?
mansoor_ on HNVery cool looking! Downloaded. What tech did you build it with? :)
khoury on HN
Alternatives named
Lichess offline puzzles.
From 2 comments
Nice project! As it was not clear from the description, there's a one-time payment (4.29€) to get more than 7 puzzles in a day. Lichess also offers a good alternative to this,…
laurentlb on HNAwesome. I’ve never understood why Lichess limits the offline download to 50 puzzles.
chatmasta on HN
Chess.com.
From 2 comments
Very cool app. Chess.com costs too much and lichess is rather ugly and has barebones puzzle support. I like how you can choose different categories. Will be using this from now…
eajr on HNI recently deleted the chess.com app due to monthly price, so I'm thrilled to start using this app instead! Good job!
ptrkrlsrd on HN
TacticMaster.
From 2 comments
I have TacticMaster (available on F-droid) but your app looks more polished and will have to give it a try as well.
mhitza on HNA great app no doubt but the descriptive hints on OffChess and a different rating system set OffChess apart from TacticMaster.
avadhesh18 on HN
ChessTempo.
From 1 comment
In my experience, nothing beats the puzzle quality of ChessTempo. Curious how this compares to that.
endorphine on HN