What would you like to know?

Yes. Local Hotseat and Nova League games are available without signing in and run primarily in your browser. A permanent account is required for rated online games, persistent ratings, tournaments, clubs, friends, messages, achievements, and saved progress.

Matchmaking first searches for a compatible opponent. Depending on your settings and the active configuration, it can then offer a suitable Nova League matchup at a similar clock and strength.

No. Nova League personas are fictional, automated chess opponents—not people. Their profiles present them as part of the Nova League, and their replies are limited to a small preset set of chess-specific phrases.

After the required app and engine assets have loaded, Local is designed for offline play and Nova League games can work offline when the browser engine is available. Saving or sharing may wait until you reconnect.

Permanent accounts can use Google or email and password through Supabase Auth. Authentication emails are delivered through the project’s configured SMTP provider. Only basic Google identity scopes are requested.

The account-upgrade flow is designed to preserve eligible guest games and local progress. The interface will show exactly what can be moved before you confirm.

Bullet, blitz, rapid, and classical ratings are tracked separately. Only completed rated games change ratings, and both sides are updated atomically by trusted server logic.

Only when administrators enable fixed-strength rated Nova League play for that time control. Casual automated games remain separate, and configured rankings can exclude Nova League results.

Long engine analysis and direct Nova League play run in a browser Web Worker. Busted Minds Chess does not run long analysis jobs inside serverless functions, and large engine output is not saved by default.

Online games need compact moves, clocks, participants, result, and integrity metadata. Local and direct Nova League games do not use cloud storage unless you explicitly save eligible progress.

Permanent accounts can block, mute, and report. Reports are reviewed in a restricted moderation workflow. Nova League personas cannot create reports, accept friend relationships, or behave as personal contacts.

Yes. Game reviews, move explanations, advanced stats, puzzles, lessons, Nova coach games, every available Nova personality, and the core game are free. There are no ads or subscription tiers. Only full-strength hints during eligible online matches use clearly priced Busted Bucks earned inside the product.

Yes. You can run Nova Review after every completed game and use the current puzzle and lesson libraries as often as you like. There is no daily training cap or paid premium tier.

The product is still being validated with early players. Features, limits, and presentation may change; maintenance windows and occasional defects are possible. We aim to label preview states honestly.

The interface is designed for keyboard navigation, screen-reader move announcements, reduced motion, high contrast, responsive layouts, and color-aware themes. Please report anything that blocks play.

Use the Contact page and choose Product feedback, bug report, safety concern, or another relevant topic. Do not include passwords, access tokens, or sensitive identity documents.