Most chess apps try to replicate the classic 64-square experience. Over the last few years, I’ve been doing the opposite—breaking chess down into fast, bite-sized mobile games on smaller boards, each designed to isolate and gamify a single skill:

Firstchess: Bite-sized lessons to learn the fundamentals on a compact board.

Halfchess: Focused purely on endgame thinking on a smaller grid.

Phantom Chess: Blind/memory-based chess on a mini board.

Schmess: Real-time speed chess where multiple pieces move simultaneously.

You can try all four live apps at https://halfchess.com.

I plan to build more chess/poker mini games if I can figure out a distribution for these. Something quixotic, I might even travel the world making a game from every few countries I visit. I think I will do it at a $1000 MRR. If you know any media outlets or micro influencers who can cover my games, do let me know.