Duels are real-time matches against another Game Center player. Both players get the same board and five minutes, and the higher score wins.
Before You Duel
- Sign in to Game Center. On iPhone and iPad, use the Settings app; on a Mac, use System Settings. While you are signed out, Duel is dimmed on Home.
- Use a stable internet connection.
- Plan to stay in Chessic for up to five minutes. Leaving the app during a duel concedes it.
Starting a Duel
- On Home, choose Duel.
- Choose Quick Duel, or choose a forge if you own Chessic Unlimited.
- Game Center finds an opponent. You can also invite a Game Center friend from the same screen.
- When both players are connected, the duel board appears and the clock starts.
Quick Duel
Quick Duel is free. It is matched with any available opponent:
- Two Quick Duel players play a random free forge (Apprentice or Journeyman), or a random forge of all four when both players own Chessic Unlimited.
- A Quick Duel player matched with a player who picked a forge plays that forge, even one that is locked for them in single player.
Choosing the forge
With Chessic Unlimited, you can pick the forge for your duel. Players who pick different forges are never paired, so choosing a forge can mean a longer wait. Quick Duel is always the fastest way to find a match.
How a Duel Is Scored
Duels use the same board, pieces, strike chains, and bonuses as single player. The clock is different:
- Each duel lasts five minutes.
- Instead of the single-player time score, a duel has a completion bonus. It starts at 30.0 and loses 0.1 each second. You only bank it if you clear the whole board.
- Your score locks when your board ends, whether you clear it or no legal strikes remain. If you finish first, Chessic waits for your opponent.
- When the five minutes are up, any unfinished board's score is final.
The HUD shows your score and your opponent's score as you play.
Results
- Victory!: your final score is higher.
- Defeat: your opponent's final score is higher.
- Dead Heat: the final scores are equal.
If your opponent leaves the duel, you win. If you leave, you lose, whatever the scores.
Pausing and Leaving a Duel
A duel's clock keeps running, even while the pause menu is open. To leave a duel early, open the pause menu and choose Concede & Leave. Chessic asks you to confirm; in a rated duel, leaving counts as a defeat and your rating drops.
Switching away from Chessic during a duel also concedes it.
Duel Rating
Rated duels change your duel rating. The Duel page shows your current rating and opens the Duel Rating leaderboard in Game Center.
- Everyone starts at 1200.
- Beating a higher-rated opponent earns more; losing to a lower-rated opponent costs more.
- Your first 10 rated duels are Provisional. During that time your rating moves faster so it can find your level.
- Duels you concede count as rated losses.
Matchmaking prefers opponents with a similar rating but never requires one, so you can still be paired with anyone.
Friendly duels
Duels that start from an invitation are friendly and unrated. Their results show Friendly duel ยท unrated, and your rating does not change.
Your rating on other devices
Your rating is saved with Game Center. When you sign in on another device or reinstall Chessic, it picks up the newest rating from Game Center. Resetting your Chessic record does not change your duel rating.
Accepting Invitations and Challenges
When you accept a duel invitation while a forge is in progress, Chessic shows Accept Duel? and explains that your current forge will be abandoned. Choose Accept to join the duel or Cancel to keep playing and discard the invitation.
Duel Records
Your duel record (wins, losses, ties, and streaks) appears in Records. With Chessic Unlimited, duel statistics show results by forge, winning and losing margins, and your rating over time, and History keeps duel replays. A duel replay shows your board with your opponent's score as it arrived.