For readers who may not know, Anichess is a subsidiary of Animoca Brands that’s reinventing chess for the digital age. The game blends the strategy of traditional chess with additional features like spell mechanics. Spells bring a fun and strategic dynamic to the classic game. Anichess is free-to-play, innovative, and community-first. Backed by Animoca Brands and Chess.com, Anichess is quickly providing fresh experimentation while paying homage to the game’s heritage.
Today we are interviewing Tom Ho, Technical Product Manager of Anichess, to learn more about the chess variation and its journey from ideation to strong community.
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First off Tom, congratulations to you and the team on the launch of Anichess Puzzles, King's Gambit, and the wrap of Season 4!
Q: Let’s start from the beginning. What originally sparked the idea for Anichess, and when did it officially launch as a game for players?
Tom: Anichess really came about after The Queen’s Gambit sparked a big wave of interest in chess, especially online during the pandemic. We thought, what if we could take this 1,500-year-old game and modernize it, put it on-chain, and add spells that change every season? That way, players are always learning new strategies, and even if you’re not a classically trained chess expert, you’ll still have a real chance to compete and win.
Q: Chess purists can be tough to impress. How do you keep the experience authentic for seasoned players while introducing new spells?
Tom: We know that some chess enthusiasts are purists, and they will stick to classic chess, and that’s fine. What we’re doing with Anichess is more about appealing to players who like variants or are just getting into the game. By adding modern graphics that may remind you of something closer to Dota, and implementing fresh mechanics like spells, we’re giving newer generations a way into chess that feels exciting and different. We enjoy connecting with players who are interested in chess variants, and new players who are learning chess. They want something fresh with better graphics and new mechanics.
Q: Season 4 has officially wrapped up, congrats again! Is there anything you’ve learned along the way? What should we expect for Season 5?
Tom: Season 4 was a big milestone for us!
So just a little bit of history, Seasons 1 and 2 were really just puzzle-based. We didn’t even have PvP yet (Player versus Player). Season 3 changed that, and bringing in head-to-head play made the game feel like real chess. With Season 4 wrapped, what makes it exciting is it’s the last step before we launch our token later this year.
The top players from each season will get an airdrop, so the players who are truly committed to Anichess have a stake in our ecosystem. Anichess is part of a larger ecosystem called the Checkmate Foundation, and the $CHECK token powers that foundation.
For example, there might be more incentives to play and earn faster. Up until now, in Seasons 1 through 4, players mostly earned points, but they didn’t really get any tradable assets. Once we launch the token, which will likely happen in Season 5, players will be able to earn it directly, creating a much faster feedback loop between playing and rewards. That will be really exciting and will also open the door for new mechanics in the game.
Q: With years of product building under your belt, and now 100,000+ puzzles solved on newly-released anichesspuzzles.com, has any feedback surprised you along the way? Has it helped the team make decisions or identify priorities?
Tom: We built Anichess Puzzles because a lot of feedback from the Web3 and GameFi community was that the main game felt hard to learn and a bit intimidating to jump straight into PvP.
Chess already has a massive audience, hundreds of millions of people play, but onboarding new players to Anichess required something more approachable. Puzzles felt like the right fit, especially since we’d tested them before and saw great engagement. Personally, I love Puzzles because they let you learn spells and strategies at your own pace.
What surprised us was just how active players were in giving feedback, like pointing out alternative solutions and suggesting improvements. That got us thinking more about user-generated content. With Puzzles, players could actually design their own challenges for other players to solve. User-created puzzles could be owned, traded, or even built into new games, which really aligns with the ethos of giving players ownership.
Puzzles could allow for more community-fueled challenges, while PvP is still where we’re pushing the esports angle. We’ve also partnered with Team Secret, one of the biggest esports teams. In the end, Puzzles help onboard a more casual audience into learning spells and strategies! If they want to go deeper into competitive play, they can go to Anichess.com.
Q: Anichess has their own community full of geniuses, but you are also a part of the broader Animoca Brands family. How do you balance and incorporate Animoca Brands’ mission of advancing digital property rights while prioritizing Anichess’s community-driven culture?
Tom: At the end of the day, Anichess has to be a fun, strategic game first. None of the Web3 or digital property rights matter if people don’t actually care about playing. That’s always been our core focus. Build quickly, test with the community, and if it’s fun, then double down. Once we know the gameplay works, that’s when we layer in the crypto side to supercharge the experience.
The reality is, we’re a small team compared to AAA studios. They have massive resources, while there’s only about five or six of us at the core of Anichess. What gives us a unique edge is being able to use Web3. For example, our token can reward players for showing up every day, and if the token performs well, it naturally brings more attention and distribution to the game. Or with Puzzles, players can actually own the content they create on-chain, sell it on existing marketplaces, and even earn revenue from it. That ownership and composability aren’t things traditional studios can offer.
So the balance is simple: make the game fun first, then use Web3 to amplify it. That’s how we stay true to both our community-driven culture and Animoca’s bigger mission around digital property rights, which I really believe in, and it’s why I’m still here in crypto.
Q: Let’s talk about the unique direction of the Ethernals collection. How did Ethernals come about? What role will Ethernals fulfill for community members or players?
Tom: We actually had the Ethernals PFP art ready for quite a while, but our focus was always on building a fun game first. Over time, though, we realized we were underrating the importance of shared ownership.
Launching a token takes a lot of planning and logistics, so we thought, why not release the PFPs earlier as a way to give our top players a sense of identity and ownership? That’s how Ethernals came about.
The art style is intentionally unique. Half-human and half-chess piece to stand out, tying directly back to our brand. And we love seeing people use their Ethernals as profile pictures on platforms like Farcaster and Base; it helps spread the identity of the community.
Utility-wise, Ethernals holders will receive the Check token airdrop once it launches, plus perks like discounts and early access to features. We’ve also set up a private Ethernals group on Discord where holders get updates and a closer connection to the team. With only 960 of them, these PFPs really serve as our genesis collection and a way for the community to feel more tightly aligned with Anichess as it grows.
Q. Looking ahead, what can players expect next? Any upcoming features, updates, or events that you’re especially excited about?
Tom: Yeah, the big event is definitely the token launch. In crypto, that’s always a major milestone. We’re finalizing the airdrop allocations and, more importantly, building features that give the token long-term utility.
On the game side, we’re developing Anichess PvP and working with partners like Pudgy Penguins and Moonbirds to bring a larger audience into the brand. For the puzzle side, we’re experimenting with on-chain user-generated content. The idea is that players can create and own puzzles, and even generate revenue when others play them, which we would like to lean more into because this was not possible with Web2.
We’re also building another title called King’s Gambit, a more casual game aimed at audiences who enjoy Candy Crush or Tetris. That one will be available on both web and mobile, giving us broader distribution beyond core chess fans.
Q. Anichess Puzzles is now live on the Base app! In terms of development, reach, or interoperability with other dApps, how has building on Base shaped your approach around Web3 experiences?
Tom: So the reason I picked the Base ecosystem for Anichess Puzzles is pretty simple. I didn’t choose it just because we were already on Base, I chose it because their development tools are very AI-friendly, and the Base team puts a big focus on developer experience. That made it much easier to build and distribute compared to going through the long process of mobile app licensing with Apple or Google.
Base also has a highly engaged community, which is great for experimenting. My approach has been to build off-chain first, then move on-chain where it makes sense. With Base’s tight integration with Circle and USDC, accepting payments was smooth and straightforward. That allowed us to add premium puzzle items and start seeing real data on who’s not just playing, but actually willing to pay. It’s a really useful filter to understand our true user base.
Q: We’ve heard that now Season 4 has finished, Anichess is cooking up something special with Pudgy Penguins. Can you share more details about this partnership and what’s to come?
Tom: So for the Anichess main game, we’re moving PvP to Abstract chain, which includes a big partnership with Pudgy Penguins. Right now, the $CHECK token is in pre-sale on Kaito AI, and both Pudgy Penguin and Anichess holders get priority allocation.
Moving forward, you’ll see more Pudgy characters in the game. Our slogan has evolved from “chess with a drop of magic” to “chess with a drop of magic and cuteness.” We really believe the Pudgy team’s marketing power can help us reach a wider audience and bring more recognition to Anichess. Distribution is something every free-to-play and Web3 project needs to go mainstream.
Thanks so much for your time, Tom. It’s been special to hear more of the thoughts behind your plans, and insight to where Anichess could be headed next!
We look forward to solving new puzzles and climbing the King’s Gambit leaderboard on the Base app. Good luck to you and the team on the next upcoming season, Abstract migration, and your developments in-between.
To find out more about Anichess, visit anichess.com, and start solving on anichesspuzzles.com.
In case you missed our podcast episode with Chevan Tin, “How Anichess is Bringing Chess & 600M+ Players On-Chain”, it is a great chance to learn more about Anichess!
Follow Tom and Chevan of Anichess:
Farcaster + Base: @chessdude , @nftom
X: @Chevy_Jai , @NFTom_ETH
Keep up with Anichess:
Farcaster + Base: @anichessgame
X: @anichessgame
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/anichess
Thank you for reading!
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All comments (7)
“The reality is, we’re a small team compared to AAA studios. They have massive resources, while there’s only about five or six of us at the core of Anichess. What gives us a unique edge is being able to use Web3. For example, our token can reward players for showing up every day, and if the token performs well, it naturally brings more attention and distribution to the game. Or with Puzzles, players can actually own the content they create on-chain, sell it on existing marketplaces, and even earn revenue from it. Ownership and composability aren’t things traditional studios can offer.” - @nftom We sat down with Tom Ho, technical product lead of @anichessgame, and dove into the ways blockchain and digital assets can be incorporated into their community and fun-first mindset. Read the full interview to learn more about Anichess’s journey, and how they’ve approached bringing the 1,500-year-old game of chess on-chain. https://paragraph.com/@animocabrands/the-origin-of-anichess-with-technical-product-manager-tom-ho
Anichess is here to bring chess to the modern generation in all forms imaginable♟️
Anichess is blending classic chess strategy with spell mechanics and community-driven play. ♟️ Partnered with chess.com, the @anichessgame team is pushing boundaries with both competitive and casual game modes. We interviewed @nftom, Technical Product Manager of Anichess, about balancing authenticity with innovation, building on @base.base.eth, keeping players engaged, and what’s next for the chess variant. Take a quick read to learn more about @anichessgame! 💫 https://paragraph.com/@animocabrands/the-origin-of-anichess-with-technical-product-manager-tom-ho?referrer=0xFf432642573B675360a166de1723e52BD2BddC24
Bullish on $CHECK
GCheck @nafeeesah
gCheck 🫡
Exciting developments are underway at Anichess, a unique gaming experience securing a fresh market for chess fans! In a recent interview, @animocabrands welcomed Tom Ho, the Technical Product Manager, who shared insights about combining classic chess with spell mechanics upending traditional gameplay. Anichess promotes accessibility and inclusivity by engaging with both experienced chess players and newcomers alike. As seen with the recent launch of Anichess Puzzles, community feedback is forefront alongside a focus on fun gameplay reshaping the strategy board game experience.