Switch Chess

This is a Python implementation of the game Switch Chess using Pygame library.

Switch Chess App is an extended version of Switch Chess a performative work of art played based on chance. The board game is to be played on an actual chessboard with game pieces. The board game is designed so that players go back and forth randomly between positions not for the goal to win, but to understand why another person may make certain decisions based on unique circumstances, which in part they do not control. Switch Chess App takes the basic rules of the board game farther by not only changing positions (being black or white after a full move: that's two moves by the players), but also changing colors while keeping the same position. In this beta version, you play against yourself.

Switch Chess App is a collaboration between Eduardo Navas and Eduardo de Moura.

Concept and basic algorithm: Eduardo Navas Programming and beta user interface design: Eduardo de Moura

This performative work of art is discussed in "RS (Remix Studies) + DH (Digital Humanities): Critical Reflections on Chance and Strategy for Empathy," published in The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities

Follow this page for updates on future versions that will allow you to play against another person.

How to play

Switch Chess is a two-player board game, played on a chessboard, that is essentially a combination of chess and reversi.

The goal is to capture all the opponent's pieces or get the opponent to a position where they cannot make any more moves.

Each player takes turns moving one of their pieces according to the rules of chess. However, after every full move (i.e., both players have made a move), a coin is flipped. Depending on the result of the coin flip, the player to move next will switch to the other color.

Installation

You need Python 3.x installed on your system to run this game.

1. Clone this repository or download the source code as a ZIP file and extract it.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt window in the project directory.
3. Install the required packages by running pip install -r requirements.txt command.
4. Run the game by typing python main.py command.

How to play

1. When the game starts, the board will be displayed on the screen with pieces in their starting positions.
2. Click on one of your pieces to select it. If the piece has any valid moves, they will be highlighted in green.
3. Click on one of the green squares to move your piece there.
4. After every full move, a coin will be flipped to determine the player who will move next.
5. The game ends when one player captures all of the opponent's pieces or when the opponent cannot make any more moves.

Controls

• Click on a piece to select it and see valid moves.
• Click on a green square to move the selected piece there.
• Press 'T' to change the board theme.
• Press 'R' to reset the game.
• Press 'Esc' to quit the game.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• Pygame library

You can install the required packages by running pip install -r requirements.txt command in your terminal or command prompt window.

Deploying to a Website

To deploy the game on a website, you need to first build the game using the following command:

python build.py

This will create a build folder with the necessary files. Then, compress the build folder into a ZIP file named web.zip.

Next, upload the web.zip file to your web server or hosting service. Once uploaded, extract the contents of the web.zip file to a folder named web-cache on your web server. This folder will store the game cache.

Finally, move all the extracted files from the web-cache folder to the web folder. This will make the game accessible through the website's URL.

Note that the version.txt file contains the version number of the game. Make sure to update this file whenever you make changes to the game and deploy a new version.

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