For student residences and co-living
They share a building.
Now they share a game.
Board & Pieces gives the people in your building a reason to meet: eleven classic games from around the world, played on their own phones. One move a day from their rooms, a quick game in the common room, and at the end of the month the building has a champion.
Move-in week
A card on the notice board.
You set up your residence’s community in the app and post its link in the residents’ group chat; the QR card goes up on the notice board and in the lift. In the week when everyone is new, anyone who would like to join does, in one tap.
What your residents see
The building’s
own ledger.
This is the app’s real screen, recorded as it runs.
- 1Who’s aheadThis season’s standings and last month’s champion. Every season starts level, so a resident who arrived this week is in the running too.
- 2RematchesWho has played whom, and who took the last one. The next rematch is usually a floor or two away.
- 3Residents onlyPeople join through the link you share. If you prefer, each request waits for your approval.
Good to know
Common questions,
short answers.
- Will it disturb quiet hours or study time?
- No. It makes no noise and lives on the phone; there is nothing to set up in the building. Whoever opens a game chooses its pace, and one move a day is the default, so a game waits patiently through exam week. Each resident decides whether to receive notifications.
- How are residents’ privacy and safety protected?
- The community is for residents only: people join through the link you share, and if you prefer, each join waits for your approval. Chat opens only if both players accept it, and anyone can be blocked and reported in one tap. Accounts are for ages 16 and up, and the app carries no ads.
- What about residents from other countries?
- The app is in fifteen languages, from Arabic and Chinese to Spanish and Vietnamese, and the eleven games come from all over the world: xiangqi from China, bagh chal from Nepal, oware from West Africa, hnefatafl from the Nordic countries. A resident may well find a game from home on the list, and teach it to the others.
- Are residents who do not play chess left out?
- No. There are eleven games, and several are learned in minutes: backgammon, nine men’s morris, oware. Each one comes with a short lesson in the app and a short story of where it comes from.
- Is it more work for the residence team?
- No. The season closes by itself every month or every three, as you choose; the champion is announced by itself and the next season starts by itself. Your team shares the link once and puts up the card.
- Does it cost residents anything?
- No. The app is free and has no ads, and your community’s games are covered by the residence’s subscription.
- What happens after the free season?
- If you would like to continue, you start the residence’s subscription. If not, there is nothing you need to do, and the ledger stays where it is.
Setting it up
Ten minutes,
before move-in day.
- 1Get the appFree on iPhone and Android.
- 2Set up the communityGive it your residence’s name, enter your first-season code and choose the season: one month or three.
- 3Share the linkPost it in the residents’ group chat and put the QR card on the notice board and in the lift.
- 4Open the first gameChallenge a resident yourself; the first move is yours.
The first season is on us
Try it for a month,
let your residents decide.
Tell us the name of your residence and we text you the code for your first season. No card, and no call unless you ask for one.