PHANTOM: The Robotic Chessboard Made of Real Wood? Really?

Rarely has a product had a more apt name. Way back in 2021 someone (or someones) called Wonder Substance launched a campaign on Indiegogo to build a robotic chess board made of real wood and I took an expensive punt on it. That was four years ago and until yesterday I had nothing to show for it...

Four years later the campaign comments on Indiegogo are a litany of complaints that it is a scam (it wouldn't be the first) and demands for refunds. I was more sanguine, thinking that building a chess e-board that reliably moves its pieces is a VERY challenging undertaking. But after four years I had shrugged and moved on to other chess-related things. Then an unexpected DHL van dropped off a big rectangular package.

I've made a quick video (below) to reassure stressed Phantom investors that (a) it's real and not a scam and (b) it's actually quite good. I'm still pondering whether a piece-moving e-board is as useful as an LED-indicated e-board for  learning and playing OTB online chess - or is just a fun gimmick - but the Phantom is growing on me fast.

If you found this useful please check out my BillyGate universal e-board gateway project, which enables use of chess e-boards from other chess apps (than their manufacturer app). This could in the future, for example, be used to play games on chess.com from the Phantom :)