Player FAQ
Quick answers to the questions new and returning players ask most.
Getting started
Do I need to buy anything to play? No. Free players can use the Blitz Arena, earn FOCUS, open card packs, solve puzzles, and join community events. A Battle Board unlocks the ranked seasonal ladder, but you can play and improve for free indefinitely.
Do I need to understand crypto? No. Sign up with email or Google/Apple and a secure wallet is created for you automatically. The whole crypto layer is handled behind the scenes. (Wallet Onboarding →)
What is a Battle Board? Your Battle Board is your key to ranked seasonal play. It permanently records your wins, rank tier, club, and GM Stars. Each club has a limited number of ranked boards.
Gameplay
Can I use cards from any club on any board? Yes. Cross-club loadouts are fully legal. You can run a Solanode card on a Bitcoinia board and still get the Bitcoinia board passive. Matching is a bonus, not a rule.
What happens to my card when my piece is captured? The card returns to your collection afterward, with one durability used. It is not destroyed. Only its charges for that match are lost.
Can I activate two abilities in one turn? Only Etheryst players can. Every other club is limited to one ability per turn.
What happens to a Pawn's card when the Pawn promotes? The Pawn card's remaining charges transfer to the promoted piece. The promoted piece keeps using the Pawn card's abilities — it does not gain a Queen card.
Can I use a Gambit Card and a Battle Card on the same turn? No. You can play only one Gambit Card per match, and using it counts as your ability activation for that turn.
FOCUS and currency
Can I buy FOCUS? No. FOCUS is earned only through play — matches, quests, puzzles. It cannot be purchased anywhere. That's deliberate: progression is earned, not bought.
Is there a daily FOCUS limit? Yes, there's a daily cap on FOCUS from ranked matches, plus smaller amounts from puzzles, logging in, and spectating. Tournament earnings are not capped.
Seasons and cards
What happens to my cards at season end? Common and Rare cards reset fully. Epic cards carry over 50% of their remaining uses. Omega cards carry over completely. Unplayed Gambit Cards are cleared.
What resets at season end? Seasonal XP, rank tier rewards, and your account tier reset. Your ELO, lifetime XP, all cards and boards, GM Stars, cohort, and badges stay forever.
What is the Battle-Worn trait? A permanent badge on your board that unlocks at 100 ranked wins. It can't be bought or transferred — it's pure proof of competitive history.
The Omega Vault
How do I access the Omega Vault? It requires three things: the community must have voted to open it that season, you must have 50,000 lifetime XP (Season 2 onward), and it costs 2,000 CVS. One purchase per player per season.
Does it open every season? No — the community votes each off-season. It can stay closed.
Physical hardware
Is there a physical chess board? Yes. Convergence: Element is a physical smart board that connects to ChessVS — games played on it earn XP and FOCUS just like digital games. A future premium edition, Convergence: Aether, follows later. Together these make up the Convergence Set hardware line. ([Hardware details are announced via official channels.])
Still stuck?
→ Card Interaction Rulings — official edge-case rulings → Ask in the official ChessVS Discord