Glashh

Online chess web app with wagers and real-time matches

An MVP to validate a business idea, with fair play and instant matches.

Status: Retired
Client: Glashh

Technology Development for Startups

Online Gaming and Betting Platform Development

Custom web design and development

Mobile app development

UI/UX design services

DevOps and Cloud Infrastructure

Glashh wanted to launch a variant of online chess in which players place a wager on every match. It needed to validate the idea without a large investment and reach investors with clear data. We built an MVP in a very short time, with real-time matches, anti-cheating checks, identity verification and an almost negligible server cost per match.

A new idea that needed validating

Online chess with its own wagering mechanic

Glashh had a clear idea: online chess matches between two players, with a wager tied to each match. Before investing in the full product, it needed to prove that it worked and show it to investors.

That called for a fast, low-cost MVP that was also serious. With money at stake, play had to be fair from day one.

What the MVP had to solve

A competitive game with money at stake leaves little room for error.

Validate the idea without a large upfront investment.
Prevent cheating and fraud between players.
Competitive matches between two players, in real time.
A server cost per match that would not make the business unviable.
Win over investors with a working product and clear data.

A fast, low-cost MVP with fair play

We focused on the essentials: create a match, find an opponent and play.

An MVP in record time

We limited the scope to matches between two players and left tournaments for later. That way the product launched quickly and with a contained investment.
Real-time matches

Every move reaches the opponent instantly, without reloading the page.
Fair play

When each match ends, the Stockfish chess engine analyses it automatically to detect cheating. And players verify their identity (KYC) before playing for money.
An almost negligible cost per match

The infrastructure is designed so that each match costs very little in servers.
Built-in wagers

Every match comes with its wager, as part of the rules of the game.
A clear interface

The board and the player's actions were designed as a single experience, so players always know what to do next.

Betting money on an unknown platform

Players had to trust Glashh before their first match

Glashh was a new application. For someone to put money on a match, fair play was not enough: the whole application had to convey seriousness and security.

So we designed an experience with no grey areas: players knew what was at stake, what was happening at every moment and what they would win at the end.

The result was a transparent experience in which players felt safe from their first match. That trust matters as much as the game itself: without it, nobody dares to bet on a platform that has only just been born.

An online chess web app where two players faced each other in real time, with a bet tied to every game.

When each game ended, the Stockfish chess engine analysed it automatically to detect suspicious moves. And players verified their identity (KYC) before playing for money.

To validate the idea with a limited investment and reach investors with a working product. That is why the scope focused on games between two players and tournaments were left for later.