LITCH Manual

Start a game

Keep the powered board nearby, enable Bluetooth on your phone, and select your board in the app. Allow the requested permissions and follow the connection prompts.

Tap New game on Play, or hold X and Circle together at one end of the board for about two seconds.

Choose Time limit on Play before starting. Use Setup to choose the first-player end, board rotation, and opponent. On the board, hold X for about one second to open Quick Setup.

Arrange the normal chess starting position and follow any placement lights. Arranging the pieces does not use clock time. The clock starts when you lift the first legal piece after the board is ready.

Board controls

Each end has a four-direction D-pad, X, and Circle. In ordinary play, tap Circle for a Hint or X for Undo. Hold X for about one second to open Quick Setup. Left/Right chooses a setting, Up/Down changes it, and X closes the menu. On Bluetooth, move to another item before pressing X to close. Follow the lit controls when the board asks for a choice.

Quick Setup on the board

Computer level

Computer player

Player 1 end

Brightness

Light-square LEDs

The board previews the light squares directly.

Rotate board

Game clock

Bluetooth

If the app says “This Litch has three saved phones”, clear its saved Bluetooth connections on the board. In Play, hold X for about one second to open Quick Setup. Use Left/Right to select Bluetooth. At that same end, hold X and Circle together for 2 seconds until the blue-and-orange perimeter animation starts. Release both buttons and wait for 3 success flashes, then reconnect in the app. Your game and other settings stay intact.

In Litchcraft, Left/Right opens the quick palette and Up/Down fine-adjusts the active color. Tap X for Undo or Circle for Redo. Hold Circle for about one second to switch between Paint and Erase. Use the app to select, add, and play frames.

Hold X and Circle together at the same end for about 1.5 seconds, then release to exit Litchcraft. Both individual actions are consumed. Lift the brush and close the palette, then shake the board for about one second to clear the frame. Painting, reconnect, and exit must be finished first. Only the selected frame clears; Undo restores it. A foreground phone can request the same action.

Busy? Lift the brush or end the app stroke, then retry. Lifting alone never replays it.

Move the pieces

Lift a piece to see its legal destinations, then place it on a legal square. If Confirm moves is set to Confirm with Circle button, press Circle after placement. The move is accepted one second later. Timed confirmation happens automatically.

For a capture, remove the captured piece and place your piece on its destination. Castling also needs the rook move. Follow every lit step before the next turn. Promotion defaults to Queen, which is applied automatically after normal move confirmation. If Promotion is set to Choose, use Left/Right to choose a piece, then press Circle to confirm. If the board asks for correction, return the pieces to the indicated squares.

Paint with Litchcraft

Remove every piece from the board, then open Litchcraft beside Play, or hold X and Circle together for about 1.5 seconds at one end of an empty Setup board, then release. Litchcraft never interrupts a game in progress. You can create and save artwork in the app while the board is unavailable.

Choose a color and paint on the phone, or touch empty board squares with a magnetic chess piece. Effects applies an effect to individual squares. The active tool tells you what the next square tap will do, even when another panel is open.

Animation holds up to 256 frames. Tap a thumbnail to select it and pause playback. Add copies the selected frame. Hold a frame thumbnail, then confirm Delete, to remove it; at least one frame stays. Use Play/Pause for playback and the timing value for an exact duration.

Tap Fill to fill the selected frame with the active color. Hold that same action for about half a second to clear the frame instead. Hold a color swatch for half a second to fill the frame with that color. Undo restores the edit.

Use Artwork to save, import, or share. An editable artwork file keeps colors, effects, frames, and timing; an image is rendered artwork. Import previews conversion before you replace the current artwork. To leave the live board session, return to Play or use the board’s X-and-Circle chord.

On the board, tap X for Undo and Circle for Redo. Hold X for one second to erase the current frame; Undo restores it. Hold Circle for one second to switch Paint/Erase. The X+Circle exit gesture takes priority.

Play the computer

In Setup, choose the computer as your opponent, set its level, and choose which player it controls. The board chooses its moves; you move its pieces.

Wait for its source and destination lights, move the indicated chess piece, and remove any captured piece when prompted. Finish every lit step. In Duck, move the Duck to the computer’s indicated destination too.

Duck chess

Before the first move, complete the normal 32-piece setup and add one extra piece on any of the four empty rows between the players’ pawns. Litch recognizes that piece as the Duck and marks it in yellow.

Each turn has a chess move followed by moving the Duck to a different empty square. Finish both steps before the other player starts. The Duck blocks squares and cannot be captured.

There is no check or checkmate. Capturing the opposing king wins immediately, without another Duck move. A player with no available chess move also wins.

Duck Chess was created by Dr. Tim Paulden. Duck Chess and duckchess.com are unaffiliated with Foxie Products.

duckchess.com

Hints and Coaching

Tap Circle on your side of the board, or Hint on Play, for a suggested move. Litch prepares a Hint as your turn begins and can refine it while you wait. While you hold the suggested piece, its Hint destination stays stable; lifting another piece shows that piece’s normal legal moves.

On Play, use Coaching’s P1 or P2 control to turn help on or off for that player, or hold their Circle button for about one second. Coaching shows help automatically on their human turns.

Undo a move

Tap X, or Undo on Play, then follow the return-square lights. Restore any captured piece when prompted. In Duck, a completed turn is undone by returning the Duck first, then the chess piece.

If you undo a computer reply in Duck before lifting the Duck, first return the computer’s chess piece. Then follow the lights to return the Duck and your piece from the preceding turn.

While Cancel Undo is available, select it to restore the forward move. If the Duck is in your hand, return it to its source before trying again. Finish all required returns before continuing play.

Game clock

Choose Time limit on Play before the first legal pickup. Each player gets their own time. 3+2 means three minutes each, plus two seconds after each completed turn. 15+10 means fifteen minutes each, plus ten seconds per turn. The compact board menu shows only the starting minutes. Choose No clock to play without a time limit.

Arranging the pieces uses no time. Once the board is ready, the clock starts at the first legal pickup. Putting that piece back does not refill the clock or let you change the preset; start a new game to change it.

Opening Quick Setup on the board pauses the clock. It resumes with the same remaining time when you close the menu or it closes after ten idle seconds. Browsing app pages or settings does not pause it. Correction and uncertain board input pause play; keep the pieces still and follow the next-action guidance.

In Duck, the chess move and Duck relocation are one timed turn. Your time keeps running until both finish, then the clock switches and adds the increment once. Capturing the opposing king ends the game immediately. When playing the computer, its thinking time counts; both clocks pause while you carry out its chosen move. This clock is a casual play aid.

Board lights and animation

Open Connected at the top of the app to control brightness and Automatic brightness. In Setup, Board lights and animation controls the light-square LEDs and other lighting behavior. Automatic brightness is on by default. It blends the two light sensors to adjust the board to the room. Turn it off for a steady manual level; both sensors still take readings for diagnostics. Your choice is saved on the board.

Level 0 is near dark: essential cues stay dim and room light does not brighten them. Color detail is reduced and dim background squares may disappear at this level. With Automatic brightness off, level 8 requests the highest normal brightness. Power limits can reduce the actual output.

With Automatic brightness on, the slider sets the maximum; the lights dim below it in darker rooms. Turning Auto off uses the same saved level as steady manual brightness.

Board health and recovery

Open Board health in Setup when the board needs attention. Healthy means the board reports normal sensor and power status. A usable warning lets play continue, sometimes with reduced brightness. Follow the message for the next step; reconnecting alone does not clear a power warning.

If board input is paused, input and clocks wait while the board checks its sensors. Keep the pieces still. After recovery, follow any placement correction before continuing.

A storage warning means current changes may not survive power-off. Keep the board powered, save app artwork to your library, and open Contact Support if the warning remains. Do not assume a reconnect or a restart saved the changes.

If startup stops in recovery, hold Circle alone at one end for about 1.5 seconds to retry without deleting settings or saved games. Release early to cancel. If retry does not help, use Contact Support. A recovery reset permanently deletes board settings and saved-game data: hold X and Circle at the same end for about five seconds, then through the final two-second keep-held signal. Releasing either button cancels. Use this only when you intend to reset; waiting never deletes data.

Factory reset the board

Factory reset permanently deletes board settings and saved-game data. Try the recovery and Contact Support guidance first if you want to keep them.

Unplug the board. Hold only Down at one end while reconnecting power. When the X and Circle lights blink amber, release Down and any other held controls. At the same end, hold X and Circle together for at least two seconds. Releasing either early cancels. If the hold is not completed within ten seconds of the amber prompt, the board boots normally.

After a successful reset, the X and Circle lights blink green and the board restarts. Waking from sleep or restarting the board cannot start this reset. If reset fails, keep the board powered and use Contact Support.