Questions & Answers

Is there a difference in multiplayer between the free and premium version of SparkChess?

Here’s the list of multiplayer Premium benefits:

• Create and manage teams;
• Game stats to track progress;
• History / replay of all multiplayer games, with cloud sync across devices;
• Private playing areas;
• Unlimited number of daily games (free accounts are dynamically limited to conserve resources);
• Unlimited score (free accounts are limited to 2000 points);
• Priority access if the service is congested;

Is the multiplayer service free?

Yes. There are no monthly fees. However, paying customers do enjoy extra benefits, including creating and managing teams, stats and history, private playing areas, unlimited number of daily games, unlimited score, priority access and more.

What payment methods are available?

If you have a Visa (including Electron and Debit), Mastercard, Maestro, Discover or JCB card, you can get SparkChess Premium securely and easily from our site using a simple form. We also support prepaid cards. We do not store, transmit or process your card info – everything is handled by Braintree, our payment processor, a leader in electronic payments. If you choose this option, the name on the bank statement will be ‘SparkChess’.

Do I have to upgrade when a new release is available?

If you have the standalone version for Windows/Mac, we certainly recommend you to upgrade, but the decision is up to you. Upgrading gives you access to new features and may correct any bugs we discovered. Also, as we improve and expand the multiplayer service, it may become incompatible with the older versions. The single-player experience never expires so you may continue to use the game for as long as you want.

On SparkChess Premium Live, all updates are automatic and you don’t need to worry about anything.

Are updates free?

For downloadable versions for Windows & Mac, point-releases are free, i.e. if you buy version 9.0, you’ll get versions 9.1 through 9.9 for free, but not 10.0. Point-releases contain mostly bug fixes and improvements of existing functionality.

We update SparkChess Premium Live much quicker and in a transparent manner, so you don’t need to do anything – every time you log in, you’ll have the latest version.

How can I upgrade to the latest version?

If you own an older downloadable version, you can upgrade using this upgrade form.

Please consider a subscription instead, so you can play on any device and stop worrying about upgrades.

I downloaded the game but I can’t find it. Do I need to buy it again?

On Mac OS, SparkChess is distributed as a simple zip, without any DMG/PKG installer. Check your Downloads folder or use Spotlight (CMD+Space) to search for “sparkchess”. After you find it, consider dragging it to Desktop or to the Applications folder.

On Windows, check your Downloads folder and use Windows Search (press WIN+S) to search for “sparkchess”.

If you still  can’t find it or in the event you lost all the information on your computer, you can download SparkChess again. You’ll need your Transaction ID and email address (or at least the email address you used for purchase to recover the Transaction ID).

We recommend SparkChess Premium Live instead, which doesn’t require you to install anything.

I bought the game, but I didn’t receive an email or link. What should I do?

Most likely the email sent to you was flagged as spam by your mail server or email application. Please check your Spam/Junk folder. If you can’t find it, please contact us. We’ll do our best to reply to you within two business days and will sort it out.