Star Wars fans have been dreaming of playing Holochess since Luke was a naive farm kid stepping into a new world; long before he was milking from four-breasted creatures, anyway.
That scene upon the Millennium Falcon – where Han warns Luke wookie’s are known to pull people’s arms out of the sockets when they lose – wasn’t very long, but it left its mark.
The game looked awesome. Alien monsters powerslamming each other on a circular board, with fallen foes flickering into the ether? Sign us up.
Such is the proficiency of modern tech, some of our sci-fi dreams (it’s not only our worst nightmares) are coming true.
Thanks to Apple’s ARKit the ‘Dejarik’ holochess game can now be played on any flat surface in full augmented reality glory.
The Holochess game was originally released as part of the Jedi Challenges app that required the Lenovo Mirage AR headset. That package also included a lightsaber battle mode that utilised a replica light sabre controller and a tracking beacon.
The standalone iOS holochess game, which arrives as part of a Jedi Challenges app update (it’s not available for Android yet) seems to be ported directly from the AR version. Players are even asked to direct their gaze to utilise the controls.
However it’s free to download for iPhone and iPad from today.
In the iTunes release notes, Lenovo writes: “Star Wars: Jedi Challenges adds ARKit compatibility with this update. Users with an Apple device running iOS 11 can now experience the magic of augmented reality directly from their mobile device. Access the full Holochess game mode from Star Wars: Jedi Challenges including 18 levels across 6 planets and 8 unlockable creatures with unique special abilities.”
Enjoy yourselves, but remember to let the wookie win.
Have you tried the Holochess game yet? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.