P8Launcher vs CombatChess

P8Launcher is a free companion app for organizing and playing your PICO-8 carts on iPhone. Built using p8rt_ios, a WebAssembly module provided by Zep (creator of PICO-8) for building iOS companion apps, P8Launcher offers a highly customizable way to manage, personalize, and play your collection while keeping original cart threads and creators easy to reach. Customize Your Experience • Move and resize touch controls anywhere on the screen • Create custom mappings for supported game controllers • Use touch control layouts and controller profiles globally or save unique settings for individual carts • Personalize your library and gameplay with custom artwork and backgrounds • Choose display styles including CRT, LCD, Pixel Grid, and more • Access your library faster with Home Screen widgets and app icon Quick Actions Organize Your Library • Apply genre tags, mark favorites, rename carts, and customize cover artwork • Search and sort your collection to quickly find what to play next • Track on-device play statistics and earn in-app achievements Save and Resume • Use Auto Save, Quick Save, or manual save states • Enable Auto Resume globally or for individual carts to pick up where you left off P8Link Play • Host or join nearby sessions with up to four players, each using their own iPhone • Uses Wi-Fi Aware for a secure, direct local connection • No router, internet connection, account, or server required • The host runs the cart and audio, while guests receive streamed gameplay video and play from their own device Import and Play • Visit the Lexaloffle BBS in your default browser and import carts into P8Launcher • Import carts manually through the Files app • Import multicart games from either the BBS or the Files app • Play imported carts offline • Use supported game controllers during gameplay and to navigate throughout much of the app • Open the original BBS thread for each cart to read updates, join discussions, and support its creator Backup and Restore • Back up your library and related app data to a ZIP file • Restore your library later or move it to another device Free and Private • 100% free, with no advertisements or subscriptions • No account, analytics, or tracking • P8Launcher does not upload your library or app data to the developer or any server • P8Link Play uses a direct, local connection and does not send session data to the developer or any server P8Launcher is an independent companion application and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Lexaloffle Games. PICO-8 and the Lexaloffle BBS are products of Lexaloffle Games. App Store screenshot designs adapted from templates by AppLaunchpad, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes were made. Full attribution and the original source link can be found in the app.

It's chess. With fists. Combat Chess is real, full-rules chess until a capture is contested. Then both pieces drop into a real-time brawl, and the winner keeps the square. No piece goes quietly. Not even the king. ACTION CARDS: FIGHT FOR THE SQUARE You start every match with 3 Action Cards. When your piece is captured, spend one to force a fight instead of just losing it. Win the brawl and the capture is repelled your piece holds the square and the attacker is removed. Cards are spent win or lose and never refill mid-match, so card management is a whole extra layer of strategy. Run dry, and captures land like ordinary chess. FIGHTS THAT MATTER - Fighting power scales with chess value: pawns brawl at 75 HP, knights and bishops at 125, rooks at 175, queens at a monstrous 275, kings at 300. - Damage persists for the ENTIRE match. Wound the queen now, hunt her down later a health bar follows every piece that has fought. - A pawn can topple a queen. It just takes near-flawless play. SIX-BUTTON ARCADE COMBAT - Left punch (fast jab) and right punch (slow, heavy cross). - Side-matched blocking read the tell and guard the correct side to absorb 80% of the hit. - Timed dodges perfect timing negates all damage and charges your meter. - A stamina system that punishes button-mashing. Burn out and you're exhausted: unable to act and taking 1.5x damage. - Land perfect dodges to unlock the SUPER a single power shot worth 2.5x a heavy punch. Spam loses. Reads win. THE KING NEVER FALLS QUIETLY - In check, you can move out of danger or spend a card to send your king to fight the checking piece directly. - Checkmate isn't automatically the end. It triggers a mandatory final fight: your king duels the mating piece at 300 HP, no card needed. Win the last stand and the mate is broken. This cuts both ways: to beat you, your opponent must finish the job in the ring. A REAL CHESS ENGINE UNDERNEATH - Complete standard chess: castling, en passant, promotion, check, checkmate, and every standard draw rule. - Powered by the Stockfish engine, tunable from 600 to 3190 Elo - friendly beginner to superhuman, with a strength slider for every difficulty in Settings. - Single-player works fully offline. Sound and haptics are yours to toggle. CHALLENGE FRIENDS ONLINE - Turn-based multiplayer through Game Center: invite friends, run several matches at once, and take your time. - Get notified when an opponent moves, captures, or starts a fight with daily reminders before the 4-day forfeit window closes a stalled match. - Built for turn-based play: when you contest a capture, the fight resolves instantly on your own device against a computer-controlled version of your opponent's piece fighting with its true HP and power, including damage it already carries. No waiting around, and your opponent sees a full recap on their turn. EVERY MATCH ON RECORD - Match history with wins, losses, draws, win rate, streaks, per-difficulty records, fight stats, and your biggest upset.