30 days of free beta on every app · one-time code · no subscription
DIALFORGE

Games

Mate Puzzles

Mate in 1, 2 or 3, one tap away on your wrist: real chess tactics, not a cramped full board you can barely read.

Coming to Connect IQ Unlock €6.99

Mate Puzzles icon

Beta: free for 30 days

The app works fully and for free for the first 30 days after you first open it. After that you can buy a one-time unlock code below. No subscription.

Most chess apps on a watch try to cram an entire game onto a tiny screen. This one skips that. Short, forced-mate puzzles sized for a 1 to 3 inch display, pieces drawn as bold letters you can actually tell apart, and a cursor that works with buttons as well as touch.

  • Three difficulty tiers: mate in 1, mate in 2, mate in 3
  • Puzzles sorted from easy to hard inside each tier
  • Only the correct move counts; a wrong try resets the position and counts as an attempt
  • Automatic opponent reply after your move, a small chooser when a pawn promotes
  • Hint highlights the piece that should move
  • Tracks solved count, streak and a simple rating per tier
  • Puzzles come from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0, public domain)

How to use it

Open Mate Puzzles from the watch's app menu.

Controls: UP and DOWN move the cursor, START picks up a piece and then its target square, BACK cancels the current selection or opens the menu, MENU shows a hint. Touch screens: tap a square to select a piece or play a move.

Manual

Mate Puzzles: user manual

What it does

Mate Puzzles gives you short forced-mate problems: mate in 1, mate in 2 and mate in 3, 200 each, ordered from easy to hard. Play the winning moves on a small board with bold letters for pieces. The app counts solved puzzles, your streak and a simple rating per set.

Requirements and supported watches

Needs Connect IQ 3.3.0+ and the Connect IQ or Garmin Connect phone app. Supported watches:

  • Round AMOLED: epix 2 and epix Pro 2, fēnix 8, E, Forerunner 165, 265, 570, 965, 970, Instinct 3 AMOLED, Crossover AMOLED, Venu 2, 3, 4, vivoactive 5, 6.
  • Round MIP: enduro 3, fēnix 7 series, 8 Solar, Forerunner 55, 245, 255, vivoactive 4.
  • Square and rectangular AMOLED: Venu Sq 2, Venu X1.

Installation

In the Connect IQ app on your phone (or Garmin Connect, then the Connect IQ Store) find "Mate Puzzles" by Dialforge, tap Install and sync the watch. Open it from the apps list: press START on the watch face, then pick Mate Puzzles.

First launch

You start on Choose puzzles with three sets, each showing your place (for example 1/200) and Rating. Pick one and the board opens oriented to the side that moves. Pieces are letters: P, N, B, R, Q, K. The 30-day free beta starts the first time you open it.

Controls

Watches with buttons (START, UP, DOWN, BACK)

  • UP and DOWN move the cursor through all 64 squares one by one.
  • START on one of your pieces selects it, and dots mark where it can go. START on a dot plays the move. START on another piece of yours switches, on the same piece unselects.
  • MENU (hold UP) flashes the square of the piece to move for 3 seconds.
  • BACK cancels a selection, otherwise opens the menu. A pawn reaching the last rank asks Promote to: Queen, Rook, Bishop or Knight.

Touch watches (tap, hold, swipe)

  • Tap a piece to select it, tap a dot to play the move.
  • Swipes do nothing. The menu opens with BACK.

Settings

Phone: Connect IQ app, Mate Puzzles, Settings (the unlock code fields are there too).

On the watch, inside the app:

  • Hint: highlights the piece to move.
  • Change set: back to Choose puzzles (Mate in 1, Mate in 2, Mate in 3).
  • Quit: closes the app.

License

  • Free beta: 30 days from the first launch, everything works.
  • Price: 6.99 EUR once at dialforge.dev, no subscription. The 8-character code is tied to your watch's UID.
  • Where to enter it: phone, Connect IQ app, Mate Puzzles, Settings. Read the UID in "Watch UID (needed to buy a code)", buy the code, then type it into "Unlock code from dialforge.dev". The end-of-beta screen on the watch shows the UID too.
  • After the beta without a code: an end-of-beta screen with the UID replaces the app. Enter the code, then open it again. New watch? Write to us and the code moves for free.

Privacy and permissions

No special permissions.

No internet use. Data stays on the watch.

Troubleshooting

The code does not work. Check that the UID you bought for matches "Watch UID (needed to buy a code)" and type all 8 characters (case is ignored, no 0, O, 1 or I). A code for another app does not fit. Sync, then reopen.

What if my move is a different mate? Only the move stored as the solution counts. Anything else shows Not the best move, resets the position, ends your streak and costs 6 rating points.

What happens after I solve one? Solved! shows for 3 seconds with your solved count and streak, then the next puzzle loads. Rating goes up by 3 to 40 points, more for harder puzzles.

Is my progress saved? Solved counts, streak, rating and the position in each set are saved on the watch. A puzzle you were midway through restarts from its first position.

Contact

kontakt@dialforge.dev or dialforge.dev. Please write before leaving a low rating.

Permissions and privacy

This product does not use the internet and sends no data to our servers.

Compatible watches

51mm, D2 Air X15, D2 Mach 1 Pro, Enduro 2, Enduro 3, epix (Gen 2), epix Pro (Gen 2) 42mm, epix Pro (Gen 2) 47mm, epix Pro (Gen 2) 51mm, Forerunner 165, Forerunner 165 Music, Forerunner 245, Forerunner 245 Music, Forerunner 255, Forerunner 255 Music, Forerunner 255s, Forerunner 255s Music, Forerunner 265, Forerunner 265s, Forerunner 55, Forerunner 570 42mm, Forerunner 570 47mm, Forerunner 965, Forerunner 970, fēnix 7, fēnix 7 Pro, fēnix 7 Pro - Solar Edition (no Wi-Fi), fēnix 7S, fēnix 7S Pro, fēnix 7X, fēnix 7X Pro, fēnix 7X Pro - Solar Edition (no Wi-Fi), fēnix 8 43mm, fēnix 8 47mm, fēnix 8 Pro 47mm, fēnix 8 Solar 47mm, fēnix 8 Solar 51mm, fēnix E, Instinct 3 AMOLED 45mm, Instinct 3 AMOLED 50mm, Instinct Crossover AMOLED, MicroLED, quatix 7, quatix 7 Pro, quatix 7 Sapphire, quatix 7X Solar, quatix 8 47mm, quatix 8 Pro 47mm, tactix 7, tactix 7 – AMOLED Edition, tactix 8 47mm, tactix 8 Solar 51mm, Venu 2, Venu 2 Plus, Venu 2S, Venu 3, Venu 3S, Venu 4 41mm, Venu 4 45mm, Venu Sq 2, Venu Sq 2 Music, Venu X1, vívoactive 4, vívoactive 4S, vívoactive 5, vívoactive 6

Screenshots

FAQ

What happens after the 30-day beta?

The app shows a screen asking for a one-time unlock code from dialforge.dev instead of opening normally. Buy the code once below, no subscription.

Does the app send my data to Dialforge?

No. The app works fully offline, and the unlock code is checked on the watch itself, without contacting any server.

The app does not work as described on my watch. Can I get a refund?

Yes. Write through the feedback form below, or to the e-mail in the footer. If we cannot fix it, we refund you, as described in the terms.

Changing your watch?

Write to me and I will move your code for free.

Changelog

Unlock

€6.99

One-time payment. No subscription. The code works on the watch whose UID you enter.

  1. Install the app from the Connect IQ store. It works fully and for free for the first 30 days.
  2. Find your 10-digit UID: Connect IQ app on the phone > My Device > Apps or Data Fields > this app > Settings > Watch UID.
  3. Enter UID and e-mail, pay with PayPal (cards work without a PayPal account). The code appears here at once.
  4. Type the code into the same settings page, field "Unlock code". The watch checks it offline.

Tell us how to make it better

Missing a data field, a colour, a layout? Found a bug on your watch model? Write it here. We read every message and ship improvements in updates.