5 ms·

ChesSMS: Using Unicode to play Chess over SMS

159 points by chadrs 14y ago

the1 14y ago
&\&^&]&[&Z&]&^&\ &_&_&_&_&_&_&_&_ %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? &Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y &V&X&W&U&T&W&X&V This is what I get.
- chadrs 14y ago
  ah! I'm guessing you're on Sprint/Virgin/Boost. Sorry... there's literally nothing I can do to fix that. Sprint simply just doesn't support non-GSM characters. You can send from AT&T to Sprint and see for yourself :( If you're not on Sprint, send me a message at chad át Twilio.com and give me some more details.
  - the1 14y ago
    Yes, it is Sprint :(
Tipzntrix 14y ago
That is some fancy stuff.
pla3rhat3r 14y ago
+1
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
debacle 14y ago
For those who want the TLDR: > You can play ChesSMS by texting "PLAY" to +1 (415) 494-8454. Working with SMS is a very interesting space because of the limitations of the protocol.
- jaytaylor 14y ago
  This is pretty cool and clever too. I'd like to see more SMS games!
- twilsher 14y ago
  good summary, though I would claim another takeaway from this is that SMS is also more capable than most people realize.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
chriwend 14y ago
This is so awesome
dsl 14y ago
The SMS interface appears to already be overloaded. (FYI, standard phone numbers can send a maximum of 1 SMS a second, this limit is enforced by the carriers and applies to everyone even Twillio)
- chadrs 14y ago
  What you say about rate limiting is true, but actually you weren't getting responses because my account was suspended for about 15 minutes. I don't think even the frontpage of HN would be capable of getting enough chess players for 1 msg/sec to be too slow.
  - sneak 14y ago
    The top of the frontpage would certainly be.
chadrs 14y ago
(Author here) Sorry guys, it appears the traffic accidentally caused my balance to go too negative and my account got suspended! D'oit! Fixed now!
- jeffiel 14y ago
  Deadbeat!
- rubyrescue 14y ago
  so great! can you open source the erlang part? EDIT - sorry just found the link at the bottom - www.github.com/twilio/chessms
dsr12 14y ago
This is the work of a true hacker! Every programmer should have the attitude to look beyond the obstacles and strive to find solutions to the problems that they face.
dsr12 14y ago
I sent an SMS to play but haven't received a response yet. Can it be played by people from outside the USA?
- chadrs 14y ago
  It should! Is your carrier listed on http://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing http://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing ? If it is, send me an email, chad ät twilio.com
patrickod 14y ago
Such a great use of SMS. Brilliant article too. Really enjoyed reading through your thought process.
- jmoverley 14y ago
  +1 i've been a messaging sms/mms core network architect for many years (for a uk operator), was a good read! nice work chad!
jmoverley 14y ago
chad: gsm 03.42 might aid your final problem :)
- chadrs 14y ago
  very interesting. My understanding was that most handsets didn't implement compression but I think it's worth a try.

159 points by chadrs 14y ago

the1 14y ago

&\&^&]&[&Z&]&^&\ &_&_&_&_&_&_&_&_ %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? %? &Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y&Y &V&X&W&U&T&W&X&V This is what I get.

chadrs 14y ago
ah! I'm guessing you're on Sprint/Virgin/Boost. Sorry... there's literally nothing I can do to fix that. Sprint simply just doesn't support non-GSM characters. You can send from AT&T to Sprint and see for yourself :( If you're not on Sprint, send me a message at chad át Twilio.com and give me some more details.
- the1 14y ago
  Yes, it is Sprint :(

Tipzntrix 14y ago

That is some fancy stuff.

pla3rhat3r 14y ago

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

debacle 14y ago

For those who want the TLDR: > You can play ChesSMS by texting "PLAY" to +1 (415) 494-8454. Working with SMS is a very interesting space because of the limitations of the protocol.

jaytaylor 14y ago
This is pretty cool and clever too. I'd like to see more SMS games!
twilsher 14y ago
good summary, though I would claim another takeaway from this is that SMS is also more capable than most people realize.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

chriwend 14y ago

This is so awesome

dsl 14y ago

The SMS interface appears to already be overloaded. (FYI, standard phone numbers can send a maximum of 1 SMS a second, this limit is enforced by the carriers and applies to everyone even Twillio)

chadrs 14y ago
What you say about rate limiting is true, but actually you weren't getting responses because my account was suspended for about 15 minutes. I don't think even the frontpage of HN would be capable of getting enough chess players for 1 msg/sec to be too slow.
- sneak 14y ago
  The top of the frontpage would certainly be.

chadrs 14y ago

(Author here) Sorry guys, it appears the traffic accidentally caused my balance to go too negative and my account got suspended! D'oit! Fixed now!

jeffiel 14y ago
Deadbeat!
rubyrescue 14y ago
so great! can you open source the erlang part? EDIT - sorry just found the link at the bottom - www.github.com/twilio/chessms

dsr12 14y ago

This is the work of a true hacker! Every programmer should have the attitude to look beyond the obstacles and strive to find solutions to the problems that they face.

dsr12 14y ago

I sent an SMS to play but haven't received a response yet. Can it be played by people from outside the USA?

chadrs 14y ago
It should! Is your carrier listed on http://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing http://www.twilio.com/sms/pricing ? If it is, send me an email, chad ät twilio.com

patrickod 14y ago

Such a great use of SMS. Brilliant article too. Really enjoyed reading through your thought process.

jmoverley 14y ago
+1 i've been a messaging sms/mms core network architect for many years (for a uk operator), was a good read! nice work chad!

jmoverley 14y ago

chad: gsm 03.42 might aid your final problem :)

chadrs 14y ago
very interesting. My understanding was that most handsets didn't implement compression but I think it's worth a try.