⚔ CHESSGODS — lobby / opponent-select redesigns

Three directions for the Play screen, drawn at the app's real content width (1280px). The goal: read like an opponent-select screen, not a settings form — the chosen god is featured art, difficulty is a rating you can parse at a glance, and the tutorial paragraph steps aside for game-native cues (hidden-stat "?", scout chips, the ★→🎁 loop as a diagram). Hover states are live. Every variant keeps the app's hooks: #botlist cards, data-color, #btn-auto, #btn-start.

A · Challenger's Altar

FEATURED OPPONENT · FIGHTING-GAME SELECT · RECOMMENDED

The selected bot stops being a card in a grid and becomes the feature: a large cameo portrait with metal-tier tint (bronze → silver → gold → white-gold), name in small caps, an ELO seal + difficulty pips, and its hidden stats shown as ⚔ ? / 🛡 ? / ❤ ? chips — teaching the scout mechanic before the first move. The other three gods wait below as a roster strip. Right side: your battle record as a plaque with serif numerals and the ★→🎁→army earn loop as a connected diagram.

♛
CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGER
♞
The Master
ELO 1600 DIFFICULTY ◆◆◇◇◇ HYBRID COMBAT
Solid club player. Beats careless opening play — and punishes a wandering queen.
SCOUT REPORT ⚔ ?🛡 ?❤ ? revealed on first contact
♟
Apprentice
800◆◇◇◇◇
Learning the ropes. Takes it easy on you.
♞
Master
1600◆◆◇◇◇
Beats careless opening play.
♜
Grandmaster
2400◆◆◆◆◇
Punishes every loose piece.
♚
God
3000◆◆◆◆◆
Searches deepest. Plays for the kill.
AUTO-PLAYa 3200 God plays your side — no ★ earned
Win +1–3 ★ · Draw/Loss: no stars, energy spent · Energy regenerates +1/hour up to 24
BATTLE RECORD
7WINS
2LOSSES
0DRAWS
Unique pieces23 / 46 roster
Packs opened5
Beat a bot → +1–3 ★
100 ★ → 1 pack, automatic
Open packs → grow the army for PvP

B · Road to Olympus

CAMPAIGN LADDER · ASCENT FANTASY

The four bots become gates on an ascending path — bronze pawn at the valley, silver knight, golden rook, and the white-gold King at the summit with his own halo and a "THE CEILING" seal. The staircase makes progression spatial: you can see the climb from your current gate. Same setup bar and record plaque as A.

♚
THE ASCENT — FOUR THRONES
♟
Apprentice
ELO 800
◆◇◇◇◇
Learning the ropes. Takes it easy on you — perfect while the pack gacha hooks you.
♞
Master
ELO 1600
◆◆◇◇◇
Solid club player. Beats careless opening play.
♜
Grandmaster
ELO 2400
◆◆◆◆◇
Punishes every loose piece. Deep search, no mercy.
♚
God
ELO 3000
◆◆◆◆◆
The ceiling. Searches deepest, plays for the kill. Your stars are never safe.
AUTO-PLAYno ★ earned
The climb is the campaign: every gate up is a deeper search · Win +1–3 ★ · 100 ★ = 1 pack

C · Versus Stage

PRE-MATCH SPLIT SCREEN · MOST DRAMATIC

A pre-match screen: your side vs the god, split by a VS medallion. Your half carries the two big color choices and a live snapshot of your deployed army on real board squares; the god's half is pure presence — cameo, small caps, pips, hidden stats. One giant gold BEGIN seal under the split. Record collapses into a one-line plaque. Most game-like, least "web page".

⚔
TONIGHT'S CONQUEST — MASTER AWAITS
VS
YOUR SIDE
DEPLOYED ARMY
♖♘♗♕♔♗♘♖ ♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙
Your 16 slots · cosmetics vs bots — they matter in PvP
AUTO-PLAYa 3200 God plays your side — no ★ earned
THE OPPONENT
♞
The Master
ELO 1600 ◆◆◇◇◇
Solid club player. Beats careless opening play — and punishes a wandering queen.
⚔ ?🛡 ?❤ ?
STATS REVEALED ON FIRST CONTACT
7W2L0D| 23 unique pieces| 5 packs opened| 100 ★ = 1 pack

Moves shared by every direction