What's new in Gambit Guard
Published beta history, newest first. Older versions stay listed so each build has a durable record.
0.1.85 - Nightly prerelease - August 14, 2026
This nightly refreshes how Gambit Guard’s web release information is presented.
Release changes
Player
Updated release pages
The hosted website now uses an adapted layout for release content.
Technical
Web build compatibility
The web build process was adjusted to support the hosted release layout and its updated site content.
Download the 0.1.85 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.86 - Nightly prerelease - August 14, 2026
Browser play opens without internal performance diagnostics and now renders the complete release interface.
Release changes
Player
Clean, complete browser play
The release site no longer shows the internal frame, tick, render-time, or budget HUD, and the complete emblem and PLAY button are visible.
Player
Gameplay unchanged
Rules, balance, missions, and playable content are unchanged from the previous release.
Technical
Release-only HUD policy
Stasis release web packages omit diagnostic HUD markup and styling, while development packages retain the diagnostics.
Technical
Complete SVG rendering
Stasis preserves the full-image canvas path for ordinary SVG sprites while retaining cropped rendering for sprite-sheet cells.
Technical
Automated verification
Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and optimized web artifacts passed automated release checks; no physical-device playtest was performed.
Download the 0.1.86 release
Play this verified browser build online or download a native package.
0.1.82 - Nightly prerelease - August 14, 2026
Castling joins the command system, giving the King a new coordinated move with either corner Rook.
Release changes
Player
Castle in one command
Move the King two squares toward an eligible Rook to reposition both pieces together on either the kingside or queenside.
Player
Standard command costs apply
A successful castle spends one Command and puts both the King and Rook on their normal cooldowns.
Player
King effects stay active
The King still applies its usual movement damage, healing, and guard effect, while the paired Rook adds no second attack.
Technical
Castling rules and execution
The game now validates orthodox starting positions, unmoved and ready pieces, clear intervening squares, and the Rook’s landing space before applying the atomic two-piece move.
Technical
Automated coverage
Gameplay tests and portrait QA scenarios were added for castling previews, committed moves, and both board sides.
Download the 0.1.82 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.80 - Nightly prerelease - August 13, 2026
Browser play now ships with the assets, presentation, and audio startup needed for a more complete web experience.
Release changes
Player
Browser audio startup
Game audio can now unlock during browser play without depending on release-specific interface elements.
Player
Refined web presentation
The browser play shell has received visible polish around the game experience.
Technical
Web asset packaging
The release-site publishing pipeline now includes the game assets required by the browser build.
Technical
Site build updates
Website content and build tooling were updated to support the revised browser-play release.
Download the 0.1.80 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.78 - Nightly prerelease - August 13, 2026
This update introduces browser distribution and changes when game assets are loaded.
Release changes
Player
Play in your browser
The Gambit Guard website can now provide a browser-playable build.
Technical
Screen-scoped assets
Game assets are now managed according to the active screen, including related audio presentation changes.
Technical
Web release pipeline
New build and publishing tooling produces browser builds and integrates them into the release website.
Technical
Reproducible media tooling
Windows release automation now restores a pinned FFmpeg package.
Download the 0.1.78 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.74 - Nightly prerelease - August 13, 2026
Gameplay presentation now uses precomputed drawing data while preserving existing player interactions and visuals.
Release changes
Player
No gameplay changes
This build contains internal maintenance without changing rules, balance, missions, or playable content.
Technical
Streamlined rendering pipeline
Piece draw lists and text fields are prepared before command emission, reducing work performed during gameplay rendering.
Technical
Read-only presentation snapshots
Gameplay rendering now consumes observational presentation data instead of modifying game state while drawing.
Technical
Expanded profiling support
QA scenarios gained function profiling, Android emulator profiling tools, and build support for profiling runs using Stasis nightly 196.
Download the 0.1.74 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.66 - Nightly prerelease - August 12, 2026
Create custom battles and hear the Royal Advisor respond as campaign assaults unfold.
Release changes
Player
Scenario Forge beta
Build and test custom scenarios with tools for formations, waves, rules, and templates.
Player
Campaign wave narration
Royal Advisor voice lines now appear at selected moments across all 21 campaign missions.
Player
Clearer wave timing
Updated spawn warnings and countdown presentation make upcoming waves easier to track.
Player
Desktop Forge input
Scenario Forge supports physical keyboard entry on desktop, alongside an alphanumeric on-screen keyboard.
Technical
Lean Android voice audio
Android packages now encode mono audio at 48 kbps while retaining the higher-bitrate masters for desktop releases.
Technical
Fixed logical rendering
Drawing and input now use fixed logical coordinates directly for consistent surface handling.
Technical
Expanded board capacity
Piece storage now supports one chess piece on every board square, with related limits derived from their underlying arrays.
Download the 0.1.66 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.57 - Nightly prerelease - August 11, 2026
A new guided progression mode expands Gambit Guard beyond standalone assaults.
Release changes
Player
21-mission Campaign
Fight through a full set of campaign missions with dedicated objectives, progression, victory, and defeat screens.
Player
Royal Advisor narration
Campaign missions now include voiced briefings and guidance that can continue during play.
Player
Safer level exits
After making a player action, leaving a level now asks for confirmation to prevent an accidental exit.
Player
Illustrated field guide
The website now includes visual guides to the chess pieces and enemy types.
Technical
Data-driven encounters
Campaign and custom runs now use structured run definitions for their encounter setup and rules.
Technical
Desktop presentation
The desktop game now opens maximized, with rendering paths updated for rectangles, coordinates, and frequently used simulation helpers.
Technical
Release automation
The website release workflow now updates published content from release data and preserves version-specific change cards.
Download the 0.1.57 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.45 - Nightly prerelease - August 9, 2026
Audio controls, complete field guides, and more faithful chess-versus-siege interactions make this the most informative and controllable build yet.
Release changes
Player
Music, effects, and settings
Gambit Guard now has music and combat sound effects, with separate settings controls so either channel can be adjusted or silenced during play.
Player
A field guide in the game and online
The in-game guide explains every chess piece and enemy across focused pages, while the website adds illustrated Piece and Enemy Field Guides for quick reference.
Player
Legal moves stay in your hands
Creeps adapt when a legal chess move changes their route, and destination choices remain available above enemies instead of being hidden by moving sprites.
Player
Pawn captures match what you see
A Pawn can capture a creep that is visibly leaving its diagonal target square, while a straight advance remains blocked until that visible occupancy clears.
Technical
Mobile audio packaging
Desktop packages retain the canonical 128 kbps MP3 masters, while Android alone receives audited 64 kbps staged copies to reduce mobile package size.
Technical
Cross-platform release verification
Windows and Linux release tooling now finds audio inspection utilities consistently. All four native packages passed automated build, checksum, provenance, and audio-format verification; physical-device review remains outstanding.
Download the 0.1.45 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.26 - Nightly prerelease - August 7, 2026
Persistently signed Android packages made the beta safer to update and easier to identify across releases.
Release changes
Player
Stable Android signing
Android beta builds now share one persistent signing identity, allowing future updates to install over the same app instead of appearing as unrelated packages.
Player
Clear package identity
The public Android build reports the permanent Gambit Guard application ID and release version consistently.
Technical
Persistent signing audit
The release pipeline verifies the persistent certificate fingerprint and accepts Android build-tools 36 signer output before publication.
Download the 0.1.26 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.25 - Nightly prerelease - August 7, 2026
A clearer front door, more readable interface text, and complete changed-nightly packages made the beta easier to enter and evaluate.
Release changes
Player
Main menu and modes
Gambit Guard now opens with Tutorial, Play, and a smaller Exit action. Play leads to Core plus visibly locked Power Up and Scenario modes.
Player
Clear navigation
Core opens the nine-tier selector, each front-end screen has an explicit way back, and menu-launched tutorials return to the menu when complete.
Player
More readable screens
Opening, briefing, tutorial, tier-selection, Gambit, victory, and defeat text uses larger type, stronger alignment, and more consistent spacing.
Technical
Reproducible native packages
Windows, Linux, Apple Silicon macOS, and Android packages are compiled from one commit with checksums and an immutable provenance manifest; physical-device review remains outstanding.
Download the 0.1.25 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
0.1.0 - First friends-and-family beta - August 6, 2026
The first public beta established the complete nine-tier, nine-wave assault and the full standard chess army.
Release changes
Player
Nine complete assaults
Each challenge tier runs all nine timed waves, with progression unlocking exactly one new tier at a time.
Player
A complete chess army
Every run starts with all 16 standard pieces in the familiar closed two-rank formation.
Player
An approachable first tier
Tier 1 reduces enemy count, movement speed, and strike damage to create room for learning Commands, cooldowns, and dynamic routing.
Technical
Audited release packages
Versioned release-mode packages for Android, Windows, Linux, and Apple Silicon macOS passed source, architecture, asset, checksum, and provenance audits.
Download the 0.1.0 release
Public copies of all four verified native packages are preserved with this release entry.
Earlier development milestones
Before versioned betas, Gambit Guard established timed nine-wave standalone assaults, restored the painted 2D character set, and completed the Chess TD to Gambit Guard identity change.
The repository CHANGELOG.md keeps the complete historical notes and theory gained from those milestones.