FICS interface comparison

Introduction

Choosing a interface is an important decision to make. Which is the best interface for playing on FICS? The answer will depend on your preferences and use patterns (time controls, variants played etc.). Also, deciding which interface fits your needs best is difficult if you haven't tried many of them.

There are many interfaces around, the following chart compares the most popular ones (for older interfaces which might be more of historical interest check this list. There are also interfaces for mobile devices available now. Feedback is very welcome, drop Ludens a line if you have questions or suggestions.

Comparison chart

Interface/Feature Babaschess Odesys Raptor eboard Javaboard Jin Thief Thinkerboard Winboard/Xboard iNemesis Mobialia
Variant Support All ? All Partial All Partial All ? All All ?
Engine Support Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Autosave Game Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes ? Yes Yes ?
Premove Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No
Smart Move Yes No Yes No No No Yes ? No No No
Sought Graph Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? No Yes ?
Multiple Boards Yes No Yes Yes Yes 2 Yes No No Yes No
Piece Sets 21 ? 15 >30 1 22 45 ? 1 41 5
Custom Events Yes ? Yes Yes No No 54 ? 16 No No
Custom Buttons Yes ? Yes Yes No No Yes ? No Yes No
Custom Right Click Yes No Yes No No No Yes ? Yes No No
Platforms/Operating Systems Windows Smartphones Windows, OS X 10.4-10.6 , Linux (Java) Linux/ Unix/BSD Windows, OS X, Linux (Java) Windows, OS X, Linux (Java) Windows Pocket PC Windows, Linux Windows Android
Current Version 4.0 2.0 .98u2 1.1.1 1.0.4 beta 2.1.14 1.25 0.2.0028 beta 4.5.1 5.0 3.5.1
Homepage Babaschess Odesys Raptor eboard Javaboard Jin Thief Thinkerboard Winboard/ XBoard iNemesis Mobialia
Active Development No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Source available No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No
Price Freeware Payware Freeware Freeware Freeware Freeware Freeware Freeware Freeware Freeware Free/Pay
Last updated: March 16, 2011 by Ludens