The Broadcasts section is where you watch games being played on Rovian right now. Open one and you get the board, the clock, the evaluation bar and the players' cameras on the same screen.
You normally follow chess broadcasts on the board alone; here the players' faces are part of it. Watching someone think through a hard position turns the game into something else.
What can you watch?
Broadcasts are split by category: bullet, blitz, rapid. Featured games sit on top, and players you follow get their own section when they're live.
Each card shows how many people are watching, whether cameras are on, and whether the game is rated. If a broadcast's camera capacity is full, you keep watching from the board.
What can you do as a viewer?
💬 Chat: write in the broadcast chat and send emotes.
🗳️ Poll: vote in the “Who wins?” poll and see how the room called it.
🎯 Prediction mode: play the next move on the board and it's submitted as a prediction. Get it right and you score; you also see how many viewers found it. It's the best way to calculate along with the game.
✂️ Clip: catch a critical moment and download the last 30 seconds.
➕ Follow: follow a player you enjoy and they'll show up in your list next time they're live.
How is chat moderated?
Two protections. Slow mode asks you to wait a few seconds between messages, which keeps busy chats readable. Followers-only mode restricts writing to followers.
The profanity filter runs here as well, and as a viewer you can report anything that crosses the line.
Are your own games broadcast?
Rated games can be listed publicly in Broadcasts, meaning your board and camera may be visible to viewers. If you'd rather not, turn on “Hide from spectators” in Settings and your games won't be listed.
You can also give your broadcast a title. To take the streaming side further, see our Banter Arena post.
To see what's live right now: Broadcasts.
See you in the next story.
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