When I got up this morning, I wanted to play solitaire (specifically a game called Gaps) on my Kindle Fire, and this got me thinking about how computers have already taken over the playing of solitaire. I used to play solitaire card games with actual cards, but this requires making space available for the cards and manually placing them. It's so much easier to let my tablet or computer quickly arrange the cards, and it's more convenient to deal with cards on a computer screen than laid out on some surface. I'm also under the impression that many other people have taken to playing solitaire on computers instead of with actual cards.

A couple factors could explain why computerized solitaire games seem to have overtaken the physical game in popularity, whereas computerized Chess still lags in popularity behind Chess on a physical board. One is that cards are essentially two-dimensional in function, whereas Chess pieces tend to be be three-dimensional. So, less is lost of the physical experience of playing solitaire with cards when you play it on a computer screen instead of with actual cards. The other is that solitaire is something you play by yourself, but Chess is something you play with another person. When two people are playing a board game together, it is more convenient to use physical equipment. When playing Chess or a Chess variant, each player can see the board from his own perspective even while his opponent is thinking about his next move. Using a physical set also allows for more interaction between the players, and part of the reason for playing Chess or Chess variants may be social in nature.

I have previously read about coffee tables having computer screens, and I think that would be a great way for people to play Chess variants together. Hologram technology like seen in Star Wars would also help a lot. This would provide some of the same advantages a physical board still has over playing on a computer screen. If people could start playing 3D versions of the old MS-DOS computer game Battle Chess, in which pieces engage in holographic combat scenes, that could go a long way toward making computerized Chess a common way for two people to play the game together. That could then set the stage for people more frequently playing Chess variants together. After all, the technology for playing holographic Chess could also be used to play other Chess variants holographically. Not being limited to one set, people may be more interested in exploring Chess variants that use different equipment.

Regarding the Kindle DX, I bought mine on ebay a few months ago, because I really wanted it. I previously bought a regular Kindle DX, but a button broke, and fixing it with crazy glue made it worse. So I set my sights on a Kindle DX Graphite and eventually won an auction after losing several others. Actually, I returned one because it wouldn't charge, and then I bought another. The battery will drain quickly if I turn on wireless, but it works fine as long as I download books to my computer and copy them to the DX via USB. Since it's not my main Kindle, this is not much of an issue. When I had the one that wouldn't charge, I did look into videos on how to replace the battery, and I at least know they are out there. So, you could look into that and maybe refurbish your DX with a new battery.