diff --git a/packages/server/services/Game.js b/packages/server/services/Game.js
index dcdae92..20dcecc 100644
--- a/packages/server/services/Game.js
+++ b/packages/server/services/Game.js
@@ -244,28 +244,57 @@ const Game = ({ gameData = {}, gameRecord = [] } = {}) => {
       };
     },
 
+    checkMove: function ({ player, pos: { x, y } }) {
+      // if game is over
+      // TODO either change logic here or add additional method for handling moves off of record
+      if (this.pass > 1) {
+        return { ...this, success: false };
+      }
+      const point = this.boardState[`${x}-${y}`];
+      const isTurn =
+        (this.turn === 1 && player === "black") ||
+        (this.turn === -1 && player === "white");
+      if (isTurn) {
+        if (point.legal) {
+          return { ...this, success: true, move: { player, pos: { x, y } } };
+        }
+      }
+      return { ...this, success: false };
+    },
+
     makeMove: function ({ player, pos: { x, y } }) {
       if (this.pass > 1) {
         return { ...this, success: false };
       }
-      if (x === 0) return this.submitPass(player);
-      let game = this;
+      if (x === 0) return game.submitPass(player);
+
       let success = false;
-      const point = game.boardState[`${x}-${y}`];
-      const isTurn =
-        (game.turn === 1 && player === "black") ||
-        (game.turn === -1 && player === "white");
-      if (isTurn) {
-        if (point.legal) {
-          game.pass = 0;
-          game.addToRecord({ player, pos: { x, y } });
-          if (this.kos.length) helper.clearKo.call(this);
-          point.makeMove(game);
-          game.turn *= -1;
-          success = true;
-        }
+      let game = this;
+
+      // if checkMove has not been run, determine legality
+      if (!game.move) {
+        game = game.checkMove({ player, pos: { x, y } });
+      }
+      if (
+        // if move is legal
+        // ? unclear if checking move values is beneficial to prevent race conditions
+        game.move &&
+        game.move.player === player &&
+        game.move.pos.x === x &&
+        game.move.pos.y
+      ) {
+        const point = game.boardState[`${x}-${y}`];
+        game.pass = 0;
+        // allows for recording of prior move on game record
+        game.addToRecord(game.move);
+        if (game.kos.length) helper.clearKo.call(game);
+        point.makeMove(game);
+        game.turn *= -1;
+        success = true;
       }
       game.boardState = getBoardState(game);
+      // remove move attribute to prevent duplicate moves
+      delete game.move;
       return { ...game, legalMoves: getLegalMoves(game), success };
     },
 
diff --git a/packages/server/services/gameServices.js b/packages/server/services/gameServices.js
index d0c9d4d..f94ed1e 100644
--- a/packages/server/services/gameServices.js
+++ b/packages/server/services/gameServices.js
@@ -7,6 +7,29 @@ const GameService = ({ moveQueries, gameQueries }) => {
   };
   const gamesInProgress = {};
 
+  const storeMove = (gameId) => async ({ player, pos: { x, y } }) => {
+    let move = { player, pos: { x, y } };
+    try {
+      if (moveQueries) {
+        const { id } = await moveQueries.addMove({
+          gameId,
+          player,
+          x,
+          y,
+          gameRecord: true,
+          priorMove: null,
+        });
+        move.id = id;
+        move.success = true;
+      }
+    } catch (e) {
+      console.log(e);
+      move.success = false;
+    } finally {
+      return move;
+    }
+  };
+
   return {
     initGame({ id, gameRecord = [], ...gameData }) {
       if (gamesInProgress[id]) return this.getDataForUI(id);
@@ -31,6 +54,7 @@ const GameService = ({ moveQueries, gameQueries }) => {
           return { message: "error restoring game" };
         }
       }
+      gamesInProgress[id] = await gamesInProgress[id].checkMove(move);
       gamesInProgress[id] = gamesInProgress[id].makeMove(move);
       if (gamesInProgress[id].success === false)
         return { message: "illegal move" };
diff --git a/packages/server/socket.js b/packages/server/socket.js
index c308053..f183c37 100644
--- a/packages/server/socket.js
+++ b/packages/server/socket.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// TODO const someSocketLogic = require('./middleware/socketssockets/...');
+// TODO const someSocketLogic = require('./middleware/sockets/...');
 const socketIO = require("socket.io");
 const io = socketIO({ cookie: false });
 
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ io.on("connection", async (socket) => {
       socket.on("connect_game", (data) => {
         const game = `game-${data.game.id}`;
         socket.join(game, async () => {
+          // TODO move this logic into game service
           const gameData = await gameQueries.findGameById(data.game.id);
           const convertWinType = (winType) => {
             if (winType.includes("B")) return 1;
@@ -51,7 +52,6 @@ io.on("connection", async (socket) => {
       socket.on("make_move", async (data) => {
         const { user, move, board, game, room } = data;
         const gameNsp = `game-${data.game.id}`;
-
         try {
           const { board, message, ...meta } = await gameServices.makeMove({
             id: data.game.id,