Fritz & Chesster's Chess for Winners
Common Sense Rating: ON for ages 8+ Stars: 4
Publisher: Viva-Media Category/Genre: Computer Software - Chess Platform: Windows Price: $29.99 Online Enabled: No Graphics: Cute watercolor scenes of a carnival and colorful chessboards. Playability: Easy to play, but the chess strategy takes practice. Reading Level: Light Release Date: 11/15/2006 ESRB Rating: E
Common Sense Note:
Parents need to know that this third game in the "Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster" series presumes that kids already know how to play chess. It teaches strategy and tactics by having kids play a series of mini-chess activities. Because the computer game takes place at a carnival, one of the rides is in a Spook House, but the ghost is friendly and a good chess teacher.
Families can talk about how this game makes learning chess tactics interesting. Would it be easier to learn things at school if lessons were more like a game? In this game King Black is a bad guy. When playing chess, do you think of your opponent as bad? Or simply as someone to beat?
Common Sense Review:
Lots of kids know how to move chess pieces, but when they learn tactics and strategies, they discover what makes chess such a rewarding game. FRITZ & CHESSTER'S CHESS FOR WINNERS is a great way for kids to expand their chess knowledge.
"Chess for Winners" is the third title in the award-winning "Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster" series, and continues the series' tradition of teaching chess strategy within the framework of an interactive computer adventure.
The stars of the first two games, Fritz and Bianca, two royal children related to the chessboard's White King, are back. Kids join them at the Pleasantville Village Fair, a carnival full of booths and games that teach chess knowledge, including specific opening, middle game, and endgame tactics.
When Fritz and Bianca arrive at the fair, they discover that the evil King Black has cheated 16 other kings out of their carnival winnings, special prizes called Chesschubbies. Kids help Fritz and Bianca visit 16 different booths and rides to win new chubbies for the disheartened kings. At each location, the chess activity has a carnival theme. That's why when taking a ride on the Ghost Train, a skeleton gives you scenarios to help you deliver checkmate on the next move.
The teaching of chess strategy is done in such a way that kids will find it fun, not overwhelming. For example, to practice the Spanish Opening (also known as the Ruy Lopez), kids memorize the sequence of moves by placing a gem on the board during a practice session and then recreating the moves so that they can collect the gem and earn points.
In addition to learning and practicing specific tactics, the game gives kids many opportunities to play chess against the computer using the world-famous Fritz chess software engine. You can also play against a friend. A nice feature is that kids can ask for suggested moves, and the computer will help them. You can also undo your previous move so that you can experiment.
"Chess for Winners" contains an excellent series of minigames that explore advanced chess theory. By presenting meaty concepts within a whimsical game format, kids can learn complicated tactics in a less stressful way. Cleverly, the minigames break down the components of strategy into different levels within the game, and make good use of animations to help kids visualize what is happening. For example, when the program is trying to teach key squares, those squares will appear in a different color.
Compared to the first in the series, this software has less of a storyline. Even so, it's well worth exploring if you have a child who already plays chess, and especially if the child enjoyed the first two titles in the series.
Families who like this game of puzzles might also find "Rainbow Web" fascinating to explore.
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