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From:Viva Media
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#166 |
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17 of 19 customers found the following review helpful:
 Learn to Play Chess!, 2005-10-22
I really like this computer game because it uses parts-to-whole instruction - it introduces each chess piece separately with an interesting strategy game that teaches how it moves.
Kids have to master the strategy games for each piece before they are given a chance to play with a full board.
But more important than MY impressions are those of my kids - 6 and 8, boy and girl, - who just LOVE this game and cheer each other on. I am thrilled to have them captivated by a "thinking" game. They have generalized their interest in chess to a real board too - they do not just play the game on the computer.
Another note - while I personally enjoy the graphics, they are not sophisticated or realistic, but more like illustrations in a children's book.
Definitely worth the money.
5 of 9 customers found the following review helpful:
A very cool software for kids, 2005-10-18
My kids love this program. It's really a fun program.
5 of 8 customers found the following review helpful:
Wonderful Way To Learn Chess, 2005-10-12
Easy to load. Easy to understand. Allows one to gain immediate knowledge of how to play Chess. Highly recommend this package for anyone who has never played chess.
5 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
Great product, but..., 2005-10-11
Great product. I'm learning how to play chess for the first time, as well as my 7 year old son... However, tech support is not the best - my program gets an error message during the IntelliGym, and can't move forward. I contacted the tech people via e-mail, but it took them nearly two weeks to get back to me. Suggested solution didn't work, and haven't heard back from them yet. Hopefully, you won't have any tech problems, then you'd love the product, I'm sure.
(I think my problem might be my OS, which is W2000 - even though the product discription in Amazon states it works with W2000, the CD I have says 95, 98, ME, XP. So W2000 uesrs be aware...)
8 of 9 customers found the following review helpful:
Playing and Having Fun -- That's the Best Kind of Teaching/Learning!!!, 2005-10-06
As of the time of writing of this review, I have 3 children aged 5 and 3/4, 4 1/3, and 2.5 years old. ALL THREE fully enjoy the game (my youngest, though, keeps on saying "I want to play 'Chesster the Rat!'").
For the 2.5 year old, I would say it's only good if you have a LARGE monitor (and for playing chess on a chessboard, a LARGE board). I think kids still need to develop hand-eye coordination and the like -- they can't seem to make diagonals straight, nor even the straights where the Rook traverses. My two older ones, though, have no problem.
As one of the reviews here said, some games look questionable in teaching the movements of the pieces (the pac-man type game to show Rooks), and the smashing of toilet bowls. I didn't quite get it. HOWEVER, I'm not an expert, so maybe there is an underlying subliminal type of teaching.
One great thing is about this title is the GRAPHICS. It's very simple, cartoony, and not one of those ultra-eye-candy type that abound in video games. If you're a parent, kinda like comparing the nice pastel-type and uncluttered cartoon of Pooh/Heffalump with a great story that keeps you hook vis-a-vis something that has gratuitous eye candy to hold a youngster's attention (something I think doesn't help brain development...).
BUT... HERE'S THE BOTTOMLINE: MY 5 year old knows practically ALL THE RULES of chess (including castling and en passant). The problem when we play on an analog playing surface (a.k.a. a real chess board), however, is sometimes he doesn't see that he's in check -- the computer has no problem telling you that move isn't allowed, though.
Another complaint I have is that Fritz (the main character) is a BOY, and my 2nd child is a girl. Fritz's companion, his cousin, BIANCA is a girl, and they do make a big fuss about how great girls are (i.e., the QUEEN). It's a small complaint, though.
What's really important is that my son now knows how to play chess. The focus on this title is learning chess. There are a few mating lessons (K vs K+R+R and K vs K+Q and K vs K+R), but mastery of even these simple mates could have done with a few more explanations/drills.
I can't wait to see what Fritz and Chesster 2 can do to build on the foundations of this one.
Overall, if you want someone young to learn chess painlessly, no... scrap that... if you want someone to learn chess JOYOUSLY, get this title.
I hope this review was helpful!
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