Chess is hot these days. Chess masters like Magnus Carlsen or Hikaru Nakamura are more or less known to a bigger audience than ever before. But the game has also been made more popular through YouTubers and Twitch Streamers making content based around the game. Maybe you even remember the highly watched chessboxing event that alternates rounds of boxing with playing chess. Chessarama tries to capture some of that clout and does it with style.
Chess rules!
The game of chess is quite complicated, to say the least. When grandmasters – the elite players of the game – take years of practice to reach the level they have, a beginner has a steep hill to climb right from the start. I had the luck of having the greatest grandfather in the world who taught me the game. I remember him using puzzles he found in a book to teach me the movements of the pieces. Each time I completed a puzzle he had a harder one ready for me to tackle. I got to learn the advantages but also the limitations of each piece through this method. It also taught me to think a few steps ahead which turned out to be hugely beneficial when I started to play the game properly. My fondness for puzzling and strategising was born when I learned the game of chess and I never stopped playing the game.
Although there was a part of my life when my chess-playing dwindled to almost non-existent. My grandfather passed away, my friends weren’t interested anymore and I was left with no opponents to face. Luckily the digital world offered me a way to continue. Chess computers, chess video games and even e-mail-based chess games with people I never met kept the spark alive. Nowadays I mainly use chess.com for my chess needs since it has become the standard of online chess playing. All through the years, I’ve loved the puzzles I came across different “chess paths” I took. Chessarama offers just that.
The game offers 100+ chess puzzles on multiple-sized playing fields to have fun with. These puzzles also double as a way to understand the intricacies of each piece helping you grasp the game of chess a bit better. I immediately had fond memories of the time I spent at the chessboard with my grandfather while playing Chessarama. 8 chess-inspired games will have your mind boggled for hours. These puzzles start pretty easy but get harder at each level. I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I finished a set of puzzles.
Themed variations
The different types of puzzles mostly revolve around one type of chess piece. They all have their beautiful theme through the use of dioramas to distinguish them from each other. The Farm-themed puzzles that start your puzzle adventure have you controlling a knight piece (or even multiple knight pieces in later levels). The goal is to visit each square of land to plant things in the paddock. Each puzzle offers a few extra objectives if you want to fully complete the level. Sometimes these extra objectives could be achieved in 1 try but often this meant you had to solve the puzzle in a completely different way often forcing you to replay the level. I felt a bit lukewarm about that decision, to be honest. After completing all the farm levels other types of puzzles get unlocked. I won’t go over all of them because that would spoil the experience. But I have to say I liked the football-inspired levels a lot.
Collect and play
Playing more levels and getting all the objectives will unlock up to 24 exclusive chess figures. So while learning chess movements and a bit of the tactics you’ll also deck out your collection of pieces. These can be used during the classic chess game available in the game. This puts you up against other players online. I had no problem finding opponents at the time of my review so I’m almost certain you’ll find plenty of people to test your skills against.
Conclusion
Will Chessarama make you a better chess player? Depending on your level I would say yes. If you need to grasp the movements this game is an ideal starter. If you want to learn more about the strategy I suggest you take other routes because this wants to be a puzzle game more than an actual chess learning platform. So I would consider Chessarama a great chess-based puzzler that might just spark a lifelong interest in the game of chess.
