15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
Makes Chess Accessible
Date of Review: May 10, 2005
The Bottom Line: Learning chess has never been so fun.
I purchased this software because my 6 year old son was interested in our chessboard, but I am not a very good player. It has turned out to be a great way to introduce chess to children. Heck, my game has improved dramatically too.
The basic premise is that the white king and queen go on a trip leaving their young son Fritz and his cousin Bianca in charge. As soon as the king is gone, evil king Black challenges Fritz to a duel (a game of chess). As he and Bianca leave the castle to go to meet king Black they encounter king Kalidescope, a friend of the white king. King Kalidescope helps Fritz learn how to play so that he can beat king Black.
1st Fritz learns how each piece moves. This is done through a series of games. The movements of the king are explained through a game in which two samuri try to push each other out of a ring. The knights are horses trying to get through an obsticle course. The queen is king kalidescope's wife who is trying to pick flowers as quickly as possible.
Once that part of the game is mastered, Fritz and Bianca go to the intelligym to work out and learn some strategy. There they encounter Chesster the Cheshire Rat. Chesster is the best chess player in the kingdom. In the intelligym the kids learn how to open, how to check the king, how to avoid stalemate, and other strategy. The benefits, strengths, and weakenesses of each piece are explored as well as some tips on how to play strategically.
After all the exercises are completed Fritz plays king Black.
By introducing the game a piece at a time, by making the game a story, by creating characters that are engaging, and by really focusing the instruction on strategy, this software makes learning chess fun! Although it is fun, the instruction is by no means dumbed down. My husband and I both learned nuances to chess when we played this program with our son.
After playing this game and Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster 2, my son is both a fairly proficient chess player and (what is more important) he is eager to play the game and enjoys it.
Cricket
