App Appraisal: Solitaire Chess for iPhone and iPad

For years, ThinkFun has made a series of portable, challenging games that engage the brain without being edu-toy tedious. Now the company has set its sights on transferring their games from the real world to the digital realm. Their newest app, Solitaire Chess, is a digital version of their popular physical game.

Both the physical and app versions of Solitaire Chess are basically the same. The play space is a 4×4 square chess board with the pieces already set in place. The goal is to capture pieces on the board until there’s only one left, and every move must be a capture move. The various pieces move according to traditional chess rules – knights must move in an L shape, bishops can only move diagonally, etc. Getting the hang of this is easy. Mastering it? Not so much.

Solitaire Chess is addictive because the concept is so simple and the easy levels are easy enough for beginners to grasp. Once you hit the first level you can’t figure out at a glance, you’re hooked. Even regular chess players will find the harder levels a challenge.

The game helps beginners learn the moves by providing the name of each piece and its potential moves if the player taps and holds it. If a player ever gets stuck, there’s a helpful hint button. However, if you use hints it shows up on the game’s scoreboard.

Solitaire Chess is currently available in two versions — Free and Premium — for the iPhone and iPad. Android versions will be out in about a month. The free app comes with 40 challenges; 10 for each level ranging from Easy to Expert. Premium costs $2.99 in the Apple App Store and ups the number of challenges to 100 on each level. Plus, the app is tied into the Game Center, so you can see your progress against other players.

Solitaire Chess is a fun and challenging time-waster. We like that gamers ranging from casual players to serious chess lovers will find it engaging. We also like that the free version is only limited in the number of challenges. Users get full game play and a real chance to test it out before buying. This game is highly recommended.