Sokochess, Byte Size Review
A chess-based puzzle game from small developer Daisy Games. Sokochess will appeal to gamers who love chess and the challenges that the game brings.
Sadly, I am not a gamer who loves chess and the challenges that it brings. Chess, if I’m being completely honest, just confuses me.
The idea behind Sokochess is simple: Use your white chess piece to push the black chess pieces to their destination on a tile-based board. But be warned: The opponent chess pieces can push back if you make a wrong move, capturing your piece and forcing a restart of the level. The game comes with 70 levels, apparently. Later levels have you having to navigate tiles that crack as a chess piece moves over them and locks that block pathways until you find a key.
I also learned that there is an option to skip any levels you have trouble with and move onto the next one. I did that quite a bit, not that I learned anything from that strategy.
Minutes to learn, lifetime to master.
Sokochess starts out easy enough. The first two levels were simple enough that even someone like me. Someone who can’t fathom the intricacies of chess was able to complete them quite easily. Feeling chuffed with myself, I tackled the third one – aptly titled Safety First – and failed miserably. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what moves I made. My white puzzle piece was always captured by the black pieces – and I grew more and more frustrated. So I skipped a couple of levels, settling on level 5 A Noble Cause, which I completed after a couple of attempts. Full of smugness after my success, I tackled level 6 which I failed dismally again.
For gamers who love chess and the strategy that goes with it, this game will no doubt rock their world. As they work out the ultimate strategy to capture the opponent pieces. If you’re anything like me, a somewhat reasonably intelligent chap who just can’t come to grips with the antics behind chess. Then you might find yourself cursing and scratching your head rather than planning your next move.
For chess fans only, I think.
