Battle Chess
If you haven’t heard of or played Battle Chess before then I don’t know what rock you’ve been living under. This game is one of the most well-known classic games of all time.
The highlight of this game is when you play in “3D” mode, you get to witness actual battles between the pieces. I love watching the castle eat the queen, very cool. Each different combination of pieces have a unique battle, which is very fun to watch. It’s almost worth losing a few of the games so you can see all the different wars going on between pieces. Apparently one set is red and the other is blue, but it’s really pink and blue when I play. Gotta love those oldschool graphics.
If you aren’t into the whole waiting for battles then there is also a 2D mode, where you can look down on the pieces, very old school normal chess. Not half as exciting as full on Battle Chess. 
A very impressive feature of this game was the ability play over a modem. Yes, back in 1989! How awesome is that? You can go and battle with your neighbour.
There’s another lovely feature, called “Setup Board”. You can arrange the pieces how you want, and then you play. I guess it’s a bit like cheating, but it’s a good way to see the different battles. Plus it’s good to test out certain moves. Probably helpful if you’re learning, I only used it to watch the pieces fight!
There are difficulty levels, from Novice through to Level 9. You can also set a time limit for moves. So, there are a lot of awesome features in this game. They really did think through what people would want to do in this game, obviously a lot of user requirements were gathered.
The sound effects are brilliant. No need to settle for lame sounds anymore! You can live it up with swords, knights clinking around in armour etc. Adds another dimension.
If you like chess, are good at chess and just like watching little wars, then you’re going to love this game. If you don’t like chess, then it might help you get into chess!
Related Links
- MobyGames: Battle Chess
Read all about it on MobyGames. - Wikipedia: Battle Chess
Read all about it on Wikipedia. - Astoria
A great resource for Battle Chess. Links to some reviews, has details about a few of the battles.
Battle Chess
- Published by: Interplay Productions, Inc.
- Designed by: Interplay Productions, Inc.
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Size: 756kb (3 min on 56k dial-up)
January 26th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Downloading, Downloading, Downloading, Downloading, Downloading, Downloaded!! WooHoo!!! Thank You!
January 27th, 2008 at 5:35 am
Oh no! I wanted to review that one! -_-
March 4th, 2008 at 7:20 am
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October 15th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Wow! I just love Battle Chess!!
February 10th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I first played this game in 1989, and it (together with Psion 3D Chess for PC) reall ignited my interest in playing chess as never before. Suddenly, the carrot for taking a piece was more than just satisfaction – it was Pythonesque slapstick, literally ! Its no secret that the Knights, on taking each other, literally go through the entire ’tis but a scratch’ routine from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, but the Rooks, Pawns, Bishops and most significantly the Queen,play to win. The King, as befits his nature, fights dirty.
The later Battlechess 2000, and even more so, Battlechess 3000, simply took the idea to the next level. version 3000 is simply spectacularly crass SF fun, an even mix of Buck Rogers and Saturday Night Live. Much recommended to anyone who desires a boardgame with that little bit extra panache.
March 26th, 2010 at 8:51 am
I like this game! Thank you!!!
March 26th, 2010 at 8:52 am
This game is cool! Thanks for your post!