Chess, like dartboard, is a classic board game that is great for challenging your brain. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve played chess, every game is completely different, requiring that you come up with unique strategies to beat your opponent every time. Not only do you have to develop your own strategies, but you also need to analyze your opponent’s moves to recognize any patterns and beat him to his next move.
It has long been a tradition in my family that we play a game of chess whenever we meet up for a family reunion. While I’d like to think that I am getting better at chess, sometimes my father or brother will pull an unexpected move and I end up losing the game when I least expect it. So, I decided to put an end to this and work on my chess skills before my next family reunion. Because I am always on-the-go, I thought it would be a good idea to find the best chess games I could play on my phone.
I played a few of the games from a list I found online and I chose the 3 that I liked the most. Besides writing a short review, I thought it would be helpful to summarize the pros and cons of each game, so you can easily find the right one for you.
Chess Online – Rating: 4.3, Downloads: 1M+
My first pick is Chess Online. What I really like about it is that you can practice your chess skills by playing against a computer opponent with various difficulty levels. And, when you want to put your skills to the test, you can play chess online against other players around the world. You can invite your friends to a game of chess too! I also liked that you can place bets on your chess games when you play online, which adds an extra element of fun to the game. Another plus I found is that you can see if you are getting better by viewing charts with your performance statistics.
While I thought the betting system was pretty neat, some of my friends were not particularly fond of it. Betting is not for everyone, so if you are not much of a better, then you might prefer one of my other picks. In my case, I actually like the betting system as it motivates me even more to beat my opponent!
Pros: Multiple difficulty levels, play chess online, charts and statistics on game performance.
Cons: Betting system not for everyone.
Overall: Put your chess skills to the test by playing against your friends and other players online, although you will need to bet in-game currency on each game.
Chess – Rating: 4.4, Downloads: 50M+
My second pick is Chess. I found this to be a great choice if you are new to the game and want to learn how to play. There are ten different difficulty modes to choose from. I found my sweet spot to be level 4. I found it to be easy enough to play on-the-go but challenging enough that I needed to pay a bit of attention. Whenever I had a bit more time on my hands I would go for level 5 or 6. In particular, I liked the various chess lessons that you can access through the game’s helper assistant. Although they don’t go deep into explanations, they are simple and easy to understand. I also really liked the various board themes. They are all really well done, with detailed graphics and excellent 3D animations.
Unlike my previous pick, Chess can only be played offline against a computer opponent, or by taking turns with a friend on your phone. However, I found it to be a great choice for beginners, as they can learn to play the game at their own pace and in their own time.
Pros: For beginners, multiple difficulty levels, chess lessons, board themes, excellent graphics.
Cons: No online play.
Overall: Great for beginners who want to learn to play chess, although you cannot play chess with other players online.
Chess Tactics Pro – Rating: 4.6, Downloads: 1M+
My third pick, Chess Tactics Pro, is probably the game that I’ve played the most. I really like the fact that you can play daily chess puzzles that challenge you to come up with new strategies you haven’t used before. Although the daily puzzle challenges are my favorite, I also found the random puzzles to be a lot of fun. I also like that the game keeps track of your performance and adjusts the puzzle difficulty to your fit your experience level. And lastly, I like how you can personalize your chess game with different board themes.
While the game supposedly adjusts puzzle difficulty to your level, occasionally I had a hard time figuring them out. Thankfully, you don’t need to solve them in one sitting, as you can simply bookmark them and come back to them later. Sometimes I found that after taking a break I would come back, and the solution would magically appear before my eyes. I soon realized that it is a matter of changing your mindset and coming up with a new strategy.
Pros: Daily chess puzzles, random puzzle generator, multiple difficulty levels, board themes.
Cons: Some puzzles hard to solve.
Overall: Challenge your brain with daily chess puzzles, although some of them may be a bit harder than you expect.
Conclusion
If you’re an amateur chess player, you’ll surely like these games. I like how you can both have fun while learning something new about this old but still fascinating game. If you want to check even more chess games, the list I used to find these three is Top 10 Chess Games.
I had a great time coming up with this list of the top 3 chess games. Not only did I get to practice my chess skills and learn new tactics, but I also had a lot of fun too. Whether you are looking for a fun game to kill time, or you want to work on your strategic thinking skills, any of these games will do the trick. Let me know in the comments which game you liked the most!
