Chessarama (2023)

Chessarama is a fine chess experience, enriching the world's most famous board game with new challenges and mini-games that offer a fresh perspective on what can be done with chess pieces. Sadly, however, the developers have resigned themselves to trying to deliver something more and something deeper.

If you’re looking for another way to learn chess, Chessarama will definitely give you a unique insight into each piece and its moves. Just like chess itself, the game’s small but challenging puzzles will test your ability to think ahead and plan your strategy. While I might call Chessarama a puzzle game first and a chess simulation second, either way, it’s a refreshing and fun bit of puzzle strategy fun.

Chessarama takes the concepts of chess and translates them into a simple gameplay that challenges us to solve entertaining and complex puzzles through analytical thinking and didactics. It is a proposal that can be enjoyed without any knowledge of chess. But at the same time it rewards us by teaching us several concepts with which to break down that barrier that perhaps prevents us from accessing the traditional board game.

In an increasingly cluttered world of chess-inspired gaming, Chessarama by Minimol Games is a standout release. An XP system that might be a bit clunkily implemented doesn’t detract from what the game does well – A fun and thoughtful presentation combined with engaging and novel concepts to hook players, even those who (like me) aren’t normally fans of Chess.

Chessarama delivers some great puzzle design, with delightful visuals and inventive ways of teaching you chess concepts as you play. It's missing the attention to detail that could make it really shine, but it's a charming package that's easy to recommend for anyone who enjoys chess puzzles or who is interested in learning more about the game. Just don't expect it to replace your chess.com subscription.