Price: $36 (MSRP) |
Mephisto Chess Manual
Mephisto SAITEK Micro Travel Chess Computer (Stylus Not Original) Handheld Game. Square Off Grand Kingdom Chess Set Innovative AI Electric Chessboard Board Game. 5 out of 5 stars. Endorsed by world champion chess master Garry Kasparov, the Mephisto has a sensory chess board that tracks your every move and displays it on its four-digit LCD display. The LCD also displays its.
What’s Nice: Chess board tracks each move; 64 playing levels; built-in chess clock; bottom compartment for storing chess pieces.
What’s Naughty:Plastic film on control panel a bit flimsy.
What’s the Deal:
Today’s popular PC and console games come and go, but chess, as it has for centuries, continues to be the true geek game. What stops most people from playing chess is actually learning how to play. The Mephisto Chess Trainer teaches users how to play chess with 11 teaching modes for the newbie, and 64 different playing levels for the intermediate player. There’s no need to play with a partner if you don’t have one.
Endorsed by world champion chess master Garry Kasparov, the Mephisto has a sensory chess board that tracks your every move and displays it on its four-digit LCD display. The LCD also displays its built-in clock, along with facial expressions of Kasparov (really, it’s a simple drawing of a face) that reflect good and bad moves. The control panel to the right of the board includes game options like “hint” and “take back” to help players during a match.
The Mephisto is rather light, constructed out of plastic, and feels kind of fragile. There’s a storage compartment underneath the board for all the chess pieces to go into, making cleanup a cinch. One thing that feels cheap is the plastic film covering the control panel on the right side. Pressing buttons has sort of a sticky feeling feedback, and we’d hate to see the unit get scratched up.
For the price, the Mephisto is a bargain for those who want to get started with chess, or simply want to improve their gameplay. You’ll have to fork over two AA batteries, but after that, you’re on track to become a chess master.
Mephisto Chess Explorer
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