Apple Ipod Touch: Chess Dice is an Interesting Twist on Chess but Needs Improvements

Price: $3.99
Rating:
Chess Dice
iPhone Game Review by TheiPhoneAppReview.com

Reviewed by Sarah Hanlon

Chess Dice is an interesting twist on chess that tests players’ strategy and problem solving skills. Even if you’re a chess wizard, this game is likely to challenge you.

It’s obvious that a lot of thought and development has gone into this game by Alexey Molchanov, but even so it does have a few drawbacks, such as a lack of certain features and a very steep price tag.

Concept and Gameplay:

The goal of Chess Dice is straightforward, to capture your opponent’s dice, just like you normally would with chess pieces.

There’s a twist, though, because you can only capture dice if the value of your die is greater than the one you’re trying to capture. Values change depending on where your die moves on the board.

While Chess Dice provides a somewhat helpful text guide on how to play the game, I found the lack of an interactive tutorial to be very frustrating. Even up to writing this review I’m unsure of how to actually play the game. I found myself in positions where I should have been able to capture an opponent’s die, but couldn’t do so.

Chess Dice iPhone Game

It’s possible that I’m just not a good enough chess player to easily slide into this game. But a well crafted tutorial would get even novice players up to speed and into the game so they’re able to fully enjoy it.

The overall concept of the game is good, though, so hopefully you’ll have better luck at figuring out Chess Dice than I did. If it clicks for you I’m sure you’ll really enjoy this game. I do like the fact that players have a bit of control over the look and feel of the board, as well, and can control elements such as rotation and zoom.

Features:

As good as Chess Dice is, there are a few feature suggestions I have in order for the game to be even better. First, the aforementioned tutorial would be a great way to introduce new players who learn better by doing rather than reading.

Also, Chess Dice definitely needs online gameplay. As it stands right now you can only play against the computer or locally with a friend.

I think an online option/mode would be perfect for competitive players who want to climb up the leaderboards.

Value:

Chess Dice can be downloaded from the App Store for $3.99 and is universally compatible with iPhone and iPad. In terms of what you get, I definitely think this is a game would fare much better if it was free with IAPs or a $0.99 download. We’re big fans of the freemium model that let’s players try before they buy.

Unfortunately the price is a major drawback and hopefully the developer can either drop the price to a more reasonable amount or add many more features to make it more compelling.

Chess Dice requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.