John N. Hansen: Chess 4, Black

This is like Chess, but it has never been so different. I bought this to play with my friends at the chess club. everyone was quite blown away about the fact that it could be played up to four people! the contents are depicted by the picture of the board. there is board, a small guide on how to play, and four chess colors to choose from (white, black, silver, and, gold). the game starts out like any other chess game, but it changes really quick. one move can put someone in check while at the same time leave a gap behind your defenses (vice-versa). the game can be played individually or by teams, either way it leads to a thrilling game because you do not really know what might happen even though you are an experienced player or not. the game really does feel like the box depicts it, a WAR haha. it's a war because of the teamwork, you have to work silently and know each others movements because the other team can hear you. Another reason is because of betrayal. if the party of players does happen to play individually, you might think someone is helping you, but at the last second they have check/ checkmated you (or two people at the same time). This is what i meant by the game being played individually or by teamwork. It is truly a fun game to enjoy. I had lots of fun with my friends and i definitely recommend this to any chess lover, the reason is because it's a new refreshing way to play. The Pros: a whole new way to play chess a glossy and shiny board fine crafted pieces The Cons: The placement of the carpet material on the bottom of the pieces are slightly not centered (some are misplaced) To anyone reading this, the Cons are something that didn't really bother me. I just fixed it myself by taking them out and putting them in the center. I am so glad i bought this, to me the quality of the product is superb, but what's more amazing is the laughs and memories you will enjoy with your friends and family.

This is the best International Chess playing experience ever had the joy to perform. The John N. Hansen: Chess 4 is the product for Chess fans that can hold his own against the other three chess armies. Think your Queen alone can save your army? How about three Queens coming for your army? This Four Player Chess set has all plastic pieces (kind of smallish, one piece was defective-- like the Igor servant in the Young Frankenstein movie.) Have discovered the best way to survive a three Queen attack is to setup the Pawns like in [Pavlov's The Pawn] chess book. Worry not about the other armies Queens. The Pawns are the best defense and the Knights are the best offense in multiple player chess sets because the Queen is useless, the Rooks are a liability after castleling, and the Bishops have no where to go. This leaves only the Knights in maneuver warfare. Once the opponents Knights are gone while your Pawns remain, be impossible for them to come at you. Remember the better Player will protect and defend both Knights in a Entrenchment Warfare. Forget the Queens. Have now played nineteen games with the other three Players without my Queen and won all nineteen games. How is this possible? Entrenchment is possible because now all four players traverse a much larger chess board covering more territory thus favoring the "Mobile Defender" rather than the "Attackers". Have capture the opposing forces' Queens within twenty moves and capture their Kings in just thirty eight moves because they can go no where. Interesting discovery, from now on will continue to play all comers without the Queen. Not needed at all. In Elephant Chess, Shogi, Korean Chess, there are no Queens or Kings. Just like learning a new language-- "Who can read English fastest?" Of course the person whose cultural language has no prepositions, no adverbs, proverbial of place, no tense, no gender, no extras, but just pronouns and verbs! Recommend this John N. Hansen: Chess 4 (four player chess set) because it confirms three historical theories... 1) Never send a Queen to do a Pawn's job. 2) Without the Queen the King has no distraction. 3) Your opponents' horses can feed your army. The user of this product will improve a Player's skill very quickly, especially without the Queen!

Let me break this down to different parts: The Chess Pieces: 1. Size is perfect 2. Design & looks are interesting & yet recognizable. 3. Color is good 4. Although it's plastic, the weight is still ok, it can sit still on the board. The Board: 1. Nice durable & sturdy carton. 2. Can be folded into quarter of its size. 3. The seams are not noticeable when you unfold it. 4. The design looks good except the artwork on each square that's sometimes giving me the dizzy feeling when i look at it for too long. The Game: This is the best feature of this product - i've been playing Chess for over 30 years & the concept of this game is G-R-E-A-T...just like the description on the box- it's not just a game, it's a WAR! I suggest that you may want to revised the rule just like what other reviewers had mentioned esp when a player conquered a "kingdom". And since this could be a great game for a party, I'm planning to create my own version of this game with larger pieces & not so dizzy game board. I already ordered a Staunton Chess pieces which of course will come in Black & white; then I will order another similar set & will dye it with a different color like Gold & Silver. I recommend this to anyone who is a Chess afficionado, not for novice peeps. Hope this helps...I'm getting one for my Chess Buddy who lives in Australia!

Oh boy. What an excellent item this was to buy. First and foremost, this set is an amazing buy if you have at least 3 friends that also love playing chess. It's very easy to pick up the style of play but incredibly difficult to be strategic against 3 opponents. This is a good thing since it adds a thrilling new dimension to the game. A great gift for avid players. Pros: This set can either be a 4 person game or 2 1 vs. 1 games if you have an extra board. Can provide endless hours of entertainment and critical thinking with skilled players. Very nicely weighted pieces. Board folds up into a quarter of the 4 person size for easier storage. --> Full board is 20" x 20", folds into 10" x 10" Board has a nice glossy finish and marble appearance. 4 person board also has a 1 vs. 1 board on the back in case you don't have 4 players and still want to play a game. Cons: The glossy finish, in direct sunlight, can make it easier to miss pieces that are on the board, leading to mistakes in the moves made. 4 person games, in my experience, have taken about an hour at minimum to finish, so it's not really something you can do on a break or between classes. Final word: Buy it if you enjoy strategic thinking and have enough other players to make use of it. I'm a college student who bought it for a group of friends who play chess a lot and we all agree it's a great thing to have for our down time.

This is exactly what my friends and i have been waiting for. A game of chess with more people. It get quite crazy and epic once you get into it. The only thing keeping me from giving this product a 5 Star Rating is the rules page. It needs just a bit more detail to end certain confusions first timers may have. All in all great game, concept, and product.

Fun game for the family (we have five kids) and the quality (plastic pieces) is adequate for the price. Also has a regular chessboard on the opposite side. We play the four-way chess game with the extra rules that a pawn can move in any of the four straight directions and attack in any of the four diagonal directions. We also play that if you checkmate an opponent, then his remaining pieces on the board come under your control. We also sometimes play "Warrior King" chess where the king can attack like a queen and a knight but the object of the game is to kill all your opponents pawns. The game play starts out a little slow at first as you get your pieces out in the field. And then it becomes a Game of Thrones free-for-all with alliances being quickly formed and then maybe some backstabbing later on.

If you like chess you'll love this set. This is an awesome twist to the Original game. 4 players at once is insane. We've had so much fun playing.

Seirawan chess was developed by a chess grand master in order to make the game more accessible to new and weaker players.There are only so many times that you can hear the phrase 'its only a game' from a strong player who regularly wipes the floor with you. So, in order to 'upset the apple-cart' as it were the approach has been to add in extra pieces.Its a valid approach I suppose and there are many chess variants that have tried similar approaches (including big bang theory sheldons' serpent and old lady :) Another way, which I prefer is to keep the pieces and moves of regular chess but change the topology of the board. ie not playing on an 8 by 8 grid. This is the effect that chess4 has in accomodating 4 players. To begin with there is a lot of open ground to cover in order to attack but moving a piece exposes your army to long range attacks from surprising directions.This makes the game much more equitable in that strong players can't rely on established patterns. Its fun and a bit more chaotic. I think that this is a good way to get the whole family playing chess and include new players.

Great product. kids love playing it.

convierte el juego en una especie de juego de mesa los chicos no se aburren y piensan un poco mas los movimientos ya que tener 3 enemigos es un reto significante las piezas tienen buen tamaño y el plastico es rigido lo que pense que seria mas resistente es el tablero si es carton rigido pero esperaba un tablero solido no doblable el diseño muy bonito y los colores de las otras piezas dorado plateado me hubiera gustado menos opacos de que es una variante muy buena lo es

Decent set for the price

El ajedrez convencional puede ser un poco aburrido, pero cuando le metes dos rivales extra, es una total locura, tonterías con malos movimientos al por mayor, te enojas y te encontentas en cada movimiento con los otros jugadores, pero eso si, muy divertido. La calidad en general es muy buena, los acabados son bastante buenos y el tiempo de entrega excepcional, llegó una semana antes de lo estimado.

Perfect