Pirate Chest Chess

I don't like chess but have enjoyed a few chess-adjacent puzzlers over the years. this doesn't involve direct control over the pieces, instead you plonk them down and they go their merry, chess-defined way, ideally grabbing all the chests with their attack (diagonal for pawns, etc.). given a choice, you still have to decide which way they should go. 54 levels, all unlocked from the start, should take about 2-3 hours. no move limit or par to aim for. mouse-based controls, click to pick up, click to place on one of the starting tiles. a placed unit starts moving immediately unless it requires player input, but there's no timing involved even if some cheesing is possible, only figuring out the correct sequence. stuck pieces will move on if another one clears the way but they can't be pushed. opposite colors can take each other down though. the '!' icon in the corner provides useful info on some levels, including hotkeys (esc for the menu, r for reset). I wasn't sure based on the trailer, but [b]no undo and it proved to be a dealbreaker, as usual[/b]. even more so because [b]once a piece is placed, it can't be picked up again[/b] even if it doesn't start moving. and while move options are shown, it's easy to accidentally land in a hole, especially with the knight, then start over. also, [b]with many options and positions, arrows can cover each other, preventing movement of a unit[/b]. level 42 has plenty of this. every few levels new mechanics come into play. holes are obviously not good news, though falling to your death after grabbing the loot is not a problem. fillable ones act as regular tiles after a sacrifice and taking down an opposing piece usually stops movement, unlike chests. I think the level 25 hint should be on level 26 and I had an unplaced black rook on level 33 and a black pawn on level 47. minimalist graphics, no animations or fluff to waste time, music's fine. separate volumes are the only variables (the button says setup in the main menu but settings on level select and while on a level). alt+enter makes a non-resizable full-screen window, gotta edit the registry to get the desired resolution in windowed mode. there are 3 save slots to keep progress separate. level numbers in the corner, level complete offers level select, replay and next buttons. no fail screen, not crucial, but needs a reset button to click somewhere outside the menu for convenience. not much else to complain about, though I couldn't figure everything out, good enough is good enough. the $2 asking price is reasonable too (I picked it up half off), but again, a puzzler without undo is rarely thumbs up-worthy. if it's not an issue for you, go for it, and I'll flip the review if the dev decides to patch it in at some point, making sure it also works from fail states and even after a level reset.

The game consists of 54 levels which are free to select so if you are stuck on one, you can just skip it which I appreciate a lot. It's basic. Resetting the board requires you to push the menu button, then choose reset. For now, no key or direct button is provided. The only settings are sliders for music and effect volume not that much more is really necessary I guess. The music is not the greatest but that's of course a personal preference. It feels a bit 'heavy' sometimes. There are three save slots so another family member can enjoy it easily too. I'm playing it on the Deck. All in all, it's a chess puzzle game. You like it or you don't. (And i do 🙂).