Checkmate or Die

Chess.com

About this game

Solve chess puzzles… or die

Ratings and reviews

It is fun, but once you get up to 4 move checkmate puzzles, the measly amount of time you get is not realistic for 99% of players to consistently beat, especially when you consider the time the animations for moving the chess pieces takes. I just finished a level that consisted of two 4-move checkmate puzzles in under 16 seconds and barely finished in time. That is less than 2 seconds per move you are given to beat the level. I'd prefer more time, but harsher penalties for wrong moves.

Starting on level one, the first level, the time you get before being caught is VERY tight. The puzzle is also very easy, but you have zero time to check out the visuals, determine what to do, and then you are dead. Subsequent levels are also so tight you need to find the solution almost instantly. This really should ramp in more to let people get comfortable. But more importantly, the game crashes constantly. Not while playing, but on every menu, preference, setting, etc. Crash fest.

Had my entire progress reset without warning. So that's already really bad. Overall, this isn't a bad idea for some holiday chess-based fun, but the game is way too unforgiving. The game really, really rushes you away from trying to calculate. It would be better if there was some (simple and obvious) methods of balancing how fast you have to solve the puzzles.

What’s new

Android API updated