• Written by Marek Pawlowski, Editor

Another free program for the Pilot! This time we have the timeless game of chess ported to the Pilot for our enjoyment.

The first thing one sees when opening up Pocket Chess, not surprisingly, is a chess board. You have the whites at the bottom of the screen and the blacks at the top. In the bottom right a small indicator displays what type of game you are playing, of which there are three modes:

1. Pilot v Pilot (ie you watch)
2. You v Pilot (1 player)
3. You v Another Player (2 player)

These three options are defined, along with some others, on the Start new game screen. You may also define the skill level at which you wish to play and whether or not you want the sound effects. Once you have done that you select done and you are taken to the chess board.

It is, of course, a full sized board, with all the pieces. Along the bottom of the board a number of excellent features are located. Firstly you have the indicator which tells you where the last piece was moved to. There is also a clock displaying how long someone has spent over a move and the aforementioned box showing what kind of game you are playing.

To move the pieces you simply drag them using the stylus to a location on the board of your choice. If you try to perform an illegal move the application simply returns your piece from whence it came and you must start the move again - if you have the sound effects on it also gives a rewarding squirt to notify you of your error.

Once you have moved the piece a series of boxes around the respective squares give a visual representation of your last movements. There are a good number of powerful functions included, which give this version something over a traditional travel board (not least that it won't tip up if your car suddenly jerks to a hault or the boat you are on is not sailing in the calmest of waters). Some of them facilitate cheating, which when you are as bad as I am at chess is a welcome addition... :-))

• Board size - Allows you to show the status line or have the board filling the whole screen
• Setup Board - A wondeful option which allows you to setup the board with various pieces to simulate a situation in a previous or famous chess game
• Undo Move - Enables you to undo the last set of moves undertaken by both players
• Hint - A great function which gives those of us who aren't quite good enough to beat an IBM yet the opportunity to see how the masters do it
• Skip move - Skips the next players move
• Reverse board - Places white at top and black at bottom
• Switch Sides - Things not going so well? Not a problem switch sides...

Unfortunately we couldn't find a resident chess master to help us with testing this one, like we did for Pocket Synth, so it has been constantly tested over a few weeks in various friendly and serious games to make sure we get a clear picture of its functionality and stability.

Generally it was found to be excellent. Although some of my opponents complained about the slightly small size of the pieces (this is a limitation of the Pilot, not the software), they were generally very happy with the control system of dragging pieces. It did crash twice. Once in the middle of a game (most frustrating) and again as I was checking a few bits of info whilst writing this review, which didn't do much for its rating .

However, despite a few glitches, I generally thought it to be a super little application, and well worthy of it position as one of the top games for the Pilot at the moment. Its superb options for customisation and downright cheating are great inclusions and the skill levels and hints settings also work very well.

Its free, so why not click below and try it for yourself?

For information and downloads see: Scott Ludwig's Homepage

To mail the author: Scott Ludwig

All information contained within the magazine is ©PMN Publications 1996.