I probably had my first terror moment today, since having begun as a writer and journalist with Stack-Up; because that first interview is always terrifying. The terror moment came when I found out I would be doing an interview with Replayable Games, who are releasing the game; Happy Chess.
Now, I’ve wanted to learn chess most of my life, but between not knowing what all the pieces could do or where they could move…well, it just never happened. This being the case made my instant thought be how could I possibly do any kind of quality interview involving a kind of game I had no experience with.
Needless to say, my worries more unwarranted. I would be lying if I said that the Marketing Director, Sara Howard, had nothing to do with that. She assured me that when she had first started helping, she didn’t know much about chess either and that the game was actually super beginner friendly.
What seems to separate this the most from other online chess games that I have seen is that the chess pieces have emotes that basically tell you when they are in danger or worried about being taken over by another piece. This helps beginners as well as veteran players not to make what they deem stupid mistakes.
Another cool thing was that there were beginner puzzles that were super beginner level and would teach you the roles of the pieces and how to move them; making the game feel much less daunting than would otherwise be the case. Replayable games also plans to eventually make the games more challenging so that more intermediate players can benefit from the puzzles as well as the beginners.
When I inquired as to Sarah’s favorite aspect of the game, she showed me the aspect where there are different kinds of chess pieces that you can choose to play with. Then your opponent gets to choose their own set as well; so if you like zombies and your friend prefers flowers or something along those lines; then there is something for everyone.
Now, Sarah was kind enough to get me set up with their early access to Happy Chess so after spending a little more time being able to get a little more familiar with the game, I should be able to give a more accurate review and description than I have been able to do so today.
As with everything else I have played and demoed at PAX South I look forward to what the future brings to Happy Chess and Replayable Games.