Chess Attack on Facebook: Refreshing, but rushed approach to a classic

Chess Attack
Classic board games are so easy to create on Facebook. I can't imagine how many renditions of tic-tac-toe, checkers and Mahjong there are on the website much less chess. That's why developer Sweet Robot and publisher Funcom decided to mix things up a bit with Chess Attack on Facebook. By shrinking the playing field from an 8x8 to a 6x6 grid, Sweet Robot has made for a much faster-paced version of the iconic board game. However, games tend to feel too rushed for such a thinker as chess--games will automatically end in a draw if a checkmate isn't reached in enough time.

Find out of Chess Attack makes the right moves after the break.

Aside from the change to the game board, Chess Attack is essentially chess on Facebook, so there's no need to get into all of the rules. Admittedly, it must be tough to make a game of chess interesting in a social game format, but Sweet Robot pulls it off with smooth animations and a slew of cosmetic features. Note the word "cosmetic." Thankfully, the developer didn't get too crazy with paid transactions and limited them to new chess sets and game boards.

Chess Attack gameplay
While players can practice with the AI opponent set to "Easy" "Standard" and "Difficult," the core of Chess Attack is competing with other players in real time. Unfortunately, the game launched today, so it's going to be a rough time finding opponents for a little while. (As of this writing, the game has just over 600 users.) From playing both against the AI and real players, you will advance in level and earn coins for every move made on the board. Your level doesn't serve much of a purpose aside from making proper matchmaking simple. The coins, of course, will be used to buy new items in the shop. There is also a list of achievements, or "Medals," to considering when playing Chess Attack, which also unlock new items in the shop.

Chess Master for Facebook is one fine social game. Thanks to real time gameplay and a 6x6 game board, this game is an interesting take on what could have been a yawn-inducing, standard chess game. However, the game tends to rush players through in respect of time, which is not good new for amateurs like myself. Not to mention that finding real people to play with at the moment is a challenge given the fact that Chess Attack just launched. If you want to see an inventive take on chess take off on Facebook, spread the word and give that AI opponent a whipping for me in the meantime. Seriously, it beats me every time.