Hnefatafl
This game the most fun I can find these days (coming from an experienced hobby chess player). Different rules and game types are available for the ancient Hnefatafl game that was played in the viking area before the advent of chess. Hnefatafl is an unbalanced game where the strategy for each side is very different. One side plays the defender and must escape with the king while the attackers rush to capture him. Because of this unbalance in the rules the computers are still no match for decent human players. Try for example the mode legacy berserk and you will find yourself at the top of the food chain in no time. The number of possible moves to play increases faster than in e.g. chess and go, making it hard to calculate and predict far ahead, especially for the larger boards. Because of this complexity and the unbalance in the rules it will take time for the computers to play well leaving the arena for us humans to compete using intuition to guide us. Maybe you have what it takes to come up with a new way to play and beat the current top ranked players?
– Real player with 912.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Vikings Games.
This appears to offer everything you need if you are interested in this ancient game, including all the main variants, the ability to customise the game and rules and create your own variants. online play, synchronization with with the mobile phone version, decent graphics and interface, graphical mods, and great developers who listen to feedback and strive to keep improving the game.
I suggested an interface/display change to make the game look better on my monitor and screen resolution, and with a day or two an update was released with the idea implemented. Fantastic!
– Real player with 117.4 hrs in game
Egyptian Senet
To summerize, if you are someone who goes for something with content and thought then try this out; it’s for literally 50 cents when it’s on sale.
This game’s graphics are higher than the screenshots posted, so don’t be fooled. This version is made for normal desktop resolution so I don’t know why any kid would complain. The design is pretty good for a 2D design, and the effort put in the details in the art were meticulously done and not just randomly copied. Everything to me seems like it has its own cham, the victory screen is cute and pleasant, while the prompt when you lose is unpleasant: as to be desired since this is a game for anyone to play and is meant to be symbolic, hence its accessibility to all ages is a plus.
– Real player with 21.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Tabletop Games.
Purchased for a reduced price of £0.79 so can’t say I’m not happy with the purchase!
In all Senet is captivating and this version acts as a good introduction, it is quite addictive as a casual game.
In way of criticism the game presentation is dated and I get the distinct feeling when moving up the difficulty levels the AI gets ‘luckier’ rather than more tactical. This makes the game short-lived as it soon becomes tiresome knowing the AI will often throw the correct combinations to rapidly progress pieces. Something that rarely happens for the human player!
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Chess Knights: Shinobi
Edit: Updated playthrough with ALL the normal levels here: https://youtu.be/Zr-5X2c3k8Y
Great game but god dang is it difficult not sure if it was the alcohol or the fact my chess I.Q. is 42 but it was a fun little brain boggler killing the Generals was extremely satisfying after trying not to get spanked by some simp rooks/bishops. Not sure how to get all the achievements since I hid in a bush and didn’t get the hide in a bush achievement (got faito achievement at later date which has been included in video thanks to user carmylle on steam) but if you need help on any of the levels. my play through with all levels here: https://youtu.be/xhNwdCEFKZo
– Real player with 26.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Ninja Games.
Really great minimalist puzzle game. The recent update tripled the content of an already great game, definitely worth the price here. Knights are my least favorite chess piece, but playing them as a ninja may have changed my view of them.
The difficulty scales wonderfully right up until the last level which is very very hard, but just enough to where you feel accomplished when you beat it. The only negative I have here is you can’t pan the camera, only zoom and rotate. Other than that this is a standout of the minimalist puzzle genre.
– Real player with 7.1 hrs in game
Chess Knights: Viking Lands
It’s been a while since I played chess and when I tried this game I could remember that beginner feeling.
I Recommend this game for those who like chess and also likes a good mind challenge.
I liked some scenario items left behind … buckets, wooden decks and wagons that block areas in board, these kind of things got rid of predicables movements and make things more challenging. I also liked the way some parts got half-covered by snow, this increase the challenge and make me think twice on choosing where to move … specially against Bishops. A little suggestion to improve a sense of progress could be some kind of icon or text that tells the current chapter and stage.
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
Move chess knights across varying boards to pick up pieces from one square and return them to home squares while avoiding being taken by AI driven enemy pieces.
There are a lot of issues here, the difficulty wildly varies, though ultimately never gets particularly clever and many of the puzzles become just a matter of moving one of your safe pieces back and forth until the board state lets you win.
Some levels try to limit that which is where you feel a sudden difficulty spike which just ends up being more frustrating than challenging.
– Real player with 5.8 hrs in game
Viking Chess: Hnefatafl
The chess itself is amazing! The game devoloper is really attentive, I had a problem during the early release and he had the patience to sit and chat with me to get the problem solved. There are two sound tracks (if I’m not mustaken), both in perfect loop and didn’t get boring even after 12 hours. The graphics might not be what I’m used to in the games I usually play, but I loved them, a totally 3D Hnefatafl game (if you don’t like the 3D you can play in 2D by pressing ‘Tab’). Right now the game is still in the 1.01 version, so there might be some bugs, but I highly sugest you to write your issue in the steam community, the developer will get in touch in no time, and he’s goona help you out!!
– Real player with 31.4 hrs in game
ever since i heard of this game, i wanted to try it out.
since online simulators didnt work i was really looking forward to the steam version
its a fun game, but it is very asymmetrical (i lost every game as attacker except one and have yet to be defeated as defender, against the ai), still gotta see what multiplayer has in store and what strategies may work
although its an old chess like game, style and strategies are very different here, every piece moves like a rook and anticipation is very difficult because of the four sides and the bigger field
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
Chess Knights: High Noon
Incredible game!! This is definitely the most fun game in the Chess Knights series! I love western movies and this game has the perfect western vibe! In the other games, you could only survive, escapingfrom the enemies, but now you are a badass gunslinger and you only advance if you eliminate all enemies on the level! The puzzle continues with the same quality from Minimol games, but now we have the addition of Duel mode, which forces you to think and act very fast, just like in a real duel! I can’t wait for the full release!
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
I really like the games in the Chess Knights series. When I saw this game announced with this theme I confess that I found it unusual.
Well, what I can say is that this game just became my new favorite in the series.
In addition to the game being beautiful like the others, and counting very well elaborated puzzles (ranging from the simplest ones that present the mechanics, to the most challenging ones), the theme was very well implemented, including the duel, which is very well incorporated gameplay dynamics in a way I didn’t imagine for a game inspired by chess.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Tafl Champions: Ancient Chess
This is a fine game, and a free one on top of that.
There’s a surprising amount of tactics behind a very simple core concept.
Played with my friend, enjoyed it quite a bit!
Thought the attacker has a huge advantage by not being too greedy and encircling the field, as well as engaging in fair warrior trades, but defender can do quite a lot with his throne and a retinue of fighters preventing the enemy from capturing too many nearby squares.
Main cons would be unclear rules with the throne - it would be better if UI would suggest what will be captured by each move and King / Throne would be highlighted somehow whenever the Throne is left. This would help recognise that the King can be captured like a normal warrior now and the throne is hostile to defenders too - otherwise too easy to forget it and lose on the spot.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
Bannerlord brought me here, have a review dev, ya deserve it lad
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
大江湖之苍龙与白鸟
The 11th year of Shaoxing in Southern Song Dynasty (1141 AD)
The Song and Jurchen-led Jin Dynasties were divided by the Huai River. The north of the river belonged to Jin and the south belonged to Song.
Song ceded many of its prefectures to Jin and paid tribute annually.
With even its emperor announced by Jin, Song became a client state.
…
Now, ten years has passed. Despite the seemingly peaceful relations between Song and Jin, there have long been turbulent undercurrents in the world of Kung fu.
The martial arts world is full of chaos, with numerous heroes standing out. Among them, there are the Four Wonders overshadowing all the others, named ‘East Shu’, ‘West Bo’, ‘North Gu’ and ‘South Po’…
[Classic pixel-art RPG for Chinese Martial Arts]
This is an SFC/MD-styled-pixel-art game. In-game scenes were inspired by Song Dynasty’s ink painting style, this game depicts an original traditional Chinese martial arts story, which takes you back to 1990s, the golden years of classic RPG games.
[High level of freedom for exploration]
With reference to the real ancient river terrain, we designed a huge map containing Jingzhou, Xiaoxiang, Bashu, Jiangdong and the central plains. Countless sects scattered amoung the map, with ancient towns and labyrinths. There is no fixed route. Go wherever you want and explore the world at your own pace.
[Multiple story plots, routes and teammates to meet and experience]
Experience stories with over 10 thousand words in text. Meet with different people along the journey; prodigals, talents, officers or bandits. You can choose to enjoy and relax in this world with friends, or work hard to gain the ultimate power. Choices are up to you.
[Many sects for martial arts cultivation]
There will be Sects to enter and hundreds of scriptures to learn. Sword, broadsword, staff, fist, palm, finger, dagger, musical instrument… Each Sect would have its own strengths.
Different attributes may end up in forming completely different KungFu sets, withover a dozen martial arts routes for you to develop.
The free trial version is open, add to your wishlist if you like it!~ヽ(∀゜ )人( ゜∀)ノ
Feud
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From a quick look at the game, being a game developer myself, first of all I think the mechanics are really, really good for a game like this. They don’t look all that good at first glance, but are unbelievably fun to actually play.
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I think that in a way the game feels a lot worse than it is because of the UI, and I think a reskin would really improve the feel of the gameplay in general.
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An undo would be useful, but i think a confirm before moving might be a better option, especially as a small mistake can end the game. That way you get to see what will be caused by your actions.
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
Fun game! As the other reviews say, it is comparable to a much simpler version of chess.
The AI (even on hard) is pretty easy, though, and the only option for online multiplayer is 24-hours per turn, which makes it difficult, since player on player games can easily last 20+ turns. I’d recommend at least trying this game (it’s free!) and it’s even better if you have a friend to play it with (as there is a hotseat option).
If there were online, 1 minute turns, (and maybe a ranked system at some point), I think this game could really take off.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game