Not Chess Reviews

As everyone has said, levels are very easy. Even the newly added “very hard” ones. There are multiple solutions to many of the levels, but it will not let you solve it unless you find their solution, this is quite frustrating and should be fixed. Also I cannot pass the first level of easy because the game keeps freezing, so I only completed the other difficulty levels. All in all definitely not worth the price for the little amount of buggy content. Fix the bugs and add more levels or drop the price, it is a good idea with poor and rushed execution.

I would like to support independent developers, and it no doubt takes a lot of effort to create something original.
While the game may not be Chess, the pieces look and move as they do in Chess.
Only difference I can see is that there is no opponent, so individual play works, you only have a few pieces, and you seek to land on a square containing the coin.
I’m not a great Chess player, and even on easy levels sorry to say, I’d get stumped after unsuccessfully trying numerous possibilities.
The frustration of not landing on the coin outweighed the satisfaction of solving it for me.
I suppose that’s what a challenge is about. Perhaps if there were hints, or a solution revealed, I might learn to like it better.

Game is too easy and still needs work. I spent 10 mins and completed the whole game. Even though I changed a setting and it restarted my progress. I don’t make much money so this game was really a ripofff it should be free and have ads. I even beat almost all levels with an extra move it’s basically mindless but I still had a little fun. Will update on new harder mode said to be released soon.

Nice concept with some fun brain teasers, but a bit too easy overall, even with the hardest difficulty. If you can beat stockfish level 1, you can beat this game easily. In addition, the animations seemed far too slow (it takes 4 seconds for you to restart a puzzle??) and a few of the colors were visually distracting. Overall not bad, just wouldn’t pay money for it

The puzzle game lacks a challenging experience, half or more of the hard levels were able to be completed within 30 to 45 seconds using 1 less move then was given.
It is a very interesting twist on puzzle games and if there were more then 75 levels and more difficult levels I would recommend this game. The lack of music is very disappointing the trailer music would have added a relaxing tone and a sound when taking pieces would have greatly added to the experience.

Really like the look of it and it’s a fun chess alternative. The sound effects don’t seem to be workin on it and the background music goes in and out. Would be nice if there was an option to ply actual chess on it as well.

I’m not a puzzle junkie but I was still able to solve all 100 levels in less than one day. I did not find that they became appreciatively harder as I progressed. One needs to be aware and of how chess pieces move.

Although a bit too easy. And why does it take me out to the level select screen after each level?!?! Please just have it move on the the next level after you beat one.

Most of them, even the supposedly hardest ones, have multiple solutions and can be easily solved with less than the moves allowed. (Imagine a mate-in-5 problem where it takes you a few seconds to find a mate in four.)

Was a bit hesitant at first cause i’m not good at chess but i enjoy it a lot! Just can be a bit glitchy, after hitting button to go to next level it just sits there for 15-30 seconds, and sometimes the highlighted squares of where you can go aren’t there, but if you refresh it fixes it. Other then those i really like this game :)

The puzzle idea is great and i think it may help people who has little knowledge regards chess familiarize how each piece moves.
However, the difficulty level is not progressing as it states in game, and overall not challenging enough.
Like the graphic and music, but imo some background colors are too bright, more contrast between the pieces and the background maybe easier for audience eyes.

there are no down sides. I just wanted to have a click bait title for my honest review. Lol.

This game is exactly what its dev says it is. A puzzler using chess piece rules. It is Not Chess. I am a chess player and don’t see why other chess players think it is Chess if the title literally says Not Chess and the description mentions it too.

Anyhow, the dev fixed critical bugs with the game rather fast after seeing the bugged reviews. The game is a quick pick me up rounds with small brain teasers that I seem to be enjoying. The developer is still adding more stages which is fantastic.

Recommend from me if you like puzzle games.

Knowing how each chess piece moves is the easy part. Using these moves to solve puzzles is what makes this game so fun. With 4 different level difficulties, packed with tons of levels per difficulty, this game will keep you solving puzzle by puzzle, anxious to complete the next challenge that awaits you. Many levels are relatively simple, requiring few moves to think through and complete, while others are more complicated, making you have to think several steps ahead in order to succeed through the level. The developer also doesn’t collect any data, which is a nice addition to this already amazing Not Chess game. Overall, this game makes its wonderful visuals, gameplay, and privacy definitely worth the purchase.

Anyone who loves chess must love this game. I wish that after you complete a level it takes you straight to the next level without the level select screen bouncing up and down, it’s a slightly jarring experience and reduces enjoyment.

This is an amazing game. Some of the puzzles needed to be play tested, as many have unintended solutions. I found 5 completely different solutions to puzzle 40 with different piece captures including one in 4 moves (out of 5), highly inconsistent with the difficulty of the other medium puzzles. There should also be a way to proceed to the next level after completing the previous one, as the forced return to the menu feels clunky and is inconsistent with the mood of the game. I know a game with promise when I see one; this game has great potential and is already very enjoyable to play.

There are plenty of levels, difficulty ramps up nicely, and there are enough chess moves to satisfy those who enjoy classic game.

I do wish the pieces were easier to distinguish, but an enjoyable puzzle game.

Yes, the puzzles are a bit easy and there are not a lot of them - but this game just came out and I can already see the promise that an active dev will bring. If given the choice between taking the chess puzzles which exist and playing them over the board or in NotChess in this style I choose to play them here. This is a very strong start and the one thing which is holding this back - difficult content beyond level 75 - can be added by a good developer in short order. I highly recommend this game, both because of the look/feel but also because of the potential. Play some of their other games, you’ll see what I mean. Thanks for bringing us a chess game!

It’s definitely a fun twist to chess. Some are easy and some are a little more difficult. Needs more levels! Adding puzzles with 10 steps instead of 4 or 5 steps.

You’ve set very good groundwork, the concept, the look, the mechanics, etc... but it requires waaaay more engagement. Whether that’s more challenging levels, a speed requirement, point system, or in game rewards. Really great idea just very under developed.

This is really an excellent game and a lot of fun to solve these puzzles. I have never seen one like it before, and for that I applaud the developer for his creativity and the uniqueness of this game. If you know how to play chess already, then it should make it easier to play through these puzzles, but it certainly is not a requirement since NotChess shows you possible moves for each piece that you’re playing with. Here are a couple of suggestions that I think will make the game better: 1) A large number of puzzles in this game can be solved in fewer moves than you are allowed to make moves. This is okay for the easy and the medium level, however for hard and very hard levels the players should be given only the fewest number of moves possible to solve that puzzle in order to actually make it hard or very hard. Because of this I was able to go through the hundred puzzles in a relatively short period of time and wishing there were more puzzles to solve. 2) please keep adding puzzles regularly to keep the players interested to keep coming back. Thank you.