Fritz&Chesster  - Learn to Play Chess

Fritz&Chesster - Learn to Play Chess

ChessBase GmbH · 2023 · Adventure, Strategy, Board Game, Education, Family Friendly

PC
Mixed55% · 11
Best price
$29.99
lowest tracked $20.99
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Standard Edition · Steam
$29.99
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About Fritz&Chesster - Learn to Play Chess

Fritz & Chesster - Learn to play chess - For children age 6 and up!

This makes learning chess fun for children!


Together with Prince Fritz and his cheeky cousin Bianca, children learn all the rules of chess in interactive practice modules, i.e., the moves of the pieces, capturing, checkmates; and more in-depth knowledge: What is stalemate and what is a draw? What does opposition mean? And what does stair-mate mean? In animated exercises, these and many other tips and tricks about chess are practiced step by step, followed by exciting tasks and games. Those who have trained enough at the end can compete with Fritz in the grand finale against King Black. Everything is presented in a fast-paced way, with witty, intelligent dialogue.

This is what Fritz & Chesster offers:

  • Developed by Björn Lengwenus and Jörg Hilbert
  • Based on many years of instructional experience in children's and youth chess training
  • 6 games to learn how the pieces move
  • 12 chess training modules (interactive chess exercises with explanations)
  • Chessometer and trophy case: feedback on training success
  • Slot machine - games with fewer pieces.
  • Chess Arena: play chess against three opponents of differing playing strengths
  • Fritz AI controls interactive exercises, playing out positions and games.
  • Detailed, intelligent and witty explanations and dialogues - with no dull bits! The advantage being that younger children don't even have to be able to read yet!
  • Translated into 12 languages - winner of multiple international awards!
  • First published in 2002! The classic in children's chess!

The story

Prinz Fritz has just taken over the castle from his father, King White, when he receives a challenge to a chess duel from the dreaded King Black. Too bad Fritz doesn't know anything about chess! But together with his quick-witted cousin Bianca, he takes up the challenge - after all, the honour of the royal house is at stake.

On the road with King Kaleidoscope

So it begins. Fritz and Bianca set off for the chess arena where the duel is to take place. On their way, they meet King Kaleidoscope, an old friend of the family. Of course, the noble gentleman is happy to assist them in their difficult challenge.

The Peasant Pawns of Pleasantville´

With the help of a series of games with such melodious names as "Smash the toilet bowls" or "The Peasant Pawns of Pleasantville", he subtly teaches them how the individual chess pieces move. All of this is done without a chessboard - so the children don't realise that this is already a game of chess.

Gym for brain-training

After this playful introduction, it's off to the gym for brain exercises. Here, under the guidance of Chesster, the channel rat, it's time to train your brains: the virtual chess board is used for training: showing not only the movement of the pieces with all the special rules, but also the tactical advantages of the individual chess pieces: what's the point of knowing how the rook moves if you don't then learn how to use it to checkmate your opponent? Tricky questions like "What is stalemate?" or "Why do you need the opposition?" are answered in a way that is as original as it is amazingly simple.

Stair mate: how do I checkmate quickly with 2 rooks? 

For each learning section there is an exercise database with training positions, accompanied by the tireless chess trainer, Chesster. The action-oriented exercises build on the ones before, and in the truest sense, teach chess step-by-step in a playful and interactive way.

Boxing In

What is the fastest way to checkmate the king with a rook?

The Capture Game!

Chess training for quick thinkers! Here you have to quickly see which pieces you can capture!

Chessometer

Each successfully completed unit is rewarded with a trophy. And if you want to find out how much brainpower you have already acquired, you can have your own brainpower measured by chess trainer Chesster on his chessometer. Only if you have mastered all the exercises, you will get to the next training room.

Duel against King Black

When all the training sessions in light, middle and heavyweight have been completed, the big moment has come: In the chess arena: the final duel against the nasty King Black. Now it's time to play with focus and determination against your most dangerous opponent. This is where you can see whether you have already become a little strategist, a great tactician, or both! With a little luck and a lot of skill, you will succeed in defending the honour of your own royal house.

Train without end

After the duel with King Black, the adventure is over, but not the fun of playing chess: you can challenge King Kaleidoscope or King Black to a new game at any time or even play against Chesster - and choose the difficulty level of the opponent yourself. Those who wish to train further can do so. 500 tasks and a number of exercises are dynamically generated. And one or two chess fanatics may even be tempted to crack the high score in - picking flowers or - chasing gold coins in the spider tower. Chess fun without end, right from the start. You will hardly find a better gift idea for your children, godchildren, nephews and nieces.

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Players praise the game's charming art style and characters, and consider it a solid educational introduction to chess for young children. However, most agree the $30 price tag is steep for a short game (1-2 hours) with limited substance beyond basic tutorials, and some report ongoing server issues that developers haven't addressed even after a year; players suggest bundling all three volumes at a lower price point would be more reasonable.

Not recommended Jun 1, 2023
These games (especially volumes 2 and 3) were a huge part of my childhood and I am glad to see them on steam. But $30 for a simplistic game that's more then a decade old and still has some bugs feels like a rip off. I would pay $30 for the full set on nostalgia alone but not for one game. Especially when it is the worst of the 3. I think either release all 3 volumes in one for a affordable price for new players ($30 for all three) or if you can remake them with the same charm then do that and justify the price. As I said, I love these games. They are a charming and fun way for kids to learn and grow as chess players. If you are a parent with young kids and can afford them I would still recommend picking up the 2nd and 3rd for your youngster (not the first for that price) if they come out.
79 found this helpful
Recommended Aug 5, 2023
Charming art and characters. A good introduction to chess for kids. Maybe not worth $30 for nostalgia since it only takes an hour or two to finish.
13 found this helpful
Not recommended Jul 13, 2026
The game has a server problem. On my steam comunity post, people still writing, that they still have this problem. Even after like a year. This game need to be taken off of steam. Ceators doesn't seem to care.
1 found this helpful
Recommended May 15, 2026
Adorable, but it's designed for very small children, so bear that in mind. There's not much of a "game" here. It's a series of short chess tutorials, then a match with special rules (using a point buy system), and then a single match against a chess bot. It's very cute, but it doesn't have a ton of substance. Plus, although the screenshots are from the original 2003 version of the game, all the textures in this version are cleaned up, the characters look a bit wall-eyed, and the voice acting for the lead actors is now MUCH more British. I think I prefer the messy painterly visual style of the original CD-ROM game, but it's not that much of a downgrade. Also, elaborating on the voice acting a bit: Fritz, Bianca, and King Kaleidoscope all have new voice actors, but King Black, Chesster, and the King and Queen still use their old voices. It's a bit scuffed, but the voice work is still quite charming. Lastly, the price feels a bit steep for what you're getting, but all things considered, it's probably cheaper than buying an external CD Drive and finding the original on Ebay. I won't make too much of a stink about it. All in all, it's a nice time capsule of the older days of edutain…
1 found this helpful

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