Zen Chess: Mate in Four

Contrary to preceding games in 'Zen Chess: Mate in N' series, Mate in 4 is no longer a casual game because planning moves ahead takes too much time and trying to complete the game in a shorter amount of time can get very annoying. The description of this game is misleading. There are 100 puzzles, not 300 puzzles.

The final installation in the Zen Chess series promises to be the most complex, having to think 4 moves ahead - however, also, it is the weakest, and not quite unexpectedly. To the forefront comes the problem of Mi2 and Mi3 - the game is a puzzle game with a chess skin, and not a chess game. The game doesn't counter your moves, it just reacts like an automaton - if you make the right move, then it makes its (pre-baked) countermove, if you make the wrong move, it just resets the puzzle. It was sort of OK for 2 moves, annoying but bearable for 3 moves, and really disappointing for 4 moves. In addition, the puzzles are markedly weaker than in the previous games. Having done the first 50 (which should be all, but then there are more?), these puzzles are 90% about check, check, check - there are hardly any where you need to find a clever setup move which leaves black with its pants down. The counter-moves the computer player makes are also sometimes suspicious - I'm not saying they are wrong, but they do look silly, like moving away from the attacking undefended queen instead of taking it. The game kept the nice interface of its predecessors, but that's hardly something difficult to do …

Beautiful game, it's flawless. Lovely visuals, music, and very fun to play, and of course it's challenging. You can customise the way everything looks.

'Zen Chess: Mate in Four' is a minimalist chess puzzle game featuring a beautifully designed chess board and pieces, an original soundtrack specially composed to help you keep your focus and concentration, 100 puzzles, and 10 achievements. Completing the game and unlocking all achievements took me approximately 25 minutes, making it possible to accomplish everything in a single sitting. With a convenient save feature, players can easily resume their progress or start anew, and the game offers unlimited time to reach your goal of solving the 100 mate-in-four puzzles. I would rate its difficulty at 1/10 if you are not a beginner in chess, or 6/10 if you aim to finish the game without any mistakes. If you are a chess enthusiast and have already played 'Zen Chess: Mate in One', 'Zen Chess: Mate in Two' and 'Zen Chess: Mate in Three' (which can also be found on Steam), then you also need to play 'Zen Chess: Mate in Four'. The game presents you with 100 carefully selected mate-in-three puzzles that are both challenging and satisfying to solve. Each puzzle is a unique test of your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, making it a perfect way to sharpen your chess abilities. It a…

For all chess lovers, this is right puzzle for you.

Whole series is the same. Decent puzzles marred by a clunky UI. No option to play windowed. Only saves half of your audio preferences (except Mate In One). Only offer about an hour of puzzles each. All feels a bit pointless when there's decent free chess resources all over the web.