In other words, this one isn't so good. Simple Checkers, of course, won the game. But don't expect to improve your skills. Registration is outrageous at $49. This little known but still currently marketed program very nearly won a 'Don't Waste Your Time' award because of the terrible display, interface quirks, and uninspired play, but it has some nice redeeming features which saved it from this terrible fate. (The French interface is actually best because some of the English translations aren't so great.). The opening book is adequate (I imagine it is based on limited published play; it has that feel), the game's tactics are strong, the move searches are good, and the positional play is fair enough. The program is one of those typical material conscious things: attack a man where you can, defend where you can, and look for simple shots. It plays a fair game, and no more than that. No features, but then nothing is claimed in this regard. There are multiple types of boards and pieces available, but not in the shareware version. It is a typical 'tactics only' player; it will find some shots and combinations, and avoid some, but not a lot else. And, for some reason, White moves first. Positional play, as is typical with engines of this type, is not the strongest point. XCheckers works with the Simple Checkers game engine (and recently also with Cake++), which is reviewed below. I gave PC two seconds per move and I set Palm to level 9. It is certainly stronger than Simple Checkers. Fortunately, the game is now abandonware and thus takes some effort to find, sparing you this experience. Atmosphere, I guess, but it doesn't seem to have a lot to do with checkers. Overall: Combining all tangible and intangible factors, how does the program stack up? The graphic presentation is average, with red and black pieces on a dark blue and grey board. Cake will run with Sage, for instance.) You can fiddle with the move evaluation parameters, too. ; 4. I thought I had finally found the right game for the Palm. And now, with Cake++ available, you can get an excellent game on the Linux platform. It plays a better game than you might expect, even on tight time limits. There are nine levels of playing strength, as in the standard source code version of Simple Checkers. You can safely assume that there are neither. The author claims only 'average' play for the English checkers mode; I think it's a lot less than average, though. It played a reasonable game with Simple Checkers, getting a draw twice in the two games I tried. It is a rather strong program. Despite the comments made in the supporting material provided with the game, the neural net approach doesn't seem to make it in checkers. Wait--- did I say no skills? Leave feedback or visit the forums! CheckerBoard base package and add-ons by … Next Chess Move Drag pieces to configure the board and press Calculate next move.I'll tell you what the computer player does. There's a contrast control which helps. I'll bet you've never heard of this little item. Consider that the subtitle of the package is 'Checkers With An Attitude.'. A Class B program is a strong player, and is one that is able to defeat Martin Fierz' Simple Checkers (q.v. It would not run on any of my machines until I installed a patch; be sure you do the same. I was not able to evaluate self-learning mode. You can move back and forth with move and game review functions, something I wouldn't have expected. Rating Parameters. It runs both Simple Checkers and Cake++ and represents a substantial improvement over the XCheckers interface, though if you are not running the Gnome desktop it won't be an option for you. Features are reasonable. (Note that there is also a Pocket PC version for $5.95, which is not the subject of this review.). Endgame Database: None with Simple Checkers; Chinook 4-piece with Cake++. You can view an animated, commented version here. (Exception: if a program plays multiple variants, including checkers, the program will be evaluated but just for the checkers component.). In an ending of one king vs. one king, where the program had the move on the lone king, far from the double corner, it couldn't figure out what to do in a case that required the barest of look-ahead. This is an entertaining little item. Wincheck comes in 3 versions: shareware, registered, and 'analysis.' If you want a program that plays a world class game, is full of useful features, and is inexpensive (free, in fact) use the Cake Manchester or KingsRow engine with CheckerBoard. In a situation with five kings against one, with the lone king in the double corner, this program could not get a win. Well, none that I can think of; there are better games for kids, even, than this one. First, the 3D scrolling on my 2Ghz Pentium with high-end video card was unbelievably slow, choppy, and erratic, to the point of near unusability. There are really three types of checker-playing programs out there: the really serious, the pretentious, and the trivial. Overall: Very good for what it is and plays a strong game. In the game based on 2 second think times, Maverick Checkers put up a good fight until towards the end. Checkers Pro has the strongest AI engine of any Windows Phone or Windows 8 checkers – it *will* challenge advanced players. CheckerBoard has one of the most plain displays of the lot. It plays a fair game of American/British checkers when set at a high enough level. The greatest weakness of the program, besides unpredictable results in endgames (couldn't win four kings against two) is failure to use time properly. The authors make no unsubstantiated claims for this work in progress (as of January 2004, the latest release number is 0.4). CheckerBoard version 1.75e install for 64-bit Windows (updated 1/12/2020) For programmers, the CheckerBoardsource code is available at GitHub. There is no move list, analysis, etc., but then again, this is a small and unpretentious item that just happens to play a fine game of checkers. Chinook is the strongest checkers program around today, and is regarded as being of strong master or grandmaster strength. Or, making a nondescript move, she whispered conspiratorily, 'It's part of my plan.'. It has the advantage of running on any computer that supports Java, and will run locally in your web browser. You can set up positions, take back moves, and work from a well-formatted move list. You are completely at liberty to ignore my opinions! It didn't add up. Plus 700 bills itself as a 'self-learning' program. Other Checkers Java Applets: Maverick Checkers easily defeated all the other checkers applets I matched it against. I've yet to figure this out completely. There is sort of a bug (feature?) But you have no way at all of knowing. (There may be a more recent version available.). Uh... no such thing. So, should you spend the $5 the author asks for this program? This is a cute little item that, if set at a high enough level, will play about as well as Zillions of Games. All times are exact. Overall, again, this is better offering than I ever would have expected, but still, it does not play very well. There is another way to alter playing strength, though. And that alone is a major merit. Simple Checkers, which makes no claims or pretenses, will outplay anything in Classes D and F, including some that really put on airs. Sage will use the Chinook 6-piece end game data base as well (although it seems up to you to be sure it's installed). Less importantly, does it have an attractive appearance? But this all overstates the merits of the program as a checker engine. Recently XCheckers has been made to work with the Cake++ engine, an ancestor of Cake Manchester and earlier versions in the Martin Fierz Cake series (e.g. This, folks, is checkers for amusement, California-style, and not for serious competition - although at the expert level Blondie24 is going to defeat most casual human players. There of course are the usual problems with endgame play, and some odd ideas about opening moves. Accessily. I review as many as I can, but I can't possibly buy and review them all, and in recent months (fall 2005 onward) I've not been trying to keep up with the all-too-numerous new releases of unworthy dreck. Disclaimer: the ratings and comments given here are my own. They could have at least surveyed the market. It is so easy for a lowly player such as I to defeat, there is little point, except as something to introduce children to checkers (of which more below). Now, the marketing. It plays much better than Pocket Checkers, but if you're looking for master level playing machine, this is not it. Only 8x8 American/English checkers/draughts is considered. There are a total of 10 levels; I went back to level 4, which is marked hard, and found that it plays fairly quickly, if not very well. Learn from my experience and avoid contaminating your hard drive with this miserable product. I can't imagine why they would have limited this feature in the checkers mode.). For some reason, I find this game completely charming. That is not at all to say that it plays particularly well. The only interface feature that I would like to see added is a separate window or panel showing the game moves. You can play on-line or, as we are interested in here, download and play on your own computer. You couldn’t possibly defeat a game programmed and perfected for several years. You've got to give an 'A' for originality, and quite a bit of time, effort, and expense surely went into this. Please note that all programs reviewed are tested on the Windows XP operating system unless explicitly stated otherwise (there are a couple of old MS-DOS programs and a couple of Linux programs). Some older programs fall here as well; they were at one time in better standing but have either fallen behind or were not developed further. At the highest level, I ran out of patience on the first move on my 2GHz Pentium. It's a quick download and a nice little program with a simple but adequate display and drag and drop interface. The major feature of this program is its ability to play numerous varieties, such as international, Russian, Pool, Canadian, and others. This is another world-class engine, and based on the competition version, at the moment likely the world's best, if by a narrow margin. Like many older, smaller programs, it plays a good tactical game. Overall: Too much trouble for too little reward. Result? This, folks, is the program mentioned above, under Simple Checkers, which will get a king and then endlessly shuttle it back and forth between the seventh and eighth ranks, which is pretty rank. You will have both the worthiest of opponents, a fine analysis engine, and an unmatched set of features. With few exceptions, these are a complete waste of time and money; again, sadly, some make completely unjustified claims and pretenses. Are you still with me? This is a $10 shareware program and it should be avoided. No opening book or endgame database. NOTE: Much newer versions are available; I have not reviewed them as yet. Chinook did not learn rules, it enumerated all possibilities! Simple Checkers is a surprise and a treat. It's a great toy for someone like myself, but I'm not sure that checker experts would enjoy it. There are a few different display options, but no way to get a top-down view. That said, the program is at present a fairly weak player and will not provide a lot of serious competition, at least at a reasonable play speed. The display is nice enough, with charcoal and white squares and white and maroon pieces with a slight but attractive 3-D effect. Capers is a relatively new engine interface for Linux systems running the Gnome desktop. If this all sounds awkward, well, it is. On the shareware exit screen, we are told 'Now that you see how beautifully it plays, order the full version and be able to play the computer' or similar words. It can be difficult to install if you don't have the right version of Qt already installed. I don't consider programs that you can play against on-line. Against Simple Checkers, this program seems to move at random until the game is over, and, of course, lost. There are some basic rules: a cramp on the enemy is good, a king in the center is good, etc. If you are evaluating this game, be careful, as the evaluation copy runs just once! Generally speaking, these modules play pretty poorly. Loses to Simple Checkers but puts up a good battle. His research is focused on software performance and data engineering. This means that some world-class programs such as WCC Platinum, Colossus, Nemesis, and Wyllie are unfortunately not yet evaluated. I don’t know of any high-profile checkers streamers. I'm only looking at software that you can download, buy, or obtain somehow to run on your own computer, without connecting to the outside world. I have tried to review the latest versions of each game, but in some cases I may have reviewed an older version. Footnote:I contacted the authors about Zillions. There are several analysis modes and a number of otehr features, but the documentation is mostly non-existent so learning how to use these features is difficult or impossible. Most of the other programs, though, lose to Simple Checkers long before this stage. Your own evaluation will vary. The overall effect is very good indeed, and would be fabulous if the colors weren't terrible. I tried it out at the medium level, and was able to win pretty easily. This is not at all a bad level of play, but it is not on a par with the better entries in the higher classes. Music and sound are also a part of the package. I put this one in the 'don't bother' category because, frankly, using it is quite a bother. I went back and tried the beginner level, and curiously enough (or maybe not so curiously) the beginner and medium level of play seemed about as good (or about as bad); I couldn't really see any difference. This one is another proof of concept, but doesn't have the playing strength of Martin Fierz's Simple Checkers, and lacks much of a set of evaluation rules. The whole series would be about $1,000 US or so. In my own practice play, I often alternate between Sage and KingsRow. But I digress. The program claims to be a strong opponent on the highest level (there are 9 levels of, uh, expertise). Update: the author is currently (March 2006) working on a beta of a Windows version that is very promising and is orders of magnitude better than the old DOS version. But you can't have it both ways. However, we have a Wizard-of-Oz effect here: once you see how they have beaten the game, you realize it depends fundamentally on extreme brute force. This is an interesting feature, which has both charm and value. This function computes a numeric score for a game position based on a number of material and positional features.