By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
November 2002

Game Overview

Tivola, the supreme children's software distributor, announces their newest game, and their new agreement with Viva Media, with this super game for children interested in learning how to play chess. Now for the first time, parents have a wonderful software addition that will exactly meet their needs
for a chess tutor program that is directly made for children.

As many readers likely know, children's software programs that are supposedly created to simulate reality, or offer experiential, interactive learning, many times fail to make the grade. However, as any computer owner familiar with the award-winning lineup of software from Tivola know, you can always depend on Tivola for top quality programs, regardless the targeted age group.

In the special case of chess tutor programs, most readers are probably familiar with various of these programs that target adults, but finding such a program created at the level of children has till now been a problem. With Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster you now have exactly what you want if you are interested in helping children learn to play chess.

What always stymies any computer software creator with a desire to create a program on learning to play chess is of course the inherent complexity of the game, something that just naturally makes for an added challenge if you want to help children learn to play chess by working with a computer program.  Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster scores a bulls-eye in its marvelously playful approach to a chess tutorial that will appeal to all children, as well as adults new to the game of chess.

Despite the fun you will have, the game is of course built on serious matters, namely how to play chess and all the subtle, powerful aspects that accompany playing this highly intellectual game. The "brain" in the game is the well known Fritz chess engine, used by grandmasters to train for tournaments. Tivola has managed to introduce Fritz as an animated little boy whose character is designed as a worrisome sort in Harry Potter-like spectacles who has to learn chess and learn it fast.

Fritz's father, King White, goes off on a holiday and leaves his son Fritz in charge. Standing in for Queen White is Fritz's cousin Bianca, a red-haired know-it-all in go-go boots. Bianca thinks Fritz's situation is a lark, while Fritz sees his newly elevated role as "half good to almost bad."

Soon enough, Fritz's fears are justified when King Black visits him and challenges Fritz to a duel. King White and King Black have to battle it out, but in this case by playing chess, the game of kings.

Players take command of the action and point-and-click fearful Fritz and bold Bianca on their way to the dueling arena. The odd couple soon runs into a colorful character, King Kaleidoscope, who suggests some brain training for Fritz at the Intelligym.

The duo travels through a whimsical, storybook landscape where kids encounter odd characters, such as the arachnophobic tightwad Tremblina Saveapenny, and engage in amusing activities like smashing toilets.

You play seven (7) fun games on your way to the gym. All are fun to play, but each game introduces a basic chess rule, move, strategy, or principle. For example, the Sumo wrestling game demonstrates a face-off between kings, while the horse jumping over hurdles game shows how the knight moves. These very clever, very fun games indicate that Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster can be played by any child, including those who have never before played the game. In addition, adults who have never played chess will also get a kick out of learning the basics of chess by playing this great game.

Once you reach the gym, you meet Chesster, a red-nosed rat in pink boxers who acts as a personal trainer. Clicking on items around the gym, kids will discover mental muscle-builders in the form of 15 chess lessons, each followed by a training exercise on an interactive chess board.

Early in the game, you interact with narrated, animated lessons that cover the movement of each chess piece, its particular strengths and weaknesses, related rules of the game, and how the piece can be used to achieve the desired goal -- checkmate. Later lessons cover more complex aspects of chess, such as castling, cornering the king with a pair of rooks (the "up the stairs mate"), and other strategies.

Players can practice one move in many different situations and variations. If they don't get it right, the software lets them know in a pleasant, British-accented voice, and shows not only where they went wrong, but why and how to do better next time. The game also recognizes when they get it right and are ready to move on. Even when learning chess in real life, this kind of instruction can only happen when you have your own personal chess tutor and lots of spare time.

As kids work through the game and complete their repetitions with the game's tutorials, they can advance from the lightweight room to the middleweight room, and finally the heavyweight room, when they are ready to do battle with King Black.

As readers may suspect, learning chess with any particular approach is not an easy task, and once you get the basics of the different pieces and their movements, you have learned merely the beginnings of this ancient, powerful game. Learning chess takes time, patience, and practice, along with discipline and determination. Hence, Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster is not going to magically result in hundreds of 8-year old chess masters. However, playing the game will provide you with hours and hours of fun as you learn to play chess.

Playchess.com

Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster comes with a one-year subscription to playchess.com, where kids can find human opponents, perhaps more worthy, or less taxing, than King Black.

Game Play

You move the characters and interact with the screen by using the mouse.

Age Group

The game box states the game is relevant for ages from 8 to 102, and I think the game is a super choice for a CD ROM approach to a chess tutor. Adults will also likely have a great deal of fun learning to play chess with this marvelous game.

Educational Value

Obviously, the most significant educational value of the game is its tutoring in learning how to play chess. While many may think that learning chess can be tedious and difficult, in this game children will have a ton of fun as they learn the basics of chess. Once they have worked through the game, which should present hours and hours of fun, they can of course move on to the higher level of playing chess. Any parent who desires their children learn to play chess now has the right computer software to help them in this endeavor.

Targeted Customers

TIVOLA's marvelous game Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster is targeted to the age group 8 to 102. While the youngest 8-year olds may indeed have fun with this game, because they are learning to play chess it will be a more likely success the more serious the player is about learning the game. Older children should also find this game a super tool to use in their initial learning steps.

Again, Tivola presents a title that provides super value to public libraries as a wonderful title to be added to their collection. The game could be made available on workstations for children and their parents to play, or it could represent a super tool for use in Little Bookwork programs designed around the topic of learning to play chess.

Price

$29.99 (super bargain!)
$39.99 (Canada)

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

Windows
P-II 233 MHz
32MB RAM (16MB free RAM)
Win 95, 98, ME, XP
16-bit soundblaster compatible sound card
16x CD ROM drive
SVGA graphics card - 800 x 600, 16-bit color
Speakers

Installation and Setup

The game should install and set up with no problems. You do need the game disc in the CD ROM drive to play the game.

About Viva Media, LLC

Viva Media, LLC, is a privately held New York company dedicated to publishing a wide array of interactive content of the highest standards. The company's collection of more than 40 multimedia titles tout more than 30 awards for excellence in publishing. Viva Media features the award winning line of Tivola Publishing. CD ROM games and the Viva range of titles include Viva Chess, Viva Adventure, and Viva Reference.

About TIVOLA Publishing

TIVOLA Publishing, now a part of Viva Media, LLC, creates and publishes a wide range of award-winning multimedia products designed to open up a world of interactive fun and learning to children and young people. The German based company has offices in New York, London, and Berlin, and produces a wide range of innovative interactive CD ROMs that stimulate a child's curiosity, while encouraging smart play. In 1995, TIVOLA published its first title, and has developed six distinct categories of software.

These include Play and Learn, The World Around Us, Quest for Knowledge, Stories and Adventures, Crimes and Clues, and Games for Fun. The company has a commitment to producing high-quality, multilingual CD ROMs that tell exciting, entertaining stories through beautiful graphics, witty animation and original games. TIVOLA titles are currently in more than 49 countries worldwide.

TIVOLA began in 1995, when founding partners, Karsten Voelker, Mil Thierig, and Barbara Landbeck founded the Berlin office to fill the need for original CD ROM games that are clever but also promote learning. In 2000, TIVOLA was named "Company of the Year" by the Berlin Association of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs, who recognized the company's fast development into an internationally successful multimedia company with an innovative brand building strategy.

The TIVOLA UK offices opened in 1998, and with the launch of 10 new titles in 2001, the company continues to grow in the UK children's software publishing market. The TIVOLA US offices opened in 1999, and the company signed a contract with the Navarre Corporation to distribute their products in the US and Canada. 

The company develops books and story games on CD ROM, and all titles are simultaneously produced in English so that they can be understood by potential international licensees. The software is also produced for the PC and the Apple platform.

TIVOLA also buys and sells license for different products. For these purposes, the company has developed optimal localization standards. With this new system, TIVOLA titles are obtainable in countries all over the world.

The TIVOLA line of CD ROM programs are products parents can depend on to provide a fun and educational computer experience for their children. Teachers can also feel secure in integrating the educational lineup of TIVOLA products into their curriculum, especially those teaching entry level classes. TIVOLA's series of learning CD ROMs for children that include the many Oscar the Balloonist titles, the many Max adventures, the super Chemicus science-based program, and of course The Little Prince, all assure a solid worthwhile computer experience for all ages, especially young learners.

With the worldwide notoriety of TIVOLA products, the company has also ventured into a new online interactive arena. Companies can now rent online games from TIVOLA to make available at their Web site for their own customers. This new portfolio of online games for rent expands still further the success of the company.

Recent news has also revealed that TIVOLA has been granted worldwide licensing rights to develop and publish educational discovery games based on the legendary comic strip icon, PEANUTS, through United Media. The most widely syndicated comic strip in history, PEANUTS reaches over 350 million readers in 75 countries, appealing to adults as well as children. The first TIVOLA PEANUTS CD ROM will be introduced at the 2002 Toy Fair, and will combine PEANUTS humor with the suspense of a discovery game. As would be expected from any TIVOLA title, the game will integrate educational elements into the distinctive humor of the PEANUTS world. 

Contact Information

Linda Weal, Media Coordinator
Tivola Publishing
580 Broadway, Suite 604
New York, NY 10012
212-431-4420, ext. 201
212-431-4420
FAX 212-431-4537
linda@tivola.com
mail@tivola.com
www.tivola.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.