Customer Reviews

Excalibur NY22 The New York Times Deluxe Touch Screen Chess

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I endorse this product for intermediate players & below. This is not for people who are advanced chess players. The computer plays a decent game. As with all chess computers the more time you give it the better it will play. The features are terrific. It has a backlight & the chess pieces are easily recognizable. It will rate your play on tournament & sudden death play levels. It has a feature that lets you claim a victory,draw,or resign on those levels (no need to play an extra 10 or more moves). The battery life is good. It does not, however, have a ac input for a adapter. The analogy that I would use is the Deluxe Chess is to the Ivan II as the Gameboy was to the NES. Yes I have played stronger computer opponents, however, who wants to play chess against a Supercomputer. For the typical Chessplayer, this product is a gem.

This the best of all possible worlds for the average person. Right off the top it has a padded carrying case to protect the computer. It's a talking computer if you want it. Otherwise it has a display screen for it's tips and other game information.

It has more features than I want to detail. Best of all I could just sit down and play a game against the computer. All be it at the lowest of 136 levels of difficulty I have been having a lot of fun. And if I get bored I can bump it up a level or two of difficulty or try some of the other features.

The touch screen is so much better than moving pieces around. You can concentrate on having fun. The screen light is really important.

There is a hint button if you want to check out your next move or if you wonder what the next move should be. There is a repeat button if you missed the opponents last move which is easy to do. There is an undo button if you want to take a move back.

When you touch a piece the possible moves are indicated. If your move is really dumb they tell you and give you a chance to take it back. It's great for learners. I have no idea about advanced players, but the average player will be in chess heaven.

The price beats more expensive computers that have known problems. I am so happy I found it. It's the best chess computer I've seen.

We got this chess game for our little boy during our travels, and so far I must say we are very pleased with its performance. He is only four and a half, but is able to work it just fine, and enjoys the sound effects (horses, hooves, swords clanking, etc.). The game also talks, telling you the moves that are being made, and warns you if you want, when you "are in great danger", for example.

The batteries seem to last a long time, and I am confident that the game will grow with him as his chess skills improve. Of course we must be vigilant, because this is not really a toy for children, so falling on the floor would undoubtedly not be very advisable!

The only complaint about its design that I have so far is that they put the speakers in the back, so if you are holding the machine on a table or the bed, the voice and sound effects are muffled.

It is nice that the screen has an option to be backlit, in case of dim light.

plays chess ok, but screen is hard to read and the human interface doesn't work well unless the sound is enabled. Some of the info you want to know what's happening or what just happened is only available by sound. But the sound will annoy anyone around you, so it's not easy to play in most public locations. The only reason the small portable form factor is to play in public locations, so too bad.

the screen is very easy to see the pieces, the engine is very good. the one i ordered did not talk, the manufacture gave me no trouble in sending me another one.

This is a great little handheld chess computer for the $[...] that Amazon charges. I've seen this item listed for much more on other websites and if I paid more for it, I would have been upset and disappointed with the product.

It's relatively easy to use and the pieces are distinguishable which has been an issue with similar products in the past. It's quick and responsive too. The look and feel of the item is pleasant and comfortable so I enjoy taking it with me wherever I go. Though it is a little bulky, I think that's a part of its charm.

The voice feature is a waste. You can barely hear it since the speaker is pressed against the inside wall of the zipper linned pleather case which is a nice feature in itself.

I always need to use the light feature to get a good look at the screen. And it's a little difficult to figure out what program feature is what and if I even started it properly.

Also, it remembers everything between all the program features so you can always continue with where you left off.

Regardless, I do enjoy this product and that is important. I'm just glad I paid what I did for it.

I bought this thinking it was thinner than it is. It is about the thickness of a common paperback book (or portable laptop hard drive, but add 50%). The graphics are pedestrian, looking like something from an era gone by. Big pixels, and a little confusing. You play with a stylus. Other than that, it's pretty good. I'm no grand master so I can't say how it does at higher levels. It challenges me just fine and that's what I was after.

This is good value for the (...) I paid. I bought it for my kids to use on the plane on a long overseas flight, and it did the job very well.

The build quality is excellent. The packaging and case are very nice. The screen is not high-resolution but is not too bad. Turning the screen light on helps in a dim room (or on the plane). The machine is easy to use. Battery life is excellent.

This machine promotes your pawn automatically to a queen. If you want to promote the pawn to another piece, you have to go into setup and change the newly created queen to the piece you want.

I am not a beginner chess player, but I am not very strong either. I can beat this machine each and every time with it running up to 15 seconds per move. I haven't tried longer times for the machine, but I don't think its level will improve too much (actually, its level doesn't change much between 5 and 15 seconds per move). The playing strength is no match for a chess engine running on a PC. A small laptop (netbook) with a chess engine will play far stronger chess, but the system will cost at least 15 times as much as the NY22 and it won't run on AAA batteries!

All in all, within its scope and price, this is a nice little machine. Recommended.

I received this item quicker than expected, and was happy about that so I could take it with me on vacation. The only problem I have with this is item is a speck of dirt underneath the glass that I can't get rid of. Otherwise it is great. It plays well, didn't take long to figure out, has many options. It is larger than I thought, but that is okay since the pieces are larger and easier to see. Good product - fast delivery.

Convenient chess game to carry on the road. Pragram level is Ok for beginner and intermediate players. The software has some defects. You may lose the cabability to castle if you don't castle after a few moves at the beginning. You may lose a piece on the board when you try to move it. Then you have to use the sepup function to add back the piece that dissappeared. Good on battery.