To Wendy’s point about Fischer being harder to get to the top of the mental track - it seems super thematic. But not because Fischer was younger or less experienced (it was pretty clear he was the strongest player in the world by some margin and he had a lot of confidence in his chess ability), but rather the dude was psychologically fragile whereas Spassky was pretty loose and unflappable. Fischer was very particular about conditions of this match and often made either unreasonable demands or demanding minor details such as which pieces and chessboard had to be used, among other things, and threatened to not participate if his demands weren’t met. In the actual match vs. Spassky he was late to Game 1 and the game was a pretty clear draw but he made an out-of-character blunder (perhaps two) and lost, then he forfeited Game 2 because he made more demands regarding removing all the cameras and some spectator seating because they were too disruptive, and he refused to play until it was fixed. Ultimately he did win the match fairly comfortably and became the world chess champion but he declined to defend his title a few years later again over arguments about tournament structure and match conditions despite attempts from FIDE to reasonably accommodate him. He effectively quit chess after that and became a recluse despite being by far the best player at the time and still arguably top 3 of all time in terms of peak relative strength vs. other top players. His story is pretty interesting and his mental health really devolved in his later years as he lived in exile, seemingly becoming increasingly antisemitic and going as far as to celebrate the 9/11 attacks on America. Anyways, this game looks right up my alley. I love both chess and this style of game (e.g., Watergate, Blitzkrieg!/Caesar!, Raptor, Air Land & Sea, 7 Wonders Duel, etc.).
My wife and I enjoy Watergate. I have become even more interested in the history of the Watergate scandal as a result of playing the game. The tense feeling I would get from playing Android: Netrunner is found in playing Watergate. So if you're saying this game is better than Watergate -- I'm excited! Thank you, as always DT, for the review. Tom, you're a legend! =o))
@NATOenthusiast just a couple of small things. I personally feel like the mental fatigue track is too big and there isn't enough swing in it, making it feel inconsequential. And I just prefer the mini game with pinning evidence and trying to snuff it out in Watergate more than the gimmick in this game. They are both very good games though!
Does that game mention what a nightmare human Fischer was? I suppose it doesn’t have to because it was pretty veiled back then or he hadn’t gotten as bad as he did by the 2000s, it’s just that I wouldn’t find this less miserable than watergate knowing about that.
Yikes dude. Fischer vs. Spassky was one of the greatest sport/gaming matches of its time with significant global historical and cultural importance. You can’t compare that going to scripted events few people outside a relatively small bubble in North America cared about.
I went into this review ready to roll my eyes and dislike this game, as I'm not a huge fan of chess, and I haven't ever seen any chess-adjacent, or chess variant that made it that much better. But this? This intrigues me.
Ur a board gsme reviewer, it csnnot be that hard to stop using chess gsme and chessxmatch wrong. A chess game is like 1 round, one instance of chess, from the moment they sit down and shake hands, till someone wins by checkmate or resignation, or till its a draw in one of 6ish ways a draw can happen in chess. A chess match it a whole duel, consulting of however many games, where players keep switchijg colours between games, and whoever wins more out of x games (or os first to win x games, depending On the particular rules) is a winner (in case of a world championship match, like this one, becomes a world champion). In this board game by Mori, the match is the whole board game, while every chess game is only a part of it. Missing these terms is weird and confusing for anyone who knows sth about chess, and you could do better lol
To Wendy’s point about Fischer being harder to get to the top of the mental track - it seems super thematic. But not because Fischer was younger or less experienced (it was pretty clear he was the strongest player in the world by some margin and he had a lot of confidence in his chess ability), but rather the dude was psychologically fragile whereas Spassky was pretty loose and unflappable.
Fischer was very particular about conditions of this match and often made either unreasonable demands or demanding minor details such as which pieces and chessboard had to be used, among other things, and threatened to not participate if his demands weren’t met. In the actual match vs. Spassky he was late to Game 1 and the game was a pretty clear draw but he made an out-of-character blunder (perhaps two) and lost, then he forfeited Game 2 because he made more demands regarding removing all the cameras and some spectator seating because they were too disruptive, and he refused to play until it was fixed. Ultimately he did win the match fairly comfortably and became the world chess champion but he declined to defend his title a few years later again over arguments about tournament structure and match conditions despite attempts from FIDE to reasonably accommodate him. He effectively quit chess after that and became a recluse despite being by far the best player at the time and still arguably top 3 of all time in terms of peak relative strength vs. other top players. His story is pretty interesting and his mental health really devolved in his later years as he lived in exile, seemingly becoming increasingly antisemitic and going as far as to celebrate the 9/11 attacks on America.
Anyways, this game looks right up my alley. I love both chess and this style of game (e.g., Watergate, Blitzkrieg!/Caesar!, Raptor, Air Land & Sea, 7 Wonders Duel, etc.).
My wife and I enjoy Watergate. I have become even more interested in the history of the Watergate scandal as a result of playing the game. The tense feeling I would get from playing Android: Netrunner is found in playing Watergate. So if you're saying this game is better than Watergate -- I'm excited! Thank you, as always DT, for the review. Tom, you're a legend! =o))
Thank you all for reviewing this.
My favorite game that uses chess pieces will still be Pax Renaissance.
100% agree! It’s also my favorite game to play with 2 players.
1000% agree
Seems like an over-produced version of Air Land & Sea, which is just a brilliant game.
This game is so good, Mori doesn’t miss
Omg Chris and Wendy need to play Watergate!! It is an absolutely amazing game!! I rate this game an 8 and Watergate a 9!
why do you like watergate more than this? i love watergate and am considering buying match of the century
@NATOenthusiast just a couple of small things. I personally feel like the mental fatigue track is too big and there isn't enough swing in it, making it feel inconsequential. And I just prefer the mini game with pinning evidence and trying to snuff it out in Watergate more than the gimmick in this game. They are both very good games though!
Paolo Mori is a genius!
Sounds to me like there's not enough variety for more than a few games. After that, it's just samey.
It's odd hearing Tom talk about loving the chess theme :). He hasn't been so positive about chess itself.
I love war games, but I'm not a fan of war itself ^^
Just ordered. I think it's a find.
I jest got the pun
Does that game mention what a nightmare human Fischer was? I suppose it doesn’t have to because it was pretty veiled back then or he hadn’t gotten as bad as he did by the 2000s, it’s just that I wouldn’t find this less miserable than watergate knowing about that.
Oh Paolo, why did you include the rules-changing 'pawn majority' card? Due to this card, Fischer is just not able to win the match.
You do know that the rule only affects the "game" (a game ends when you advance the kings) so a maximum of 3 exchanges?
Watergate is AMAZING play it. This is also very good but i still think Watergate is better.
After all that praise with no complaints and not even a single 9 ?
The match of the century was Ric Flair and Sting or Hogan and Rock.
Yikes dude. Fischer vs. Spassky was one of the greatest sport/gaming matches of its time with significant global historical and cultural importance. You can’t compare that going to scripted events few people outside a relatively small bubble in North America cared about.
I went into this review ready to roll my eyes and dislike this game, as I'm not a huge fan of chess, and I haven't ever seen any chess-adjacent, or chess variant that made it that much better. But this? This intrigues me.
Ur a board gsme reviewer, it csnnot be that hard to stop using chess gsme and chessxmatch wrong. A chess game is like 1 round, one instance of chess, from the moment they sit down and shake hands, till someone wins by checkmate or resignation, or till its a draw in one of 6ish ways a draw can happen in chess.
A chess match it a whole duel, consulting of however many games, where players keep switchijg colours between games, and whoever wins more out of x games (or os first to win x games, depending On the particular rules) is a winner (in case of a world championship match, like this one, becomes a world champion).
In this board game by Mori, the match is the whole board game, while every chess game is only a part of it. Missing these terms is weird and confusing for anyone who knows sth about chess, and you could do better lol
Seems like you might as well just play Chess. Lol