I’ ve always hated turn-based games. I just get bored waiting to have my go, by which point I’m so impatient I just make any move without any thought of strategy, and thus don’t do very well. I just don’t find them entertaining. I managed four hours of Fallout, two hours of Fallout 2, and have never completed a game of chess. At least I don’t think I have. If I did, it was so boring I don’t remember. This is why we only play board games at Christmas, and even so, I prefer the fast-paced Boggle to the lumbering Monopoly.
Thus it was a welcome tweet from kateri_t that drew my attention to Chess Without Turns, a free-to-play browser game by indie designer Sosker. It’s specifically designed for those of us with the attention span of a toddler goldfish after too many sweets.
She’d spotted a post on the Indie Games blog praising the rapid-fire “action-packed arcade simulation” that trashes the conventional rules and favours speed over strategy. Player are automatically matched, with each moving their pieces at the same time. The winner is the one that completely eliminates their opponent.
It’s player-vs-player, so it does depend on there being other users online, but the game’s growing popularity suggests that finding a sparring partner won’t be too tricky. Indeed, when I tried it, I could have had a choice of matches had my adversary not been randomly selected. I spent my first few games just randomly clicking on as many pieces/squares as I could as fast as I could (and being humiliated by my opponents) until I noticed that you can learn how to play if you do it a few times. For a start, it helpfully lights up “legal” paths for your piece to take, which is great for those of us who don’t know our prawns from our horsies.
I won a few; I lost a few. Did I win more than I lost? Oh, I have no idea – I wasn’t paying attention.
.
Reinspired 
Basically, what you’re saying is that sniffing glue wrecks your brain? That’s common knowledge, you didn’t have to bother.
I must say I’m bitterly disappointed that you decided to delete my earlier post. Denying the problem you have is not the solution. You should speak to someone you trust about your glue problem, perhaps it’s not to late for help!
Sincerely yours…
You’re hopeless…
I just wanted to help you but it seems you’ve already gone too far.
My condolences.
This is why no one will Like your post. Because you’re unlikable. Even when people mean well and just try to help you with your glue abuse problem, you reject both them and their advice. Shame on you.
I’m sorry, Bill (may I call you Bill? I feel we’ve become close after so much correspondence), but your missives were trapped in my spam filter. They are now restored.
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Hey, thanks, and I thought you were deleting my fantastic and sincere attempts at rescuing you from the clutches of evil glue sniffing habit. Hopefully things will be better now.
P.S. Yes, Bill is fine
You’re welcome. I hope in turn you’ll accept my well-intentioned attempts at constructive criticism with regard to your commenting style.
Absolutely, I’m always pro criticism – I like giving as much as receiving!
Looks like you’re welcoming criticism too, seeing how you now pay attention, while above in your post weren’t. Do you now realize the restorative powers of good-intentioned evaluation of your work?
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