Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Yes, the cards turn chess into a game of luck rather than a game of strategy. It becomes a lot like Candyland actually, which is great for younger players learning the game since it makes it more likely they can win. What few other reviews seem to be mentioning, though, and what I want to focus on, is the handicap effect this has on more advanced players. One thing that frustrates me about playing with my 5-year-old is that I feel like I need to make deliberate blunders to let him win or he won't enjoy the game. With these cards though, I can play to the best of my ability and still lose because of the effective handicap they provide. The game instructions explain three learning phases. Phase 1 is to draw one card each turn and move (if you can) the piece you see on the card. Phase 2 is to hold a hand of three cards and draw a new card each turn. This starts to introduce more choice into the game and open up possibilities for strategizing. Phase 3 is to hold a hand of five cards, opening up the possibilities even more. Eventually the learner graduates from using the cards at all to just playing regular chess. Many other reviews of this product (especially the critical ones) are saying its taking a very short time for their kids to learn how the pieces move and then they just end up throwing out the cards and wishing they had bought a regular chess set instead. But when my kid graduates from the cards I fully plan to continue using the cards myself as a handicap. Let my kid apply whatever strategy he can come up with, but force myself down to his skill level by shoehorning myself into making the moves the cards tell me to make. As he gets more advanced and I need less handicapping, I'll graduate myself to the higher phases and start keeping a hand of 3 or 5 cards so I have more choices and can start applying more strategy. I think it's brilliant how these phases help inexperienced users, but also effectively handicap more advanced players so less advanced players can actually hold their own in a game. I've owned this set all of two hours and played one game against a less experienced player who roundly annihilated me. I'm excited to use this set to teach my son one of my favorite games.