Shashki

Board games have made their way onto computers. Their digital counterparts provide the same excitement and gameplay, with added graphics and the ability to play against opponents from all over the world.

This game is easy to install and does not use too many resources. It enables you to play a game of checkers under various rules against an AI. You can also play against other human players over the Internet. There is no built-in help file, just a link to an online page. There are four types of games that can be played, each with its own sets of rules.

The gameplay is standard. You move the pieces around with the mouse and capture pieces by jumping over the opponent's pieces. If there is a capture opportunity, you are obligated to take regardless of how bad it is for you in the long run. There are multiple difficulty levels and you cannot jump to higher levels without having beaten the AI in all the previous ones.

The elements are well designed and are pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, you cannot modify the board color, change the pieces with which you are playing or customize the visuals in any other way. You cannot add any pictures to your avatar, so you are stuck with it.

The game commands are not that easily accessible. You do not have any shortcut keys and all actions must be accessed via menus. It could have been adequate to implement them in any other way.

To put it briefly, Shashki is a proper game with various checkers variants. The colors are warm, but you cannot customize it in any manner. Nonetheless, it is worth playing.