Paco Sako Peace Chess Game, Super Fun for Chess Lovers, Make Peace While Playing Chess, not War - Chess Set Board Game for Peace Makers | 2-Players

Arrived more quickly than expected and far cheaper than I'd seen elsewhere. The board had some slight indentations where some pieces had pressed into it during shipping. Doesn't affect playability, though the indentations are on the top side of the board. The pieces come bagged, but the board is a quarter-fold cardboard tournament-size board that doesn't fit in the bag; a worthy upgrade to ditch the box and make this more portable would be a silicone tournament-size mat (several options are available; the stock board is a roughly 20" class, and while the pieces will fit - barely - on a 16" board, I'd opt for a larger size to get those roomier 2"-2.25" squares). The pieces can be used to play ordinary chess, though the informal mechanic of turning rooks upside down as queens isn't possible here given the unique piece styling. However, the real point and value of the set is in playing the named game. Paco Sako is billed as a chess variant, but while piece movement and about 95% of the rules of the game are identical to Western chess, the difference in the feel of the game becomes clear before you've even finished the opening. The "union" mechanic replacing traditional captures basically means that each piece gets one capture; once two pieces are "dancing" or "hugging" on one square (as the uniquely-styled pieces are designed to visualize), that piece cannot make a further capturing move. The combined piece *can* still move, and in fact each player can move the joined piece by the rules of their color piece (so if the white queen takes the black knight, the combined piece can still move as a queen by White and a knight by Black), but the joined piece cannot capture any other piece. Instead, a "solo" piece of the player's color must capture the union, which frees the piece of that player's color that was previously in the union, and allows that piece (and player) an extra move with the newly-freed piece. This can feel limiting at first, as the board stays fairly congested, even more so when unioned pieces are positioned to "threaten" each other but really can do nothing to each other. However, the "cutting in" of an unjoined piece creates a move-chaining mechanic not seen in vanilla chess, allowing a player to strike in unexpected ways. You can think you're totally safe, with all nearby or otherwise-threatening pieces unioned and unable to actually check ("Sako") your king, then your opponent chains four captures starting from a pawn in a completely unrelated corner of the board, and voila, your king is dancing with the Black Knight. It's a very interesting game that takes a different look at traditional chess, transforming the abstracted event of the game from a battle to a ballroom. Instead of two opposing armies slugging it out, picture the two kings' courts meeting in a more diplomatic venue, neutral territory, with a grand welcoming ball to break the ice. The sides start as wallflowers, avoiding each other, not wanting to be stuck with the wrong partner for the evening, and playing very political moves to "save" their brethren from an unappealing dance card. The player who is first to coerce a dance with the opposing king has the king's ear for the evening, plead their side and gain an advantage in the relations between the two nations.

Such a cool game! If you love chess and want to bring it up a notch, definitely check put Paco Sako. A fun, new twist for any avid chess player!

I'm 12 years old and my mom bought this for me, because it's fun, unique, different, and the creativity is really interesting! It would be a challenge to the objective of the game. It also let's you think more often.

I love playing chess, and I love learning new ways to play chess. If you already play chess, then you already know the basics of this game. Learning how to ”dance” with the pieces enhances the experience. Cooperation instead of competition, a paradigm shift that makes the game more meaningful with shifting unions, affecting strategies. The pieces lightly hug one another, allowing easy swaps in the unions. The board design is good quality, the pieces fit together. The set is portable but only if it is carried in its own box. The price for the set is fair, overall a good deal.

This is a unique variant - you have to think very different from how you would normally think for a regular game of chess. It's fun! But totally different strategy so you have to think harder. The board is nice. The chess pieces are light and cheap-feeling plastic. This goes on sale every so often that cuts it down by over 50% so I have no issues with the quality for price. One benefit is that you can use this to play a standard game of chess as well.