Paco Sako

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.

An elegant redesign of chess pieces well worth the investment. Individual pieces are easy to identify and intuitive to play with by the usual rules. The magic happens when playing by the Paco Sako rules where pieces dance with the opposing team to try to access the king for a dance. The pieces could also be used to play Chess+ (Another company's variant) where pieces combine with their own team, but not with the king.

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.

I almost didn't quite know what to expect when I came across Pako Ŝako, but I was so intrigued that I bought a set to be able to experience it for myself. This game certainly lives up to its moniker as "peace chess," as pieces never leave the board as a result of a capture; instead, the capturing and captured pieces unite as one, both players retaining control of the unified piece, but still controlling it based on the movement of their own color. Thus, you never know whether a piece you're planning on moving is going to instead be moved by your opponent before you get a chance to. Another interesting aspect of the game is the concept of chain reactions, where pieces participate in a ballet of embraces and disengagement, one after the other, in a carefully choreographed flurry of movement that can really turn traditional chess strategy on its head. Word of caution: this game DOES have a learning curve that even experienced chess players will need to spend some time with. Watch videos. Read the manual and online reviews thoroughly. Practice. Experiment. Expect to be frustrated until this new way of doing things really begins to sink in, and be patient enough to understand that it WILL. A plastic set does not need to be a cheap, poor quality one, and this set does not disappoint. I was honestly expecting joined pieces to physically join together, rather than simply being shaped to "coexist" directly beside each other, but that was only my misconception, and, now that I've played the game, I can see how physical interlocking would be a huge impediment to playing the game. Such joined pieces do need to be moved as two separate pieces which happen to be in close proximity, as opposed to one physically connected piece, but, as I said, once you experience the game for yourself you'll understand why it's much better to have the two pieces completely detached from each other once those chain reactions start taking place. This is a game of chess with an enormously creative twist, and one I highly recommend for all chess players of any skill level. Be patient and you WILL be rewarded.

Been a board game / chess player for 40 years. I've played and owned dozens of chess variants over the years, and I can say this is a very nice and clever take on chess. Simple to learn, especially if you're already a chess player. Joining pieces and chaining joins really adds a new dimension to the strategy. I'll be introducing this to many fellow chess players and I'm pretty sure they'll enjoy it too.

This is a very interesting twist on a classic game. You don’t actually take pieces, you merge with them. It’s pretty innovative.

Having to resubmit this due to ???... my review us "great for all ages, even little kids can win!" Mostly 'cause they don't get dejected from losing pieces.