Zen Chess: Mate in Four (2019)

Developer: Minimol Games
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Casual, Strategy
Rating: 3.3 of 5, 73 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 1.6 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A calm, focused puzzle experience where careful logical steps lead to satisfying conclusions.

minimalistrelaxingfocusedpuzzlelogicalatmosphericcalmmethodical

What players say

Players say the game is more about guessing the programmer's intended moves than solving chess puzzles, because it resets after any wrong move and does not enforce real chess rules. Many report that some puzzles have multiple valid solutions but only one is accepted, and puzzle 13 is broken and unskippable. The store says 50 puzzles but there are 100, though achievements stop at puzzle 50.

Screenshots

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More by Minimol Games

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.