With four levels of difficulty, local and online multiplayer and slick 3D graphics, Checkers Lounge 3D by Crudebyte is a strong contender for the best implementation of the classic game on the iPad. And – even better – it’s free.

Gameplay

Most people will be familiar with checkers, a two-player boardgame in which you capture your opponent’s pieces by leaping over them and try to force them into defeat, most probably using your promoted ‘king’ pieces which have made it to the far end of the board.

Checkers Lounge 3D is a faithful version of the classic, adding no gimmicks or extra rules, but giving fans of the game everything they could want from an iPad version.

Implementation

As the title suggests, the game is presented in three-dimensions. Intuitive touch controls allow you to move your pieces; and also to rotate, spin and zoom the view of the board. 3D representations of a table and two chairs are also included, though they’re really just there for decoration.

The graphics engine is slick, rendering the board and pieces smoothly as you change your view of the game. It looks like most of the effort went into this side of things, as there is no sound to Checkers Lounge 3D and the menu options look a little basic, but hey – this is checkers – it doesn’t really matter.

Four levels of difficulty are offered against the AI, with your computer-controlled opponent seldom making an error on the higher levels. Two human players can face up to each other on the same device, or online over the internet, complete with world rankings and statistics. Although, as with many online-enabled games from smaller developers, you’ll be lucky to find anyone else out there looking for a match.

That’s not really Crudebyte’s fault though, and the developer has done a great job of implementing an attractive and fully-featured version of the game.

Verdict

If you’re after a good implementation of this classic boardgame, Checkers Lounge 3D is a great option – especially as it’s completely free.

Score:  7/10