The following article about other games on 64 squares comes from our CIE Coalition partners at ChessPlus.
By John Foley and Stefan Löffler
“If you teach chess for educational motives, you should know about simpler games on the chessboard and how to introduce them to your students.
“No other strategy game is taught in schools as much as chess or comes even close. From a pedagogical point of view, however, its complexity is a problem. Not only the rules of chess are taught but also strategies, tactical motives and guidelines for play. Learners hardly get the opportunity to discover for themselves. In simpler games than chess, children find out for themselves, through trial and error, which strategies lead to success. They detect tactics that work out. As they play more often, they make fewer and fewer moves that don’t get them anywhere. Simple strategy games are also suitable for pre-school children.
“But such games that enable children to make learning progress on their own rather than under guidance are hardly known. Traditional games like Checkers or Nine Men’s Morris are far less suitable than inventions of the last decades like Breakthrough, Cats & Dogs, Domineering or Lines of Action. The mentioned games and many more can be played on 8 by 8 squares just like chess.”
