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In yet another effort to peel our eldest away from digital screens of any kind, we pulled a 'way-back' and opened a game I hadn't seen in literally decades.   Chinese Chess, circa 1981 by the copyright date. It's a game that, in many ways , is like traditional Checkers--two sets of colored pieces taking turns jumping each other to capture them.   however, unlike checkers--one person can jump only similarly-colored pieces, the other can only jump differently-colored pieces.   Bonus turns are awarded if your jumping piece lands on a similarly (or differently) colored square.   Instead of jumping pieces, you have the option of sliding one piece horizontally or vertically as your turn.   This first person to capture 13 pieces wins.   Average game time is about 10 minutes--perfect for my son's attention span! And he loves it. This is another brain-expanding game--the player needs to look for multiple options and choose the best one--or the move that will not aid the opponent.   In fact, the move can also be used to work AGAINST an [] opponent--so there are multiple ways to think of each move.   It's this "multiple aspects" of each choice that helps develop problem-solving skills--and I why I think this is much more valuable than another round of "Angry Birds" ™ or "Temple Run"™.   In addition, and what is my on-going theme here, there's the added benefit of one-on-one time with Mom or Dad. I'm not having luck finding this version online--apparently Chinese Chess refers to yet another game.   If I find this one, I'll post it here.  


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