Archon: The Light and the Dark

The Good
Archon is quickly described as a fantasy chess game where the pieces fight over who takes the square. There is thankfully more to it than that simple explanation: The shifting tide of the game that distributes power from light to dark adds challenges (attack, or run?), and each piece has specific strengths and weaknesses (don't use the shapeshifter if you aren't a better player than your opponent). In other words, you can define your own strategy when playing.

The Bad
I understand that Archon was designed on an Atari 800 in 1983, but that doesn't excuse the quality of the graphics. Of course, the gameplay more than makes up for the quality of the graphics, but I can't help thinking they could've improved it before it was released.

The Bottom Line
If your strategy skills lie somewhere between checkers and chess, give Archon a try. It's a bonefide classic game.