I’ve never owned a game where I got to activate an actual laser to kill enemy pieces. You can imagine my surprise when I heard that such a game existed. I first discovered it a few years ago on ThinkGeek and later ordered it on Amazon…I wasn’t disappointed.
Khet: 2 Players, Ages 9+, Average Play Time = 15-30 Minutes
Khet is similar to chess in that both players are trying to capture (or in this case, fry with lasers) one very important piece. Players will be moving their pieces around the board and rotating them so that the mirrors reflect the lasers to benefit them…that is…by killing enemy pieces.
It’s worth noting that my version of Khet was released in 2005. There is a newer version out there, Khet 2.0, which was released in 2011. The pictures you will see and the components I mention reflect the 2005 version.
Components
Board – The board consists of squares and two built in lasers. Some of those squares are filled in as silver or red…red pieces cannot go on silver squares and vice versa.
Pieces – Each side has four main types of pieces. The pharaoh is a unique piece on both sides and happens to be the one that players will need to protect at all costs. One laser strike on the pharaoh and it’s game over. The djed has two mirrors, one on each side, that reflect lasers off of its diagonal. It can also swap places with any piece it wants. The pyramid only has one mirror on one side, and the obelisk piece has none.
Components
Setup & Gameplay
There are multiple ways to setup the board. The rulebook comes with a few that players can utilize until they want to try and make up their own.
Gameplay is very simple…a piece can move one space in any direction or rotate ninety degrees, and then the laser closest to that player is fired. When a laser strikes anything, whether it is an enemy piece or your own, it is removed from the game. Nothing happens if the laser strikes a wall.
Players continue moving / rotating a piece and firing their lasers (insert “IMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR” joke here) until one of the pharaohs is hit. Obviously, you’d want to do everything in your power to prevent your pharaoh from being zapped.
Who knows where the laser will strike next?
The Review
As an ex-professional chess player, I can appreciate Khet. Players are always forced to think ahead and accept the rewards (or consequences) of their actions. Moving the wrong piece can really set you back, if your opponent is good and is paying attention.
I had my son defeated in about ten moves, but I refrained from finishing him off to give him time to enjoy his experience. About thirty moves later, he won the game, and then we went over where I could have gotten him during two-thirds of the game. It’s for this reason that I enjoy games like Chess and Khet…I can hold back or be a real jerk when I want to be. When you’re dealing with kids however, I prefer being a teacher instead of the dad that everyone hates playing with.
Vinnie Jr commented that he enjoyed playing the game and figuring out where the laser was going to go after moving one of his pieces. He had trouble understanding the route the laser took and how the laser bounced off of the diagonal of right angles. He kept expecting the laser to shoot diagonally despite my insisting that it would only flow horizontally and/or vertically. Given time, like in chess, I can see him becoming very good at the game.
If you’re a fan of games that require you to think ahead, then Khet is right for you. It can be as simple or difficult as you make it out to be, and the ability to setup the game however you please adds a ton of replay value. I highly recommend this game to players of all ages.
Thumbs up for shooting Egyptian themed pieces with laser pointers.
I’m not sure where you’d find the 2005 version…perhaps on EBay. For your convenience, I’ve added the 2011 version via an Amazon link below. The gameplay looks very similar and I’m sure you’d have fun with that version too.
Final Verdict: 9/10
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Great review, Vince! 🙂
You’re right about the depth of this one, it’s pretty intense. I was glad I started into it at about the same time as a friend so we could battle back & forth as we both learned.
That same friend & I are actually building the Xbox version of Khet soon – (and we’re both from Pittsburgh, like you… small world!) Writing the AI is going to be a huge challenge. You’ll probably destroy it if you were an ex-pro chess player.
Thanks again for the review… looking forward to your other reviews! 🙂
Glad to meet a fellow Pittsburgher! A Khet video game? No kidding! That’s great! There are a lot of board games that are fun to play but a lot of people just don’t know about them. A video game would certainly spread the awareness around. Sign me up! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Glad you liked the game, Vincent. One look and I fell in love with it too.
I am the creator of the mobile version of the game – in collaboration with the inventor of the game Luke Hooper and Don Dailey.
Its available on iPhone, iPad and Android. And yes, it has AI too!
@Sean Colombo: We have developed this for Windows Phone & Xbox. We are testing it now. Will send you a link as soon as its live 🙂
Here are the links to the apps. All feedback is most welcome!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/khet-2x/id494533079?ls=1&mt=8 (iPhone/iPad)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schogini.KHET (Android)
I got your review site from http://boardgamegeek.com/article/9441492#9441492
Excellent review!
It’s a highly addictive game for sure. I have played it with a lot of my friends and they all really loved it. Amazing game play. Planning and strategy is all we need to win this game.
While I was waiting for the iPad version of the game, I got the news about it from Khet official Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/LaserKhet). I downloaded it from iTunes ( http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=Smq3RC8yf5I&offe…). It’s now my best iPad game. In my opinion, it has got an extra ordinary AI which is hard to beat! It has a lot of other interesting features too.
Thanks! Once I get my phone upgraded (I’m still using an old school, barely functional cell phone) I’ll definately look into purchasing some of the electronic forms of these games. Board games are great but hard to take with you when you’re off to work. 🙂