Khet: An Update on Chess, With Lasers!

When you were a child, how did you picture the year 2011? The TV series Lost in Space suggested that we’d be traveling in space with robots by 1997, not to mention the colonies on the moon and creepy Artificial Intelligence made popular in 2001: A Space Odyssey. By now we should at least be surrounded by Jetson-style flying cars, right?

The reality may be more humdrum, but there’s one advantage to that: the word “futuristic” still means pretty much the same thing as it did when you were a kid. Which means that The Laser Game: Khet 2.0 impresses you and your kid exactly the same way: lasers are still totally cool!

Khet is played by using your mirrored pieces (Pharoah, Anubis, Pyramid, and Scarab) to manipulate the laser that comes from the Sphinx piece. A piece that is hit by the laser on a non-reflective side is eliminated. The goal is to eliminate your opponent’s Pharoah, and protect your own Pharoah. On each turn, you either rotate a piece a quarter-turn or move it one step forward in any direction, and any move changes the course of the laser beam.

Khet is easy to learn (the three pages of rules are a quick and simple read), but difficult to master – players need to mentally track the direction that the laser beam will bounce in and anticipate their opponent’s moves, and there are hundreds of strategic possibilities. The better you and your opponent get, the more challenging the game becomes, which means that Khet isn’t a game that kids will tire of quickly. Players new to Khet will have a lot of fun with Khet on a “button mashing” level, though – it’s so much fun to see where the laser winds up. It is a laser, after all. Insert Star Wars lightsaber sound here.

Naturally, a concept this neat attracts attention! The Laser Game: Khet 2.0 was included in Popular Science’s list of Best Kids’ Toys for Adults after Toy Fair 2011, and it has received awards from Mensa Select, Toy of the Year, iParenting, NAPPA, and more. And the class-two lasers in Khet aren’t hot or dangerous – kids won’t be blinded by bouncing lasers.

You may have to wait a few more years to take a routine trip to the moon, but in the meantime, challenge yourself and your kids to play the chess game of the future today!

Oh! Did we forget to mention the Khet 2.0 Laser Game is today’s Facebook Friday giveaway! Enter now to win your very own Khet 2.0!

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