Everyone would like to get strong in a hurry, but we constantly
hear people say the following:
I am so busy, I don't have time to play.
I don't have money to take lessons from professionals.
I know the best way to get strong is to replay professional games (as preached
by Cho Chikun), but it's so boring.
If you are among these people, here's your solution:
Games Against Pros. (GAP) allows you to replay a professional game
as if you were in the game, so it's fun and exciting. You can choose to
take black or white so that you can either play against your favorite professional
or play as if you were him (to learn his style, or style molding, e.g.,
Takemiya's Cosmic Style and Kobayashi's Methodical Style, etc.). If your
move matches that of the professional's, it stays and the game proceeds,
with the computer making the next move for your opponent. If your move
does not match, the correct move appears. The visual feedback is astounding,
as correct moves are rewarded by beautiful graphics, and vice versa, so
that the user can quickly distinguish the correct moves from that of the
incorrect ones. Best of all, the program grades your performance and ranks
you from beginner (>30 kyu) to professional (>7 dan) level, so that you
know your progress. You will be graded separately in three areas, namely,
opening, middle game and endgame. The program also recommends areas that
you need to improve. Unlike playing computer Go programs which might actually
ruin your skills by learning bad habits, GAP guarantees that you learn
the correct techniques from the professionals through the style molding
process. Challenge your friend to a match! Yes, this program can be played
by two people (black and white), and graded separately! A typical game
takes about 15 minutes on a Pentium PC.
Warning! This game is addicting!
There are 18 titles with 100 games per title for $11.95 each (<12
cents per game). Runs on Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
