Travel Chess Computer: Finding the right one

When you have a long road trip or flight ahead, there is nothing like a travel chess computer to whittle away the time. Regardless of road trips and flights, it can take a lot to occupy an active child's mind. It can take a lot to occupy an active child's mind, but the very best way to do that is to give children something that will educate them rather than dumb them down like a Nintendo Gameboy.
That's where travel chess computers fit the bill perfectly, face it, chess is a game that takes all the mental facilities, and chess really requires a lot of focus and concentration. Travel chess computers are the perfect substitution for the new Nintendo games that do nothing to improve your IQ, rather than improve I tend to think that they turn kids into vegetables!

So we know that Nintendo is a no go, and that travel chess computers are great to substitute for a Nintendo. But then a question quickly arises. Which travel chess computer should I buy?
A good question, I will do my best to advise you, And I have used each and every one of the chess computers I am going to mention.

First we need to find what your price range is for a travel chess computer. I will start with the cheaper chess computers and I will move on to the more expensive but better chess computer.

Chess Station Travel Chess Computer:
First of all this is the very cheapest chess computer I would ever recommend that you ever buy! The Chess Station travel chess computer is great because it offers versatility that other chess computers don't. The best part about this travel chess computer is that you get a handheld, portable chess computer unit, and you also get an electronic chess board as well! This enables you to carry the handheld chess unit anywhere you want without pieces and be able to play chess. But then if you want to play with a real chess board with real chess pieces, rather than the LCD screen that the handheld travel unit, you can just plug the handheld unit into the chess board. Then the Chess Station travel chess computer becomes an electronic chess set! Fairly powerful and easy to use, with many fun options, this travel chess computer is pretty nice and for a great deal. You are able to play VS the computer or another human. The LCD screen on this travel chess computer however is not as detailed as others. Chess Station travel chess computer is made by Excalibur Electronics.

Deluxe Talking Travel Chess Computer:
This Talking travel chess computer is an extremely nice chess computer, and great for kids to use. The talking feature of the Talking travel chess computer is very handy for kids and eliminates a lot of confusion that could ensue without it (the talking mode is optional). The Talking travel chess computer tells you when you are in check, if you are trying to make an illegal move, this travel chess unit makes a lot of sense. And the LCD screen is the second best I have seen on a LCD travel chess computer that I have seen in this price range. The Deluxe travel chess computer is operated with a stylus, this stylus makes the Deluxe travel chess computer super simple to operate the entire unit. This travel chess computer is also super simple to put on player VS player mode instead of player VS computer. Also there are several adjustable playing levels to this travel chess computer, and it can be turned up to an extremely high level and is far to hard for me to beat! New Feature! The Excalibur Deluxe talking Chess Computer now has a backlight screen for nocturnal play!

Maestro Travel Chess Computer:
The Maestro travel chess computer has the best LCD screen ever for it's class of chess computer, each chess piece is easily distinguished. As for playing power it is about the same as the Deluxe travel chess computer. It does not talk, but it offers anther feature that is just as nice, or nicer for adults. The LCD screen has an optional backlight, so you are able to play in any lighting, anytime! (watch out for kids playing in the dead of night!) You can set up chess puzzle positions with the Maestro travel chess computer as well. This is a great feature, it enables you to work through a chess puzzle book and let the computer play as the opposing side and make the forced mate in 3 moves for you! (the Deluxe travel chess computer can do this as well).

*New* Mon Roi chess computer:
The Mon Roi chess computer is the ultimate of all travel chess computer. It is a personal chess computer that can even be password protected. You can automatically save all your chess games in it's database, and later upload them to a computer for further analysis using a USB cable! This new little chess gadget is the most high tech piece of chess equipment available! Mon Roi chess tournaments are hosted and all the games from these tournaments are veiwable online. These tournaments are hosted, and the players games are all picked up by a wireless gadget and are automatically able to be seen online! This new chess technology is available to buy, but it is expensive, and I would only recommend it to the most avid of chess players!