Hey everyone,
I know that this is WAY after the fact (I started this thread like 7 months ago), but I see that people are still checking it so I thought I would update you on my experience with the Mephisto Master that I purchased back in January. (I do plan to write a review once I have had it a little longer, but for now I'll give you a brief synopsis).
As stated above, I was initially considering the Phantom Force and the Master- after some replys to my post I also strongly considered the Grandmaster. I ended up settling on the Master for the following reasons:
1) By reputation, the master is the strongest in its price range
2) The Phantom Force was dropped very early on based on both the lack of need for auto-moving pieces, and the reported noise level associated with play (I still plan to buy a Phantom Force someday for the novelty, but that is life priority# 5902044457).
3) The Grandmaster was dropped primarily due to the size-
The Mephisto Master is: 13.25" x 10.5"
The Excallibur Grandmaster is: 20" x 20"
- although I do intend to get a Grandmaster someday to add to my collection of now 5 chess computers. The Grandmaster looks very classy ;)
I do feel that I made a good decision and would, if given the chance, make the same decision again(Assuming the same financial situation of course)- I am very happy with the Master. I find that the Master is a very stimulating opponent to play, and that I have learned a lot about chess since buying it. As mentioned above, size was a determining factor in my decision making- I find that the Master is slightly larger than I would have liked but not so large as to make me regret my purchase.
I would have a hard time recommending this computer to an absolute beginner just because even on its easiest levels it would demolish a beginner- I would suggest starting on a very cheap (as in $20 or so), chess computer and get up to a novice level first, then get the Master (Or else you might feel very frustrated with your purchase).
Hope this helps, drop me a message if you have any questions about the Mephisto Master and my experiences with it. I would still be interested in hearing what other people think and their experiences with other models (As I mentioned, I do collect these things, and am always looking for new toys)
My son plays on Chessmaster (no idea which edition without going up to his room). He says he enjoys it because he can play any of the personalities they have set up. The windows based chess game he had before only had 3 settings, easy, medium and hard. Chessmaster apparently has dozens of personalities set up so that you can play someone who is a 900 rated player or a 1900 rated player. I have no idea how accurately tuned they are but I have heard that at the highest level chessmaster is as good as playing a Master level player.
I just installed CM 10 on my Vista box last night(I found a bug in the install script and a work around for it too- in case anyone has had trouble installing it). It looks like you can play just about any rating you want (I think one player was called a Monkey and had a rating of something like 30). I remember the Chessmaster being rated at over 2900. I am not sure how accurate this rating is or by who's standards but the game looks like fun, I will be playing when I get home.
I evaluate all boards and considered everyone's suggestions- I just ordered a Mephisto Master Chess Computer mainly based on reading reviews, size, speed, shape, and noise level (although the Phantom Force still looks really cool!). I'll be sure to post a review in the near future.
Thank you for all of your suggestions!
P.S. I never did get CM 10 to work on my laptop!