Saitek Mephisto Competition Game Clock

I've had one for a few years now, and decided to get another one for my portable set. It's a very sturdy clock with great features. I was happy when I received the first on new. Ordered a used one and was just as please at a used one (and at the price value). I know there are other more expensive clocks that have more custom settings but this has quite a selection of options - at least it met all my needs. My only con would be the sound is low. Not a problem indoors in quiet setting but with no volume controls difficult to hear in other settings. It isn't too big of a deal since LCD display, lit buttons and large buttons make it easy to see the time and which player's turn time is eating time and when time runs out.

Easy to program. All program setting are located on the bottom of the clock, so so you dont have to keep up with the book. Programming is self explanitory. Large LED screen for easy viewing. Direction dial for program settings. Its a pretty cool clock to own. Nice size, not to bulky and not to small. Will fit in all chess bags. Good height for blitz play. you dont have to over extend to strike the clock during game play. One thing that I do love is that it has a button for how many move. Excellent feature for game play. It can take long term abuse. Dropped it a few times and it still works flawlessly. Popular at the chess clubs Use 2 "C" batteries Cons- Feels cheap. It may freeze once in a while, but not during game play. Only when you turn it on. Just remove and replace the batteries back and its back to normal. Other then that, great clock to own

I thought this chess clock would be simple to set-up and use. For me, this one is far too complicated. I spent over an hour trying to figure it out, reading the manual, etc. It now sits quietly in my closet unused and waiting for the day that I have enough time, energy, and patience to tackle it again. I am sure that an eight year old could set it up in no time, but I'm, well, older than that. This clock has a zillion variations and you can set it to do almost anything. It appears to be sturdy and well built, but so far I have been unable to use it at all. Very disappointing. I am not stupid or technophobic, but for me this was too much. If I can stll return it, I probably will.

This is a nice solid clock. The price is good, too. You can edit the game time, moves, and delay. There are several preset modes. The clock can also store one setting. The button can be set to have a green light and the clock beeps if wanted. On the down side, the instructions are painful to read (and re-read.) Also, the delay time is only available in simple delay. No Fischer time. The C batteries needed a special trip to the store, since nothing else I own uses C batteries. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.

Never recieved this due to P.O. error or one of my neighbors stole it, which I have never been able to prove. Glad I didn't spend alot on it. Seemed like a nice enough chess clock. I hope the person who stole it is enjoying it! Don't ever say I never gave you anything!

I got this game clock today. It promises greatness, and it would work fine IF I could read the instructions. I called the 800 number, got the usual false claim "we are experiencing a large number of calls," and gave up. I spent more then 30 minutes on their web site, trying to find a manual in English with type large enough to read. The web gave me "not found" repeatedly. I will fiddle more with it. I KNOW IT WILL WORK, but I don't know that I will be able to figure out how to change the settings. The type is very tiny, terribly small. Even smaller than that. Box crowed with four languages, but nothing large enough to read. Terrible packaging. I would spend $50 for one of these that would be easy to use. Like many vendors they make this CHEAP in China but skimp on the instructions or directions. I will spend more time looking, but two stars is for a very cheap Chinese toy, most probably very great, but unusable by me and I not only tried hard but will continue to try. I will check to see if Amazon has a user manual to download. Age? I'm 81, computer literate and a scrabble lover, play every day. I've used a game clock before. It was not as fancy as this one, but it was easy to use. I give up for now.

I went looking for a lowest price chess clock I could find, having the opinion that most chess clocks were way overpriced. I decided on this one over mechanical clocks to avoid the annoying tick tock those models can make, especially the cheaper ones. At first I was dismayed by the battery it uses, a more expensive C battery instead of the more common AA/AAA batteries, but as soon as I started using it I loved this clock. Its sturdy, with a wide base so slapping the buttons won't knock it over. Programming the clock is not intuitive, it took me some tinkering before I figured out how to adjust times and get the fisher clock setting. There are also instructions for those who can't figure it out. A green light indicates whose turn it is, a red light indicates who ran out of time. There is also a buzzer, you can toggle these on or off, or choose both.

If you are wondering which clock to buy, you will not regret buying this one. I had the advantage of seeing these at chess tournament so I knew this was a good purchase. 1. It is solid. Very solid. If you do not realize that this is an important feature, it is one of the most important features in a game clock unless you like buying stuff over and over. 2. It has turn indicators that you can use or turn off (lights and pleasant beep.) 3. The numbers are big and easy to read. 4. It is complicated and easy at the same time. The basics are easy to setup right out of the box. The advanced features are….well…advanced. It has a well laid out instruction manual that you may or may not need, but come one….if you cannot eventually figure something complicated out, chess is probably not your game anyway ( smile ). 5. An important note about #4. My 10 year old refuses to read instruction manuals and figured the clock out in a few minutes. Let me help you on a nuance he figured out. If you did not pick this up from the manual, time is represented like this - 30 minutes = 00:30; however, 5 minutes is 05:00. When setting up a 30 minute game right after coming off of a 5 minutes game, this is not intuitive for all. Doh. 6. The clank of the clock stop is solid and feels right. My son loves popping it with my queen. Overall, good clock. I am sure there are clocks just as good, but I suspect you will like this one.