My son absolutely loves it

This is a fun game if you like chess. The game was constructed really well. Worth the buy!

The new pieces add a bit of nice variation to the game. My only wish were that the new pieces could come onto the board in pairs for any given new piece, rather than as singletons.

My kiddo loves it. Would have been nice if there was a travel bag option.

Likes:1. High-quality pieces.2. Information for the extra pieces is concise, yet easy to understand.Dislike: The box, even though well-made, is a tad tight -- it's hard to get the board out!

The chess pieces (both standard and variant) are fairly small and not weighted, but they have felt bottoms and they're well designed and handsome. The rules for the alternate pieces are incomplete, poorly written, and rather dumb, but that hardly matters, because you were going to make up some rules of your own, right? The one nice idea in the rule book is to provide a rating for the relative power of each piece and then invite players to start the game by choosing their own set of pieces based on a desired numeric limit, such as 70. This is a nice variant idea! If the proposed movements of the new pieces made more sense, I'd give this set a 5-star rating across the board (so to speak).

I had to wait some days but I received it in good condition.
I don't know why is not available to buy it here,in Europe.

Our grandson loved this new chess challenge! He loves 2700 miles away and he opened the game during a Face Time call. He explained each of 14 new characters. We discussed each name and voiced our opinion as to how they chose the names. When he played the game, we received a video from our daughter in love! Highly recommend it!Diane Jablonski

Cool game for people who like chess!

There's a lot to love about Faerie Chess. It's an ambitious idea, executed well: 14 new chess pieces with interesting new moves, that integrate well with the 6 familiar Staunton-style pieces from traditional western chess. The new pieces and board are attractively designed and well-made for their price point. The reference cards explaining the new moves are a nice inclusion.The instructions are minimal, but if you've played chess before, then the learning curve won't be so bad. There are absolutely no suggestions as to strategy or tactics with the new pieces, but I think that part of the point here is to encourage fresh thinking about chess, rather than offer another version of by-the-book chessplaying.For all their attractiveness, several of the new pieces can be hard to distinguish from one another at first: the Inquisitor, Courtesan, Pontiff, and Lancer might all have been Bishops in another chess set (and the Courtesan and Pontiff may take a bit to tell apart); the Regent is far too easily mistaken for a Queen; the Herald might seem to be a Rook at a glance; and the Thief is nearly identical in silhouette to a Pawn, except in size, if it's turned a certain way. It's a little bit more work than it should be to tell the pieces apart -- which was, historically, one of the things that the Staunton design did so much better than its predecessors. This was my main disappointment with the game.Gameplay itself is a LOT of fun, full of surprises (especially since White and Black do not have to start with the same pieces), and there are myriad combinations of starting armies to explore. The replayability of this game is very attractive; if you're into it at all, you'll immediately want to try another setup after finishing a game.One additional possibility not mentioned in the rules is that players can agree to assign their own invented moves to the new pieces, if they want to explore even more fairy-chess ideas. (In the case of the included Catapult piece, which has one of the most limiting movement rules imaginable, it's an option well worth considering!)You might also use the cards as a draw pile when setting up, to randomly select pieces to fill your lineup.And if an 8x8 chessboard doesn't offer enough room to explore this set's potential, it's easy enough to create 10x8 or other sizes from good cardboard or plywood; the pieces are small enough that a somewhat larger board isn't too unwieldy.This is a $25 universe of chess possibilities, and possibly the best chess variant prototyping kit ever marketed.The included pieces are enough to use for many historical chess variants played on 8x8 or different boards; it's well worth exploring those, if this game piqued your interest and you want to dive deeper.My main wish for an improved version of this game (besides more visually distinct designs for some of the pieces) is that more of the new pieces came in pairs. Traditional chess has a symmetry that is unavailable with this set (i.e., Bishops, Knights, Rooks).I do not think that this makes the game bad or unplayable at all, and I actually enjoy the dynamic play that emerges from this set's built-in asymmetry and greater variety of pieces. But some pieces have the potential to become regular favorites. Perhaps over time certain fairy pieces will get elevated to more permanent status by popular acclaim, and future versions of this set will include them in pairs. For me personally, it was worth ordering a second set.

I love Chess Variants and this one is fascinating. Can't wait to play it some more. Will return to update with details. I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat. :)

Its all it says it was but it came damaged. The corner was all smashed, but the contents were undamaged.

It's hard find chess variat sets that don't cost a lot. This set is well put together for it's price. Love the flash cards to help learn the new pieces, even if you don't play with the extra pieces it would be a great tracing tool for beginners to learn standard chess.The quilting of the board is fine, its not the harvest or thinkers I've seen but I'm really happy with it for the price.The pieces are w little on the light side if your used to playing with a better set. But again for the price they are good enough, and it's not to hard to add weight if you really wanted to.With the specialty pieces there is a nice mix of new pawn, minor, and major pieces to have some unique game matches. I do wish the pieces did stand out better since some of pawn style pieces can be easily mixed up if you don't rotate them right.All in all love the set.

This is a surprisingly good set! It was a gift for my son who is new to chess. I really like the learning cards it came with too. Nicely made and sturdy all around. I also like the additional game play options as well.Well thought out set and great for all levels of play.(Honest opinion, not compensated in any way)

It's a very nice game for the family.. unlike chess where everything is played by the book, this game is purely strategic

I like the weight of the pieces. Good set.

Very nice item

This is a nicely done commercial chess variant. It's nicely put together in a that Art Nouveau style you are from the early 20th century. It's pretty. Boxes are a little tight though.The king is 2 tall with a 1 diameter base.The pieces are single weighted with felt on the bottom. They have a nice feel for all that they're light.You can play regular chess with the pieces, or build an army using a mix of fairy and regular pieces.For all that I like it, I've got two suggestions: offer some pre-calculated armies with complimentary pieces; sell the fairy pieces as well or double the quantity of low and middle value pieces. Heck, I'm willing to buy another set just to make that happen.Worth the money for all that my daughter beat me like a drum with it.Edit: Bought a second set for additional pieces. Still getting beaten like a drum. May put together some armies.

This is a thinking game, but a lot of fun. It is chess with a new and interesting twist by adding new pieces with different movement abilities. On a side note, there was a problem with my set. The company was very responsive and made it right almost immediately, which was much appreciated as my family was excited to try this game. Overall, a lot of fun and highly recommended!

Great game, very creative way to add some extra challenges to chess!