Set Name: LEGO Kingdoms Chess Set
Set Number: 853373
Year: 2012
Ages: 6+
MSRP: $49.99 USD $59.99 CA
Pieces: 328
Number of Minifigures: 28
Price per Piece: $0.1524 USD $0.1829 CA
Price per minifig: $1.79 US/$2.14 CA
Description on LEGO.com
Play chess with minifigures in regal LEGO® Kingdoms’ style!
Build all 32 royal characters, then the black and white baseplate board! Put your army in place with their weapons and accessories, then battle with your opponent in a classic game of chess – LEGO® style! Includes a storage box!
•Features 32 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories
•Includes storage box
•Play chess with royal minifigures and weapons!
•Makes a great gift for fans of LEGO® Kingdoms building sets!
The Box
The front shows the set in action (complete with "movement").
The back shows each chess piece:
The Contents
You get the following:
Storage box
green 32x32 stud plate and gray base
5 bags
cardboard sheet showing each figure
Instruction booklet:
The Build:
If you or your child enjoys building minifigures, this is a set for you! You basically assemble all 32 chess pieces and are finished. The LEGO.com description says it contains 32 minifigures, but I do not believe the Rooks should count as minifigures.
Let's look at each chess piece:
Pawn:
Excuse the tile...that goes with the green King. It reads, "You are far more powerfull than you would ever imagine..." Although "powerful" is misspelled as "powerfull".
back
Rook:
Knight: the red knight/jester has an alternate face (crying)
back
Bishop:
back
Queen:
The queen comes with a happy and mad face.
King:
back - The green king has a plain back under the cape.
The complete set:
Will you be GREEN?
or RED?
Final thoughts:
NOTE: I myself have never played chess so I can't really comment on the figures themselves and how they represent a true chess board. My father-in-law saw it and had some negative comments on the "authenticity" of the pieces, but I wasn't really listening to what he was saying
My husband plans on using this to teach my daughter chess. She built it herself (and is 7).
If you like chess or Kingdoms, this set is for you! This set is a fun way to teach a new chess player the game. Overall, I am pleased with the set.
I do think it might be difficult to play if you don't have "smallish" hands/fingers. The weapons can get in the way if not placed properly.
The gray "tray" is not that bad. It is not as flimsy as the Ningajo spinner battle arena. It actually is quite sturdy.
Pros:
NO Glued parts
NO Stickers
Lots of printed fronts and backs for the minifigs
Lots of minifigs
Sturdy storage box
Cons:
Some of the minifig hands were hard to turn
The red king's helmet is very loose...this is one we cannot move by its head.
The pieces are a bit hard to move on the board, you have to be careful to properly place the weapons or the piece won't fit properly on the board. A smaller child learning to play may get frustrated with moving the pieces because of this.
There are no instructions on how to play chess, I guess they assume you know how. It would have been nice to include a booklet with playing instructions. Mind you, I have no idea how long those instructions would be.
Rating:
Build: 4/5
Pieces: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Play Features: 5/5 (as minifigs) 3/5 as a chess set
Overall: 4/5
NIce review tho, thnx!
