I have never liked Chess as a kid or as a teenager. It was just one of those games that looked boring and bland. A game for nerds. However in the past several years after buying my first iphone, I could not find a app that suited my needs. Ultimately I needed an game that required some strategy and would never get boring. A game that I could improve on over time and a game that would pass time while I was playing it. That game ended up being Chess.At first, I was VERY BAD at Chess, and in some ways I still am. I remember losing to a group of kids while on a cruise. After 100 or so games I realized that Chess was not so bad. In fact It became an addiction.Now here I am finally wanting to get a customized Chess board. Since I am into Fantasy and Medieval characters, I thought about buying the "Crusaders Chess" set.However I want my Chess pieces to be able to be customized and I preferred my pawns to be holding shields and swords. I just could not justify the one or two hundred dollars to get this Chess set it.
The pieces are nicely painted but will wear and crack and this was something I did not want.While browsing eBay, I found this this amazing chess set! The Castle Giant Lego Chess Set. Unfortunately this set was released in 2008 and is a limited edition set. It was priced at $200 back then but now fetches anywhere between $1500-1800. A fairly steep price for an Awesome set. Until Lego decides to launch another limited edition Chess set I have decided to custom make my own!Here is another set that is readily available for $50. The Kingdom Chess Set. The pieces are nice but the Chess board is small and untiled. This would mean for every move I would have to pull the piece off one section of the board and try to push it back on the desired square without the piece falling apart on me.It was then I decided to build my own chess board using the "Castle Giant Lego Chess Set" as a template and even improving on the individual pieces.$200-400 And so my journey began.I scoured Bricklink and eBay and bought minifigures and all the pieces i needed.
I also spent hours looking for the instruction manual on Google for the pieces from "The Kingdom Chess set". Rothschild Elementary Family LEGO NightAlternate Small LEGO Bird PlansAlternate Small LEGO Kid PlansAlternate Small LEGO Creeper PlansAlternate Small LEGO Worm PlansSouth Mountain PTO LEGO Club NightSmall LEGO Worm PlansSmall LEGO Chick PlansSmall LEGO Bird PlansAnother Small LEGO Kid Plans Small LEGO Chess Set After completing the first two Giant LEGO Chess Pieces, I realized I would need to build something smaller if I wanted to have a full LEGO Chess Set any time soon. So, I set out to build a chess set sized so that would fit entirely on a board made from an X-Large Gray Baseplate 48 studs (15 inches) square. There are 64 squares on a chess board, so some quick math told me this meant each square would be 6×6 studs. It also meant each piece would need to be no larger than 4×4 studs if I wanted the chess pieces to be able to sit on the board without touching each other.
I wasn’t sure I could get enough detail in such small pieces, but I decided to give it a shot and see if I could design within these constraints and still have identifiable pieces. Shown below is a picture of the result. I was able to stay within my design constraints with one exception. In order to get the shape I wanted for the Knights, I extended a small portion of the design to 5 studs, but centered it within the 6 stud square, so two Knights can still face another on the board without touching. Here is a closer look at the red side. All pictures below are of the red pieces since they photograph much better. (The pieces for both sides have an identical design.) I will publish an article series in the near future with instructions for each piece in case anyone is interested in building a set like this on their own. The pictures above expose most of the design, but the instructions will spell it out in complete detail. [Updated - 02/12/2008: Here are the links to the plans: Pawn, Knight, Castle, Bishop, Queen, King.]
Lego BrikwarsLego ComicLego PlaymobilUnique LegosLego QuirkyToy Photography InspirationSw Lego EtcLego StarsLego WegoForward" WELL IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT GOLD..."Who will win is anyone’s guess as these delightful poseable figures go brick head to brick head. Featuring fantastic custom LEGO minifig capes, these custom BrickHeadz designed by Kale Frost are simply brilliant! The scene pits two of DC’s most popular superheroes against each other in a friendly game, as these characters battle it out across the table. Judging by the pieces left on the Chess board, it looks like Superman is losing pieces faster than a speeding bullet. See more of these superheroes At this point, chess sets made of LEGO are old hat. Heck, there’s many official sets too, so it’s not limited to custom models. But there’s something elegant in this version by Bartosz Sasiński. Not only are the designs of each piece worth taking a look at, but the white faction pulls off a faux wood effects by incorporating brown into the white and tan.
Magma Guy has posted a really lovely chess set in honor of our 9th birthday! Built in Brothers Brick colors, the set really pops. I am a big fan of brick-built chess sets and the quality of this one is top-shelf. I especially like how the designs of the two sides are quite different but maintain a similar style. The board itself is simple yet elegant. The use of brown as a highlight really ties the green and white together as well. I would love to play a game or two, Magma Guy! This is the STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI Chess set. It is the 3rd and final installment in a series of three LEGO Star Wars chess sets that Brandon Griffith built in celebration of the Original Star Wars Trilogy. Check out the other two sets; A NEW HOPE and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Will you play the Light Side? or the Dark Side? The third-quarter LEGO sets are now officially out, led by both the new LEGO Lord of the Rings and Marvel Super Heroes sets. If you buy $50 from the LEGO Shop between now and the end of the month, you’ll get an exclusive Hulk minifig that’s not available in any set, for free.
And you’ll get the original Frodo minifig movie poster with any LEGO LOTR order. Having *ahem* cheated and picked up some of these sets at a local brick-and-mortar store on Sunday, I can attest to the awesomeness of a tiny Gandalf and even tinier Frodo — with suspenders! — in 9469 Gandalf Arrives. Here’s the list of all LEGO LOTR sets that are out now: 9469 Gandalf Arrives: Comes with Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, and one of the new horses Chris covered in his review of 9471 Uruk-hai Army. 9470 Shelob Attacks: Includes Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, the One Ring, and Gollum. 9471 Uruk-hai Army: With Eomer, Rohirrim archer, four Uruk-hai, and a new horse. 9472 Attack on Weathertop: Has Aragorn, Frodo, Meriadoc Brandybuck, two Ringwraiths, and two of the new horses in black. 9473 The Mines of Moria: I picked this one up locally too, and it’s a pretty fun build that has lots of play features and cool minifigs — Legolas (resulting in the inevitable puns while I built the set, followed by swooning from my wife), Gimli, Boromir, Peregrin Took, two orcs/goblins, and a very large cave troll.
9474 The Battle of Helm’s Deep: The largest set in the theme at $130 and over 1,300 parts, this set comes with Aragorn, Gimli, Haldir, King Théoden, and four Uruk-hai (including the torch-wielding berserker). 9476 The Orc Forge: This set is exclusive to one of the big-box retailers if you don’t get it directly from LEGO, and has Lurtz, two orcs/goblins, and another Uruk-hai. Here’s a closer look at Helm’s Deep: Finally, just when you thought the current LEGO Castle theme was (mostly) dead, LEGO has just released a new 853373 LEGO Kingdoms Chess Set. Main Hulk minifig offer link for US readers: For our Canadian readers: And for our UK readers:Similar deals may or may not be available in other countries. I’m a sucker for LEGO chess sets. I’ve built several myself and once you get going, it is hard to stop. This miniature set, by Matt Armstrong has a deceptively simple quality to it. The pieces are all made from the micro trophy figure, from the Collectible Minifigure series, and at first glace are nearly indistinguishable from one another.
However, the bases of the chess pieces are just different enough that one can tell the various pieces apart at a glance. Now I want to go make some more chess sets… There are so many things I want to say about this, but mostly, I’m just in awe. This four-section creation by Rook just has so much gorgeous detail. I’ll start with the obvious: the four parts interlock to create either a tower or fortress, and changes the dynamics for each mode. Then there’s the bone-tree, the “giant” chess set, and the detailing on the towers. I can’t pick a favorite detail on this. Just take a look and see for yourself! Thanks for the heads up, Bley Junkie! As follow up to his A New Hope chess set, Brandon Griffith (icgetaway) presents another beautiful set that captures the key characters from The Empire Strikes Back. I really like the Hoth themed game board, and the fact that it also acts as storage for the pieces is another plus. Check out the full details on Flickr.
And I think it might just come after me in my sleep. Making its debut at Brickworld in Chicago, this massive chess set features a year-long build time, over 100k pieces, and 32 NXT. Your design team features:Project Lead: Steve HassenplugChess Body Design: John BrostSoftware & PC Interface: Ron McRaeMove Selection Center & Showcase Event Coordination: Bryan BonahoomChess Clock: Jenn Wagner With nearly 2 dozen people helping with the actual build, this chess set is clearly a herculean effort. It looks simply amazing. These are two sets that I made for Classic Castle’s Chess Challenge, which ends tonight. I had a lot of fun with these. I’ve never made two matching creations in different scales before. I’m hooked on Chess sets now. I think I’m going to do some more… I play a lot of board games, and while chess isn’t at the top of my rotation, I still appreciate a nice set. This little set by akunthita looks like the perfect thing to bring on a flight or road trip to a Lego convention.