Story Time Chess Backgammon Set for Kids, Ages 3 and Up, Educational Learning Game, 1-6 Players

This kids storytime chess game board has quickly become one of our favorite family games, and I’m genuinely impressed with how well it works for introducing chess to young children. The board and pieces are sturdy and colorful, which immediately grabs kids’ attention, and the story-based format makes learning the rules feel like an adventure instead of a chore. My 7- and 9-year-old were able to follow along with minimal help, and within a couple of play sessions they were excitedly recommending moves to each other based on the story prompts. The included guide is clear and age-appropriate — it breaks down the traditional moves into fun scenes and characters, which helps kids associate actions with narrative instead of memorizing dry rules. We appreciated how the board and pieces feel durable enough to withstand enthusiastic play without tipping or bending. The storytelling aspect has turned chess into a shared activity we look forward to, rather than a frustrating lesson. One tiny thing that would make it even better is if the rule booklet were laminated or sturdier, but that’s a minor detail compared to the overall value this game delivers. This chess set is much more than a typical board — it’s a teaching tool, family activity, and confidence builder all in one. Highly recommended for parents who want their kids to learn strategy, patience, and critical thinking in a way that feels like play.

Here's what I loved: 1.) It teaches each piece individually! - Story Time Chess gives each of the different pieces on the board a cute character and a fun backstory. And the backstory helps you remember how they move! (King Chompers gobbles up pizza as he goes slowly, moving one step at a time.) After each character's story, there's a set of practice games that will help your child practice moving that piece (while committing how it moves to memory). The instructions recommend mastering one piece before moving on to the next. This seems so logical to me! Don't try to remember all those pieces and their moves all at once. Learn them one at a time! 2.) Its more than just a chess game! This set has a lovely, colorful book that's filled with all the character backstories and practice games! There's also a small board game and a set of cards for practice. Plus, the chess board is double sided! There's a Story Time Chess side and a regulation side! 3.) The characters are fun and engaging! As I mentioned, there are fun characters and backstories for each piece on the chess board. They are adorable and the kids really love them! And I love that they slide into each of the chess pieces! This means that when you're ready to graduate to the official game, you can slip the characters off and play with the regular chess pieces! 4.) The board and pieces are large. - This may seem like its not a big deal, but for small hands, this is great! It not only makes the game seem fun and engaging, but it makes it easier for little hands to play with! We've really enjoyed this game so far! The kids and I all love the colorful story book and the adorable characters! And I feel like its actually helping us all master how the pieces move. (There was a period of a couple weeks between the first time we played and the second - because I got really sick and wasn't up to any games for a while. But even after all that time, I still remembered that the King moves one step at a time and where he moves - thanks to the adorable story, characters, and practice games!) At 40 years old, I may actually FINALLY learn to play chess!!! And I'm kinda super excited about that!!! The kids all enjoy the fun stories and colorful characters as well! And with the storybook and practice games, it really feels like we're getting a LOT for the price - a standard chess game, a fun and fanciful chess game, practice games, and a story book! I received this game, free of charge, from Story Time Chess, in exchange for my honest BLOG review. I was not required to post a positive Amazon review, but I was so impressed by this game that I felt compelled to.

Such a fun and brilliantly creative way to teach anyone chess. I am currently using it with an adult who wants to learn the game but has always been overwhelmed by the many pieces and strategies. They are finding this to be imaginative and fun. The motivation to learn? Our 5 year old granddaughter has already learned Story Time Chess and her grandmother, my wife wants to play, too! Such a fun, encouraging, and nonthreatening way to discover this wonderful game - and useful for all ages. Full sized pieces, entertaining stories, gradual introduction of pieces, simple introductory games at each stage of learning.

This game has taught three of my grandkids how to play chess. Great fun and great value!

So so cute. But no info on the check , check mate anything in actually winning the game of chess. It's just how the pieces work great stories and a game of capture the king at the end. Only after finishing the story do i see the other two books that explain strategy and such. Kinda bummed about that.... Overall a great game to get kids to learn the moves and stories are cute. My daughter just turned 6 and like the story and the mini games, but likes to play with the pieces alot more than actually playing chess /chess ish. Would purchase again

Even a 3 year old can pick uo tips for the game as they watch older players learn. Fun to read storry akso!

I recently got into chess as a hobby and my daughter watched me play a lot of games. She really loves board games and so she asked if I could teach her. I figured it would be fun to be able to teach her and play together. The difficult thing is...well chess is difficult! I didn't know where to start teaching a 4-year-old something as complicated as chess. I found this online and immediately knew that my daughter would take to it. I just didn't know how much! She absolutely loves this. We breezed through level 1 and bought the puzzle book for it. We breezed through that and we're not on level 2! She loves the characters and the stories. They're the right amount of fun, silliness, and helpfulness. She now knows how all the pieces move and play a simple game of "capture the king." The set itself is well made. The characters are likable. The stories are entertaining. The exercises and puzzles are the right difficulty. There are a few criticisms. 1) The pieces could be better quality. They're a bit light and feels like cheap plastic 2) More stories would have been helpful, as they were a big hit 3) More explanation could have been given for why there are 2 sets of Bop and Bae (bishops). My daughter was confused by Bop and Bae were both on King Shaky's side AND King Chomper. The same goes for Clip and Clop (the knights). Other than that, the whole thing is fantastic! She's liking level 2 so far. I'd definitely recommend this.

I am thoroughly impressed with the Story Time Chess set! Not only is it a great way to teach children how to play chess, but it also incorporates storytelling and fun characters to make the learning process even more engaging and enjoyable. The set comes with a colorful and well-illustrated storybook that introduces each chess piece as a unique character with its own personality and backstory. This approach really helped my child to understand the different moves and strategies involved in the game, as well as to develop a deeper appreciation for the game as a whole. I also appreciate the quality of the pieces themselves. They are made of durable plastic and are sized just right for small hands to handle. The game board is also well-made and folds up easily for storage. Overall, I highly recommend the Story Time Chess set for anyone who wants to teach their child how to play chess in a fun and engaging way. It's a wonderful educational tool that has already provided hours of entertainment for my family!

Do not buy, scam. Comes in Ukrainian and the process to get the money back is slow…

All product screenshots, descriptions on the box, and other information are in English. The product comes in Russian. Why would I need a game in Russian for a small child, a manual telling stories and rules in Russian, without which it is impossible to play. The entire product is useless. Deliberate misleading of the customer. I can see from the comments that the seller does this all the time. A blatant SCAM.

Out of the box, one of the pawns didn’t have a slot. Super glue doesn’t work because it’s handled by children. Emailed their support to no avail. Anyway, amazing game and my 3yo loves the cute stories and have learned the fundamentals of chess piece movements. It’ll honestly be a long time before we play an actual game, so in the meantime, we have a knight each, and are racing across the board to see who collects the most pizza first. Gallop, gallop, move to the side!

This is a truly magnificent game. It teaches the basics of chess in a simple and child friendly way. My daughter loves the stories, and laughs each time we read them. The additional option to add the characters from the stories to the chess pieces is a lovely touch. The mini games provide a great build up enabling young children to understand the moves of the chess pieces without getting confused. The final suggestion of an almost complete game chess without worrying about tactics needed for check and check mate is perfect for my daughter's age and capabilities. The board itself is great. I love the double sides with one being a traditional chess board and one having grass to complement the stories as well pictures of characters showing where each piece starts making setting up easy. We've had many hours of fun with this game and I am sure we will have many more. There are two expansion packs (level 2: strategy and level 3: tactics) which look equally as excellent. Unfortunately they do not seem to be available to buy in the UK so I've had to order from elsewhere (not yet received) but I am sure they will be equally as excellent.

Ordered it in France, but product itself is in Russian. All images are in English and nothing in the description to say that it is not in English