Well, technically, half of GeekNative has reviewed the official Minecraft: Chess Set. Girdy has basically refused to play me, so I’m proud to announce, I’ve just beat my boyfriend at chess!
I’m a little competitive (especially at monopoly), so people don’t always like to play games with me. However, it’s been a while since I’d gotten my hands on a decent chess set, and so when I was offered this Minecraft: Chess Set from Noble Collection, I jumped at the chance!
Doesn’t it look fabulous?
Before we go any further, here’s the official product description:
Prepare to unleash your strategic genius in the real world with the Minecraft chess set—a battlefield where cunning reigns supreme. Will you lead the noble Overworld characters to victory, or will you harness the power of the sinister hostile mobs?
The choice is yours as you navigate through this 18-inch square chess board, its wood-like frame encasing a textured “grass” playing surface, evoking the immersive landscapes of Minecraft. Adorned with metallic Minecraft logos, this board is not just a game—it’s a testament to your mastery of tactics.
But the true essence of the battle lies within the 32 game pieces, each standing up to 4 inches tall, meticulously crafted to resemble the iconic elements of Minecraft: marbled stone, obsidian, redstone, and emerald. Assemble your forces and witness as they clash in an epic struggle for dominance. And like any adventure in Minecraft, a touch of assembly is required! Fear not, as the board arrives in four interlocking quadrants, ensuring easy setup and convenient storage between battles.
So rally your troops, plot your moves, and prepare to claim victory on this tangible battlefield where every decision shapes the course of history.
First appearance and unboxing
It arrived pretty sharpish, too, so I didn’t waste any time challenging my boyfriend to a match. The box is very visually appealing, and the back lists all the pieces you get in your set (as well as how to add to them with collector replicas, interesting!).
Being a millennial, I love a good box, I do. But, there’s only so much admiring you can do before it’s time to move on and get to the real meat of the matter. Time to unbox!
Not going to lie, this did feel a bit like Christmas! Everything’s very well packaged and protected, so self and my partner Murdo were carefully to take our time unboxing everything and looking over the assembly instructions.
First (and maybe only) qualm: There’s no rules on how to actually play chess included. Maybe this is a small oversight on the developers of this chess set, or not – after all, I can understand why you’d assume someone who buys a chess set will know how to play chess. But for people buying it mainly for the fact it’s minecraft, and maybe haven’t ever played chess before, it would have been a nice addition.
Assembling the board
The first thing we did was assemble the board, which is quite large (banana for scale) and comes in four pieces, with some very nice metal sliders to hold it in place.
They actually do a very good job of holding it together, because afterwards we were able to pick up the fully assembled board, with the pieces on top, so we could take some better pics post-play.
The pieces
I love that the figures on the two sides are so different; this is not your average, boring chess set! You get to choose between the noble overland characters vs the sinister hostile mobs – and to be honest, the sinister hostile mobs are the ones that did it for me.
On first glance, I find the dark side just so much more visually appealing (probably in more than just this chess set, to be honest, because that’s my general life aesthetic!). But I do love that on the white side, you get King Steve and Queen Alex. And the chickens as your pawns!
Now that we’ve had an overview of the pieces in theory, let’s check out how they actually look close up:
As you can see, it’s a very visually pleasing board. The figures are a decent size, satisfying chunky, textured and tactile – in other words, great fun to pick up and put down as you make your next move!
It’s also a nice touch that the classic chess shapes are on the front of each of the figures. It helps to bridge the gap between Minecraft and chess – like parents who may be unfamiliar with Minecraft playing with their kids, for example.
I’m particularly fond of Wither and Ender Dragon, but also all of the detail on the back of Enderman. I really appreciate all of the attention to detail that’s been put into crafting all of these figures, and it makes it feel like a real set for the fans – which is exactly as it should be.
Gameplay
Now, we’ve admired long enough – time to play some damn chess! For those of you who know chess, you’ll know there will be nothing different or special about the rules with this board. It’s the same old chess as always, so I won’t bore you with the details of how chess is played.
I set out to win with my sinister hostile mobs, and self and Murdo tried to remember all the basics of chess, as neither of us had played in around 20+ years. I think we did fairly well overall! As white, Murdo went first, and I felt a little nervous.
Here are some actual in-game photos, as it played out. My nerves soon melted away as, after an aggressive first push, Murdo done did mess up by losing his queen to me. He basically knew it was over right then and there, but we kept playing.
After that, it was a pretty gradual but consistent descent for him, until he had only two pieces left and conceded defeat.
I had a lot of fun playing with this set, and I’m sure we’ll probably go for a rematch before we put the pieces away. Saying that! If you do have the space, and don’t mind regular dusting, it would probably also look pretty good out on display – especially if you’re a regular chess player.
I can imagine smiling whenever I walked past this beautiful set, and it would certainly be a conversation starter! I would happily show this off to anyone who asked.
Overall
Despite the small quibble about not having any rules for those who might be new to chess, I’d still give this five stars, as it’s a great collector’s piece that’s true to the game, and ideal for Minecraft lovers. Plus, Googling how to play chess isn’t really much of an ask these days.
This chess set seems to RRP at around £55, and is great value for money if you’re looking for a true collector’s item that feels a bit special, or maybe a great Christmas or birthday present for a friend or family member who loves both Minecraft and chess!
Minecraft: Chess Set is currently available to purchase on NobleCollection.co.uk.
What do you think of my review of the official Minecraft: Chess Set? Is this now on your radar, too? Let me know in the comments.
