Since you have been home with the family for the past few months have you tried any new games? What are you doing to spend time together to enjoy each other's company? Playing board games and cards have always been my go-to for family time. When my kids were little we would play a match game, go fish, and checkers to teach them how to get the hang of the more mature games of strategy.
Do you know how to play Chess? That's one I never learned to play. Thanks to Story Time Chess, families can learn to play together. It's a game for 3+. It's a 2-4 player game and takes about 20 minutes to play start to finish.
So, I bet you are thinking, how can a 3-year-old play and understand Chess? Story Time Chess has a storybook that explains how each piece moves and whats its name is. It has a double-sided board so it can be played on the themed side or as the standard game.
One thing I want to mention right away. High Five, Story Time Chess. I love how you used so many real human characteristics. So many nationalities, girls and boys, short, tall, chubby, thin, glasses, red hair, brown hair, and blonde. There are so many characters (32 in all), that you nailed it!! I absolutely love brands that show inclusion. We need more of this!
This whole set comes with everything from learning the game of chess for 3 years + all the way up to expert playing level. There are chapter stories introducing the pieces and mini-games to help with the learning process. It's designed to learn the game one piece a time so there is complete understanding. This is just awesome.
What comes in the box?
- Story Time Chess Instructions
- Standard Chess instructions
- 1 Double-sided chessboard (Story Side and Standard Side)
- 1 Set of custom Chess pieces- 16 white 16 black
- 32 Character Cutouts- 16 Team Chomper and 16 Team Shaky
- 1 Storybook
- 30 Crown Tokens- 15 Pizza Tokens and 15 Jewel Tokens
- 1 Crown Card game mat
- 30 Crown cards
The playing pieces are the perfect size for learning hands. They are chunky-sized and easy to grip for kids and adults. Each one of the 32 characters has a cardboard cutout with its name and picture on the front and a picture of the game piece on the back for easy matching. The game pieces have a stand and slot on the front to stand the character cards into.
The chess pieces come in a shaped holder that is perfect for shipping and storage. The holder matches the pieces. As a parent, I love this feature for 2 main reasons.
1. It teaches accountability. The kids know how many pieces are in the game by a visual aspect, not necessarily the number but, by one piece per hole. Empty spaces mean missing pieces. Even if they are not at the age of counting confidently to 32, they can easily tell if there is a piece missing.
2. It's easy to recognize missing pieces. It's easy to see which pieces are missing by their shape. That is so helpful when I'm searching under the furniture for them.
The character cards and the tokens come on pop off sheets. The cardboard is thick and made to withstand the learning nature of the game set.
The durability of the game pieces matches the sturdiness of the board. It's a 4x4 board that fits back in the box. It has squares that are big enough to easily place the pieces without knocking them off of their spot or running over other pieces.
Teaching kids how to play a game can be pretty fun. Start it by reading the first chapter of the book. That will introduce the piece and the moves it makes. There are exercises at the end of the chapter to help learn the pieces and how they move correctly. This story is so cute and makes the pieces so relatable. The stories are exciting and invite the reader and listener into the game to not just play it but understand it from the very beginner's point of view.
Chapters of the story-
- Chapter 1- King Chomper, The White King
- Chapter 2- King Shaky, The Black King
- Chapter 3- The Kings' Children, The Pawns
- Chapter 4- Bea and Bop, The Bishops
- Chapter 5- Clip and Clop, The Knights
- Chapter 6- Magical Mount Rookanook, The Rooks
- Chapter 7- Queen Bella, The White Queen
- Chapter 8- Queen Allegra, The Black Queen
- Chapter 9- Crown Card Game
Benefits Of Learning Chess
Chess is a game of sophistication, strategy, concentration, and discipline. You really have to think about your moves and your possible next moves, and your opponent's possible moves. It can be a very intimidating game going in. There have been studies done on the game of chess and how it benefitted the players on a brain level. It is so much more than just learning a new game. Here are just a few of the benefits:
- Higher IQ
- Higher level of creativity
- It exercises both sides of the brain
- Improves Memory and concentration
- It promotes Planning and Foresight
- Increases Problem-Solving Skills
- Helps Prevent Alzheimer’s
I love this game set. I think it makes learning something new for the whole family while teaching your children to play is such an awesome thing. There is nothing like the togetherness of a game night. The whole family participating laughing and enjoying each other's companies a great thing.
You can check out the Story Time Chess game on their website and on their social media channels by visiting the pages below. You can also search for #storytimechess to see what everyone else has to say about them.
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