Holden used to love to play chess when he was little but hasn’t played in years. He recently inquired about re-learning how to play, so he jumped at the chance to review Fun Family Chess by Brain Blox.
Fun Family Chess is a unique learning game that kids and adults can play 
together. It’s created for two players, and it’s designed to get everyone playing right away without really having to understand the rules beforehand.
The set includes a folding wooden chess board, 32 wooden chess pieces that store in a soft pouch, a full-color chess book, 2 reference cards, and a special chess cube.
This set is available for just $34.95. You can watch some instructional videos on how the game works and see if it’s right for you.
My husband, Steve, is already a pretty good chess player, and he set out many years ago to teach all of the kids to play. I, on the other hand, have never played, but that’s another story. Holden is our youngest child, and he first learned to play when he was about 5. He’s now nearly 12, and he has not played in so many years that he really didn’t remember any more how to play. Recently, he asked about learning to play again, so when this review opportunity came up, he was really excited to start over.
Steven and Holden were able to sit down together and start playing right away. Steve took a quick glance in the chess book, they each took a reference card, they set up the chess board, and they began rolling the chess cube. With each roll of the cube, the player would learn which chess piece they would be allowed to move. With a quick glance at the reference card, they would see the ways in which that piece could move on the board and make their play accordingly. The players take turns and continue in this fashion for the duration of the game. It’s really very simple, and neither of them had any difficulties!
My husband did say that once they got down to just a couple of remaining chess pieces each, the rolling of the cube became a bit too repetitive, as the cube has a side for each of the chess pieces, so they had to roll it repeatedly in order to get one of their remaining pieces to show up. He said that made it hard to actually finish the game once they were near the end. He did say, though, that it made it easy for them to play together, and by limiting his moves, it kept his experience from trumping Holden’s inexperience with the game, helping to level the playing field.
They both concluded that it was a great way to learn all the ways the pieces can move on the board during a real chess game. Steve said he felt like Holden picked up on it pretty quickly, and it really helped him gain confidence in playing. He feels like in future games, he’d like to let Holden play real chess freely without the cube while he himself continues to limit himself with the use of the cube. He said that would allow Holden to practice playing with a real chance of winning rather than letting his own experienced strategies cause Holden to inevitably lose every time.
They both seemed really pleased with the game and its flexibility of play, allowing parents and kids to play together on a level playing field. The solid wood board and pieces seem to be of great quality, and I absolutely love how the pieces all store inside the folding chess board so there’s no need to keep the box. Brilliant!
We would definitely recommend this game for families who want a game they can play together or who legitimately want to learn to play chess. Its gentle introduction and organic way of learning the moves makes it a good fit for everyone in the family.
Check out what other Crew members have to say about their experience with Fun Family Chess by clicking on the banner below.
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