Brain Blox ~ Fun Family Chess Review

Do you know how to play chess? I have to confess that I attempted to learn how to play chess several times throughout the years without much success. My kids love playing chess and usually play with dad or friends. Recently, I had a chance to learn chess from Brain Blox and their Fun Family Chess set.

 Fun Family Chess is unique as it is intended to be a beginner friendly chess and can also be used by those who already know how to play chess. The intended age is for 5 and up. Chess is a 2 player game but, you can also team up and have 2 players per team with this set.

Self-contained box holds everything.

 Fun Family Chess comes with everything you need. The chess set is a self-contained fold in half 15 inch wooden box. It has two nickel hinges to keep the items secured inside the box. 

The wood board is a standard size chess board.

 The outside of the box is black and white chess playing board the rest of the board is painted white.  On the player’s edge side you have the chess pieces symbol, which corresponds with the placement of the pieces. One side has the black painted chess pieces and the other side it white. This is a nice feature for those who are learning the game.

The velvet protects the items and makes it quiet when moving it

 The inside of the box is a black velvet material. There are two velvet draw-string bags for the chess pieces. 

A classy looking chess set!

The chess pieces are made of solid wood. The set pieces are white and dark wood color with felt on the bottom of each piece. They reference the colors as the “dark and light side.”

A wooden die ‘chess cube” is included to play the Fun Family Chess. The die has all the chess pieces on it except for the king. The king is replaced by a star. The colors correspond with the Reference Cards.

Handy Reference Card

The two Reference Cards are exactly the same. It’s full colored and made out of a thick paper. The card has tips on the left side. The rest of the card has a section for the rook, bishop, queen, king, knight, and pawn. The colors correspond with the wooden cube. Each piece has a colored illustration of which direction that particular piece can move. Underneath the illustration is a short sentence with the direction of the move it makes in bold.

Clear & easy to understand step-by-step instructions

There is a full colored illustrated instruction book included that has the Fun Family Chess instruction and your standard chess play instructions. 

Videos for those visual learners

 The instructions don’t stop there as you have a plethora of videos from how to set up your chess set, playing Fun Family Chess, how each piece moves in Fun Family Chess, and how to play standard chess. 

What’s the difference between Fun Family Chess and Standard Chess?

Fun Family Chess was created for beginner chess players and to be kid friendly. It can bring the players together regardless of their age and ability. Once you have mastered it you can transition easily into standard chess.  You will just need to learn a few extra rules that are involved in standard chess. For me I think the hardest part is learning what direction each piece can be moved. It really makes the complexities of chess feel like I’m learning them in an easy step by step progress.

How to play Fun Family Chess 

Roll: This is where you will use the wooden cube that comes with the set. Roll your wooden cube.

Match: This determines how you will move your pieces. You match up the wooden cube with the colored coded symbol on the reference card. Each chess piece has a color assigned to it. If I rolled an orange Bishop I look at my handy reference card and match it to what I rolled.

Move: I can see the directions of all the chess pieces according to the reference card. That helps me know what I can do with that piece.

OH NO I landed on the STAR on the wooden cube! The star allows me to move my king or any piece I choose to move. If you no longer have that piece don’t’ panic! You have to move something so you get to roll again.

As you can see that Fun Family Chess is easier for younger kids and adults who don’t know what they are doing. I know I don’t enjoy playing a game where I’m obliterated in a short time.  There is no checkmate in this version. Your pawn doesn’t become a queen if it reaches the other side. Those are just a few difference.

How Did I use Brain Blox Fun Family Chess in my Homeschool?

Simple! The kids played a lot of chess with one another. The kids-mostly my son played Fun Family Chess with me in an attempt to teach me how to play. The kids love it when they can play a game in school which doesn’t happen often anymore with my 13 and 16 year old! They loved it and I let them play a few games a week if they wanted too. Well, they had to get the core subjects done first.

The kids enjoying a game of chess in school

Now what about me? Do I have a better understanding of chess? Absolutely, the reference cards are a huge help. I can never remember what each chess piece move is. Everyone would get frustrated with me because it took me so long each turn because they had to spend time with me explaining each turn what each piece can do. Now I can look at my handy reference card and explore the board myself without everyone telling me what to do. It makes me feel like I have a bit more control over what I want to do. Rolling the wooden die also helps me focus on a task rather than looking at the board trying to figure out what to do. Not that I didn’t have a few of those moments. 

I also watched the videos to give me a visual reference prior to when I played with the kids.

My 16 year old daughter has special needs but she loves chess and can play rather good. She also forgets sometimes how each piece moves due to her disability. The reference cards helped her tremendously while playing standard chess. She said, “I liked that I could look at the card while my opponent is figuring out his move and plan my moves if I forgot what a piece can do.” 

The kids also played Fun Family Chess together a few times. I asked them if they had a preference and both said, “That they didn’t mind playing it as it was different for them.” “Standard Chess they still prefer playing,” they said.

This is a wonderful set to teach chess to anyone. I feel much more confident playing Fun Family Chess. I will sit down and play with my kids when they ask me. I tried to play standard chess but, I’m just not there yet.  I have to say that personally I don’t care for chess as a game. My kids and husband love chess. I honestly prefer to play something like checkers. I’m just not a chess player. I had fun learning and maybe with more playing I will come to enjoy it more. I haven’t completely thrown in the towel and will continue to play with my kids.  I would flat out tell my kids, NO before. There is hope according to my kids.

Everything you need for for the beginner & experienced chess player

 My son loves that everything packs up neatly in a self-contained box for easy transportation. When we go to our congregation the older kids play games sometimes. This was perfect for him to take with him and not worrying about pieces falling out of a cardboard box.

The set is built sturdy and will last for many years or longer. I can’t wait to share with you my next review of Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks.

 Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybrainblox
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainblox
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUttakNtthj_haX8LwRlwA

Other Members of the Homeschool Review Crew are learning how to play chess with Brain Blox and their Fun Family Chess set. Click on the graphic below to read more.