A Fun Way to Learn to Play Chess from Brain Blox {A Homeschool Review Crew Review}

Would you think that chess is a game that could be taught to young children? Years ago, I would have said no, because the game features many different pieces that move in many different ways and you need to be able figure out strategy. There's a lot for young children to wrap their brains around. However, thanks to the Homeschool Review Crew, I was recently introduced to a wonderful game called Fun Family Chess from Brain Blox. Now, I would have to say, yes, young children can be taught how to play chess. 

I asked to review this product specifically to be able to play with Hannah and Harold. They were excited when the game arrived.

Hannah was the one who helped me get into the box to see what it was like.

This chess set includes a wooden chess board that folds and latches, 32 wooden chess pieces with two soft pouches, a Fun Family Chess instruction book, 2 Reference Cards, and a Chess Cube. These Reference Cards and the Chess Cube are what make this game unique. 

The colors and images on the Chess Cube correspond to the colors and images on the reference cards, so it is easy for even young children to identify the pieces. The reference card shows the player how the pieces move. So, once they roll the Chess Cube, they can look at the reference card if needed to see where they can move the piece.

Every piece except the King is represented on the cube. Instead there is a star. If a star is rolled, the player can move any one of their pieces, even the King. However, the King can ONLY be moved if a star is rolled.

The Reference Card is an awesome resource for both younger children and absolute beginners.

As you can see, it lists the rules on the left side, and shows how each piece can move, which piece can jump, and how the Pawn captures another piece.

That isn't the only feature of the game that helps a beginner learn to play. As you can see from the following picture, a child can easily learn to set up their pieces because the images are also on the board itself.

Honestly, this even helped me as I tend to want to switch the bishops and knights around when setting up.

Besides these helpful features, Family Fun Chess helps beginners by not requiring them to worry too much about strategy. The player is required to move the piece that is rolled on the die, unless that piece can not be moved. If it can't be moved, the player may roll again. Of course, most pieces have more than one of their kind, and there may be more than one way even that one piece can move. So, a bit of strategy is needed to make sure you aren't putting your piece in harm's way. That said, unlike regular chess, your piece may remain safe, as the other player is at the mercy of the roll of the die. 

I admit, that part of the game can be a bit frustrating. NOT being able to capture a piece you could have captured if you were playing a regular game. And the Fun Family Chess way of playing will probably seem boring to older children/adults who have experience playing the regular way. But, if you have younger children who are dying to learn how to play chess, this is most definitely a fun way to introduce them to the game and help them learn the moves without having to focus on strategy. 

I played the game first with Hannah, then with Harold. Thanks to the roll of the die, they beat my behind every time. Even times when I was thinking I was doing well, suddenly they roll something that allowed them to capture my King. 

You see, unlike regular chess, you don't have to worry about such things as "Check" and "Check Mate." In order to win you just have to capture the other player's king. 

We've had fun playing chess during our "mommy-time" of our school day.

And even though strategy is not required to the same extent as it is in a regular game, I loved realizing that the children were thinking about the moves. My husband told me he heard Hannah say something about hoping she would roll a specific piece so she could win. 

Once a person is ready to move on to regular, or standard chess, you can flip to page five in the instruction booklet. First the instructions explain how standard chess is different than Fun Family Chess, then it spends several pages looking at the details of "Check," "Checkmate," "Pawn Promotion," "En Passant," and "Castling." The instruction booklet concludes with a few pages of tips and strategies for regular chess. I've found these tips quite informative myself. 

Would I recommend Fun Family Chess? Yes, I most certainly would. It's a neat way for children with no experience to try their hand at this fun game, and get some one-on-one time with a parent or older sibling. Once they understand how to play, they are free to move on to standard chess. And even older children may find the tips and strategies helpful. 

I love that the game board has room inside of it to store all the materials, and that they are secure thanks to the latches. I love the velvety interior and the soft storage bags, as it makes the game feel more luxurious. The Reference Cards are nice and thick, so they aren't going to rip by being handled too often by younger children. And the Instruction Booklet eye-catching, colorful, and easy to understand. There is even a link to go to learn to play, if you learn better by watching. 

You can purchase Fun Family Chess directly from Brain Blox, or you can find it on Amazon.

You can find Brain Blox on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Don't forget to click the link below to see what my fellow Crew Mates thought of Fun Family Chess. Plus, don't miss my review of the Brain Blox Building Planks that will be going live tomorrow.