By Amber

April 21st, 2020

Thanks to Story Time Chess for sending me a copy of this fun game! There is a sponsored link inserted. As always, all opinions are my own.

How is your family holding up during this pandemic? We’re doing pretty well over here but are starting to get a bit bored. One thing we’ve been doing is playing board games as a family more, which is fun for all of us. That being said, I can only play the same games over and over so many times before I start to go a little crazy! When I heard about a new game called Story Time Chess, I knew it would be a big hit with our kids and would make teaching them a complicated game so much simpler.

Story Time Chess

Our kids are just four and six, so you may be thinking I’m crazy trying to teach them how to play chess this young. But actually, Story Time Chess was designed to teach children as young as three (!!!) to play chess using silly stories, vibrant illustrations, custom chess pieces, a unique chess board, and an engaging card game.

One of the first things I discovered in the game box is this beautifully designed storybook. Stories can be such a powerful educational tool because children have the ability to retain so many details. The storybook that comes along with Story Time Chess is filled with stories that explain the rules of chess in ways that kids can understand, rather than just abstract rules!

Each chess piece has its own story and exercises that explain how the piece moves in a fun, silly, memorable way. I recall learning how to play chess and finding the different ways each piece can move SO confusing! I wish Iā€™d had this game or known how to find a chess coach when I was learning, as it would have made the concepts stick much better. Each time I play chess, even as an adult, I need a refresher on which pieces can move in what directions. My kids are already starting to pick up on this, even though they’re much younger than I was when I learned to play!

The custom chess pieces are designed to fit cardboard cutouts of each character so children can connect the stories to the pieces more easily. By both seeing the characters and touching the pieces, kids can make the connection about how the pieces move and why. The double sided chess board and custom chess pieces are made from high quality, child friendly materials. They’re also regulation size for tournament play. Players can either use the story themed side with all of our characters, or the standard chess side for regular chess.

Story Time Chess also comes with engaging mini-games to reinforce the mechanics of the game. With over 30 mini-games to teach children the rules of chess effectively, they’re sure to get the basics down in no time. The card game included also encourages kids to use every chess piece! To be honest, I’m learning just as much as my kids are while we read these stories and play the mini-games. I’m definitely going to be playing against my husband to test out my new knowledge!

Overall, Story Time Chess is such a fun and innovative way to teach children how to play chess. Playing chess helps children excel by sharpening critical thinking, boosting emotional intelligence, and strengthening academic performance. By teaching children how to play chess at a young age, they can really take advantage of these benefits! Since we homeschool, I can see Story Time Chess becoming one of our best teaching tools. It’s also a great game to play since we’re stuck at home right now anyway!

  • Buy it: Story Time Chess – Use code “CHESSLANDIA” at checkout to save 10% by 4/30/2020!
  • Win it: One lucky reader will take home a copy of Story Time Chess! This is a US giveaway for the 48 continental states, ending 5/7. Enter using the form below, and good luck!

 

 

 

 

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This post currently has 5 responses.

  • Sarah L

    I almost learned to play chess many years ago. I’d need this game to teach me for real.

    • It’s such a fun game but it’s definitely vital to understand the pieces and how they move! I’m an impatient person so it’s hard for me to play against someone who is super critical about each move, but it’s been so fun teaching our kids how to play and learning more myself!

  • Trudy

    I, probably like most of us, have only played chess a handful of times in my life, back when I was a teen. I wish that I had learned to play better, or to fully understand the game. Story Time Chess is a great tool to teach your kids chess, and may also help you to learn if you’re not so hot at the game yourself! It uses an interactive storybook to help teach kids about chess through fun characters. Kids can visualize the pieces through these character cutouts that are attached to the chess pieces, which helps to understand how each piece moves.Introducing chess to our children is a very good idea. It’s important to know, it might sound obvious, but isn’t so, that you can do it from a very young age and you don’t have to explain it with proper rules. Why? This is the obvious part – because there is no fun in it. But with books like this, by Richard James, or like the one writen by Makism Aksanov (net-boss.org/chess-puzzles-for-kids-by-maksim-aksanov) and by many, many more chess entthusiasts, it’s very easy to teach with all the fun and play, and make with this game a very rich, fantasy world of our kids šŸ™‚

    • Monica

      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. Thanks for recommending Maksim Aksanov book. If you like this approach to chess, check also Chess Solitaire No Stress Chess.

    • Harris

      Yes! Makism Aksanov’s book is great and the coloring pages at the end of each chapter do the job. My daughter is very happy and eager to solve the tasks. This is exactly what I was looking for for my son

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