Chess is as fun as it is ancient, but if you want to get in on all the knight and rook action, the sheer number of chess playsets might be intimidating. With that in mind, we’ve gathered together some of the more interesting, colorful, and collectible geeky chess sets for your perusal. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with your traditional black and white handcrafted wooden chess set. If you’re going to be geeky about a new thing, however, you might as well bring some of your older geeky interests to it as well. Here are some of the best geeky chess sets we could find.
Harry Potter
Price: $33.20 Buy the Harry Potter chess set here
Game of Thrones
Price: $99.90 Game of Thrones features no shortage of climactic battles to immortalize on a chess board. For this collector’s set, however, HBO opted to go with Jon Snow and his allies’ titanic struggle against the White Walker. Jon Snow and the Night King fittingly serve as their factions’ respective kings, while Daenerys Targaryen and the undead Viserion serve as queens. Buy the Game of Thrones chess set here
Star Wars
Price: $239.95 Buy the Star Wars chess set here
Lord of the Rings
Price: $649.08 Black and white battles between the forces of good and evil naturally lend themselves to creating some gorgeous chess sets. Lord of the Rings is therefore one of the most chess-able properties there is. There are several editions available but Noble Collection’s stunning $500+ board is worth highlighting. This is as much a conversation-piece as it is a playable board game. But just imagine tearing up some orcs with Galadriel as queen. Buy The Lord of the Rings chess set here
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Price: $169.90 Buy the Star Trek: The Next Generation chess set here
Marvel
Price: $16.95 per month Marvel just might be the hottest name in pop culture right now and thankfully there are plenty of chess set options for chess die hards and newbies to join in on the fun. Figurine company Eaglemoss produces a whole host of Marvel heroes to serve as chess pieces and offers them via monthly subscription. These are all based on the comics characters (rather than the Cinematic Universe) and run the gamut from the ultra-popular (Spider-Man) to the relatively obscure (John Greycrow as a pawn, anyone?). Buy the Marvel chess set here
Justice League
Price: $299.99 Buy the Justice League chess set here
Super Mario
Price: $56.98 As beautiful as many chess sets are, the concept of white v. black can be pretty limiting in the color department. Well this vibrant chess set of Super Mario characters from Nintendo doesn’t have that issue. Coins and shells naturally serve as the pawns here while beloved characters from the Mario universe make up the most skilled pieces. Buy the Super Mario chess set here
Transformers
Price: $119.95 Buy the Transformers chess set here
