Harry Potter Wizard Chess
by Mattel
|
Our Price: $149.91 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $11.56 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
|---|
Toys and Games Reviews of Harry Potter Wizard Chess
Customer Review: kids will actually play with this set
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend's 8 yr old son received the Harry Potter chess set for his birthday. He had played chess sporadically before, but once he received this set he started playing regularly. The link to the Harry Potter books and movies helped because where else do 8 yr old Americans find inspiration for chess? (Bobby Fischer is long gone...) The character pieces help as well because they're less abstract than ordinary Staunton sets (regular chess pieces) and thus seem to help him remember which pieces are which.Regarding quality, the set has some drawbacks but I think it's a good set for the price. The pieces are a molded soft plastic (like the stuff army men of old were made of) and are pretty substantial (well weighted), although the more complicated pieces (e.g., the knights) probably wouldn't survived being stepped on. But the pieces are nicely detailed as per the visualization in the "Sorcerer's Stone." The board is folded cardboard with a faux blue and white marble print (in the HP theme), and while it's not any shoddier than the cheap sets many children learn with, it's not better, either. My main complaint about the set is that the board is actually too small. The board is a bit cramped when all the pieces are still on the board. So my suggestion would be if your child makes good use of this set, you could replace the board with a larger one.
The set is [$]. Yes, you could get a more durable chess set for the price if you bought a very basic plastic adult tournament set with a vinyl board. But I doubt such a set would be very inspiring to most kids. And if you find a wood set for [$}, you'll be amazed at how flimsy the pieces are...
Customer Review: Tres Cool... Lovely "My First" Chess Set
Summary: 4 Stars
What can I say? This is the perfect way to combine two "geek-interests" in one; Harry Potter and chess. When my son's birthday rolled around (he just turned 8), I picked this up and we haven't been disappointed... much. Well, actually I DO have a couple of minor beefs.
First, the included board is rather small for the size of the pieces, especially for kids' clumsy fingers. The colours of the board are nice and match the pieces, but I'd recommend dragging out a regular size chessboard for a slightly less frustrating experience.
Second, probably more importantly...the pieces are lovely and executed in terrific detail, replicating those in the movie almost exactly. BUT... a couple of the pieces are less than stable on their bases.
The knight in particular tends to topple, and when he does -- see above re: too-small board -- the pieces are so close together that everything goes down... in other words, you can easily end playing dominoes rather than chess! :-)
These shortcomings aside, I don't regret springing for this item, which is absolutely perfect for the budding geek on your gift list.
Recommended Ages: 7 to whatever... BUT steer clear for any kid not utterly fascinated by BOTH chess and Harry Potter. My daughter (7) just kind of looked at the thing in disgust when her brother received it and moved on to his "cooler" gifts...
Playability on Shabbat: YES!!! (no batteries, electronics or writing)
Customer Review: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, there are at least two different sets that represent the Harry Potter Wizards Chess and they are made by the same company - Arco. One of the sets is made of plastic and the other is resin. The Plastic set has the picture of the children on the front and the one without the picture of the children is resin. By far the resin set is the best set. While the plastic set has its draw backs, as far as the pieces having no decoration (although nicely detailed) ... and the fact that you have to paste the squares onto the playing board, it is the best choice for children. The resin set is much nicer in that the detail is just as good as the plastic set but the pieces have more weight to them and they look more geniune. The only problem with the resin set is that some of the pieces, such as the knight, tend to be a bit top-heavy and wobbly and the game board could be larger to accomodate easier movement... The resin set will make a great collectors item due to it's better quality, but they are VERY hard to find. As a matter of fact, even the plastic set is becoming hard to find. I have a resin set and I just love it. Although I am using a different playing board for it (a larger one) I will keep this set on display in my home for a long time. I LOVE HARRY POTTER!Customer Review: HP Chess Set: Promises Much, Delivers Little
Summary: 4 Stars
This is, frankly, a disappointing chess set. I was looking forward to a set which I could use with my children to learn chess; one which had pieces which wouldn't blow over, solid pieces with weighted bottoms on a generous board.This is none of those things. It's a set full of light, hollow pieces of single-cast plastic; the base is hollow and the pieces are top-heavy. The board is four-fold cardboard with tape holding the quarters together. The knights are the worst; the horse's belly is hollowed out and that's visible from the other side of the board (but you can only see it _AFTER_ you've opened the box).
Folks, I know the Wizard Chess game was riveting in the movie. If you've got kids who are hard on stuff, the set is inexpensive and durable, the pieces mostly easy to distinguish (though it takes a good eye to spot the differences between the queen and king), and if you've got a youthful chess/Harry fanatic, s/he'll have some fun hours pretending to be a wizard.
BUT... if you're looking for quality Harry Potter merchandise, spend your money elsewhere. And be ready to buy another board a couple of months after getting this set, or mount this board using carpenter's glue on a wooden square, 'cause otherwise, it'll fall apart on you.
--Phil
Customer Review: Keep the kids in mind
Summary: 5 Stars
Fact: This is a chess set designed to look like the chess set protrayed in the Harry Potter movies. Fact: This set is designed for, marketed for, and intended for use by children. Nowhere does it claim to be a "professional" or "regulation" chess set.
With that said, I'm amazed at all of the complaints concerning the game's contents. Yes, the board is a folding board, and yes, the pieces are larger than normal. It's designed that way for a reason. Would I purchase it for myself? No, because I prefer professional grade chess sets to collect.
I bought it for my KIDS, and they love it. It looks just like the one Harry & Ron played, and while the pieces do not automatically destroy each other, they have put hours of relatively quiet time into learning and playing the game of chess.... something they had no interest in until this game was purchased for them.
I highly recommend buying this product if you have kids as I'm sure they will love it. They don't care that some pieces are a bit awkward, nor that the board folds. They care that it's a "Wizard's" chess set just like Harry Potter's. My kids are happy with it, and in the end, that's all that matters.