Fun, easy way to learn chess!
Very fun to play, and very easy too. My son, daughter, and I didn't know how to play chess. We learned it in a day, by playing this game.

easy to learn fun to play
My 7 year old daughter showed an interest in chess and this set has helped her to learn "the moves" and some strategy. My 4 year old can follow the directions with some help from his sister and they can play together. Nice game set; great starter game for someone with limited chess knowledge.

Great Family Game
I highly recommend this game, especially for families. I have played with all of my children. The youngest is 4 and the oldest is 10. We have had a great time, and the children have all learned the game easily. You can use one side of the board to learn where all the pieces go, and use it with the cards. After learning, you can flip the board over and use the standard chess board. Even without the cards, the game would be worth the $13 I paid for it. With the cards, it opens up the world of chess to the entire family. The only downside is that my children argue about who gets to play me first each night.

An awesome apporach to chess!
Took it out of the box today shortly before dinner, the worst time of the day to introduce something new to children. My six-year-old and my almost-5-year-old dove right in and played three rounds of Level 1 against each other. Within ten minutes, both kids had learned how to move every single chess piece. Yes, I was there, explaining things when they made mistakes and pointing out opportunities to take pieces, but after two games they informed me I was no longer needed (not true, actually, but it will be true by tomorrow).

The board has two sides - I didn't realize this for the first few games, and played on the "real chess" side. The other side includes drawings to show you where to set up your pieces. With the pictures, my kids have no trouble setting up.

Games took less than 10 minutes. We haven't tried the more advanced levels, which give players a little more control over which piece they move (at the basic level, you draw a card and move the piece it tells you to move).

Both kids wanted to play again after dinner and by bedtime, my daughter told me that she really did not want to stop playing!

My track record teaching things I love to my children is not great. I do love chess, and I must say, this was truly No Stress. I'm about to buy an extra set to donate to my 5-year-old's classroom so she can play it during indoor recess.

Combines a game of chance with one of skill
Previous reviewers on Amazon US have generally given praise for this clever game, both an introduction to how its included pieces conventionally move and also, in a twist that even those who know how to play already may enjoy, giving this ancient game of skill a bit of chance. My post shows in more detail how this concept works on various levels according to the directions. Cards for each piece show the moves, and if you draw the card, you must move the piece. If you cannot, you lose your turn. This allows, as the clearly indicated instructions explain, a freedom not open to standard players.

This also liberates the King somewhat, to attack more often. The booklet, which also gives a concise explanation of standard chess, puts the rationale of this version thus: "You can take a chance of exposing your pieces to possible capture in the hopes your opponent won't draw a card picturing a piece he can move to capture yours." You also may draw, in six places in the 56-card deck, a "move same type of piece again," which allows you to use either the card your opponent would draw next or your own.

Level One follows these rules, after an initial non-carded set-up of one at both color's queen's file of the pawn two squares and each king's pawn one. Then, the card shuffle begins. This previous placement opens up the pieces in the back rank for action. Level Two deals a three-card hand to each player before play begins from which he can select one piece; Level Three does this with five cards. This mimics more closely the actual array of options in standard chess.

For advanced guidance into learning chess strategy, there's further variations. You can also add en passant, pawn promotion, castling, and checking to Level Three, therefore following regular chess with the unpredictable card-shuffle of "No Stress." Although by then, I imagine, there'd be enough tension akin to a conventional game! That can be done, naturally, by flipping the laminated cardboard over and pursuing a regular match. Plastic pieces can topple over very easily, a slight drawback, but they are large enough to grasp easily in a child's hand and the green-and-white layout's easy on the staring eyes. The novelty of this board game is that you can combine, for beginners or for the curious, the chance of cards with the skill of chess.