The dinosaurs of Jurassic Park are awfully clever creatures, so it’s only natural that they’d be master chess players as well. Players can face off in a battle of wits with the most ferocious dinosaurs of Isla Nublar in the Jurassic Park Chess Set from The Noble Collection.
Players can unfold the board into a large square measuring about 18.5 inches on each side, featuring green and black chess squares, a border scattered with dinosaur bones, and Jurassic Park logos in the center and around the perimeter. There are fun details on the squares, including scratches and cracking patterns, as if dinosaurs were walking across the board (because they will be). The teams are brown vs. green and each player will receive a squad made up of a T.rex (the king), a Spinosaurus (the queen), two Brachiosaurus (the rooks), two Velociraptors (the knights), two Dilophosauruses (the bishops), and eight Pteranodon (the pawns).
The dinosaurs are all one solid color and are made from a semi-flexible plastic similar to those green toy soldiers we all had as kids. The pieces have a nice level of detail on them, such as rippling muscles, spiny scales, and sharp bones that poke through the plastic. They all have their mouths open and pointy tongues sticking out as if they’re screaming in action. Each dinosaur figure features a thick, black base that keeps them standing upright and makes it easy to move them around the board. The bases feature a Jurassic Park logo on one side and the traditional chess piece that each dinosaur represents on the other to help players keep track of them all in case they forget who’s who in this world of prehistoric chess.
The pieces are pretty large, measuring from 2-4 inches tall, although the dinosaur figures are not made to scale since the T.rex doesn’t tower over the little guys as he would IRL. The size and stance of some of the figures make it look like the dinosaurs are really fighting and biting each other as their heads peek into the neighboring squares. I’m not a serious chess connoisseur, but I think the themed figures make the game more fun because it adds a level of playfulness, like you’re battling with action figures. The quality is decent for the price, but don’t expect a luxury chess set as the pieces are made from plastic, and the seams where some of the dinosaurs’ limbs meet their bodies are visible.
This set covers many gift-giving bases, making a great present for Jurassic Park fans, dinosaur lovers, avid chess players, or people just getting into chess for the first time after a recent Queen’s Gambit binge. Every house needs a chess set and everything is a little better when you add a dose of dinos.
