Umbra Wobble Chess Set 15 x 15 x 1 Inch (38 x 38 x 3 cm)

The media could not be loaded. The Umbra Wobble Chess Set is for chess lovers. Of course, being a novelty item it would interest just about anyone but as a gift, I cannot see spending a premium price point on anyone who is not acclimated to the game. The pieces wobble to and fro with a nudge, or seemingly “breakdance” when spun, so it is a definite conversation piece. Both the pieces and board are very well made down to the finish. The base of the pieces seem to be a polished metal and the carved wood finish of the tops of the pieces are hard and lacquered. The king has a rather thin neck that kind of worries me if I ever were to…. drop it…. and he and the queen are adorned with metal pieces to help differentiate them from the bishops, which by the way have a slot carved into their heads. The rooks have two such slots but they are crossed on their stubby flat heads, and the knights look like horses so they will never be mistaken for anything other than their stereotype. The pawns are short like the rook and knight, and they wobble/spin the best due to their lower center of gravity. The board has squares that are concave with just the right curvature so it cradles the pieces as they move in place. For those of you who care to know: if you spin them too fast they might hop to a neighboring square. The board’s finish is near flawless, although my F6 square (or C3, depending on the orientation) has a scuff mark that does not seem go away (possible damage during shipment), but it is barely noticeable so I still find myself happy with my purchase.

This chess set turned out to be even more attractive in person than the pictures. The squares on the board have a nice grain to them (in different directions between light and dark squares), and the ridges do in fact catch ambient light in a striking way. I also think the pieces are close enough to standard shapes to be easy to recognize but different enough to be interesting.I haven't seen the quality control problems others have noted. There weren't any scratches or mismatches between the tops and bottoms of the pieces. Everything looks and feels very high quality. Maybe the manufacturer has fixed some of those problems, or maybe I just got lucky with my set.As for playing, it's obviously not the most usable set. You can't easily slide pawns forward, like chess players usually like to do. And the wobbling of the pieces can be distracting during play (though it doesn't last very long). However, the pieces are nice and heavy with a satisfying "thunk" when you put them on the board. And the pieces have a lot of tactile interest to them because they have a lot of curves, so fidgeters like me will enjoy playing with them.I wanted an interesting, beautiful, reasonably playable, reasonably priced chess set; I'm very happy that this one has checked all of those boxes.

The media could not be loaded. I've been after a decorative set for some time and this is perfect. I didn't want the regular old everyday, beautiful but boring set. I wanted a functional conversation piece and this is it. It's fun to play on and you can move the furniture and all the heavy wobbly pieces stay in their position. On the down side...one queen slants a bit unless I carefully set her in place. All the other pieces stand at attention. The board is nice, but you can expect some flaws in the grain. The grain isn't matched, and not the most choice selection of hardwood, but for the money it's acceptable. I'll probably end up rubbing in some Danish oil to darken the wood and give the color some depth. I would certainly recommend this set to anyone that values a bit of whimsy, and/or has cats, or likes to move furniture around. It's a cool set.

It's an excellent design i spotted in chicago 5 years ago at architecture foundation but couldn't buy. Congratulations to the designer who created such a wonderful idea, and to amazon who made it accessable. I will use it with pride when i welcome chess playing friends. But, it's a fact that the set should be packed extremely well for unharmed delivery to the buyer, which it wasn't. That's probably why the board was cracked horizontally in one corner, under about 4 squares. This was apparent before opening the package since it obviously received an impact on one of the corners on the way. Well i like amazon and use all its branches every once in a while, but this is an important mistake, fortunately not writing off the set. I can't be bothered dealing with exchanging the board even if someone says there is such an opportunity, since the corner seems solid enough, the squares are unharmed and crack wouldn't propagate further. I will continue shopping with all amazons but will hope for undamaged products.

Pieces move like drunken sailors. One of a kind statement piece with aesthetic style and fun functionality.

The wobble chess set looks like a piece of art. It really is as beautiful as the pictures show. Both the board and the pieces have quite a bit of heft to them. The pieces could cause damage if dropped or thrown, so I probably wouldn't give them to very young children. I was worried the wavy tiles would make the game confusing to look at, but that's not the case. The pieces wobble only briefly after being placed if the surface is stable. I only wish it came extra queens and knights and a case or box for the pieces.

Nice chess set and unique. Unfortunately I have had quite a bad experience with it so far. When I received the set a few of the pieces would not sit straight, especially the black king which was almost horizontal due to the non rounded, pointy base. I got in touch with Umbra via e-mail and after they asked for my shipping address and pictures, they are now giving me the run around. The set really looks pretty stupid if the pieces can't stay straight. Because their were multiple, don't be surprised if you get a few defective pieces as well. Very disappointed with Umbra and truthfully the rest of the build quality looks pretty cheep. Don't expect what you see in the pictures.**UPDATE** Umbra sent me a brand new chess set to cover any defective pieces. Thanks Umbra! Changing my score of two stars to four.