When you like chess but you don't want to play chess

 So yes it's about chess, but not the game itself. It's about the chess pieces!

Basically there are 6 differents pieces in a chess game. The design and mechanism were initially created by Marcel Gillen and several firms produced the chess pieces. Actually they are puzzles :)

The set here is produced by Hanayama with a high quality standard and nicely packaged. The finish is nice and the look of the pieces are stunning.

For each, you need to open them and get your reward (a small piece inside).

They have different clever mechanism, so each open in a different way even if they share some common features. I quickly solved the pawn but it took me more time on the rook or on the king and queen. After all the pawn is weaker than the queen :)

Maybe you will solve them with a bit of luck but once opened you can understand fully the mechanism and try to reproduce the solving process.

They are very enjoyable puzzles and I do recommend them for any puzzle collectors. Moreover, the price is not expensive for the puzzle experience you will get!

So is there any difference between these "copies" and the original design by Marcel Gillen? Yes there are many:

• First of all, the original pieces are way bigger and are not molded as they were made on a lathe. So the quality of the original is way better.
  
• Secondly, the mechanism is different for several if not all (basically I cannot comment as I have not played with all the original pieces). The steps are a bit different for the original pieces and, in my opinion, a bit more enjoyable
  

To conclude, go at grab them asap :)

You can find them on eureka website