The Top 10 Themed Chess Sets for Geeks

Themed chess sets catch the eye immediately because of their intricately-crafted pieces and exquisite boards. What attract geeks are the ones that depict their favorite characters, be it the ones from a video game, book or a movie. While comic book aficionados will look no further than Marvel chess sets, book lovers and history buffs will go for a Sherlock Holmes and Crusade chess set.So without further ado, here are some of the most amazing, rare and unique chess sets for geeks.

Fans of Doctor Who will find this animated chess set quite impressive and unique. They can now battle across time and space by choosing the good guys like TARDIS, Amy Pond and the 11th Doctor or the bad guys like the Pandorica, Cybermen and Supreme Dalek.

The board design resembles the mysterious Pandorica pattern and amazing 3D images inside beautifully-crafted glass chess pieces. The stunning lenticular printing allows images to morph once you move your eyes a bit. This is an official DW collectible, and so a perfect gifting item for Doctor Who fans.

This rare chess set features beautifully-crafted pieces based on the classic illustrations featured in the Strand Magazine. The original sketches were used to accompany Doyle’s timeless Sherlock Holmes short stories.

Designed by Studio Anne Carlton, the exceptionally well detailed chess set features famous characters of the Sherlock Holmes Series. Holmes is the King of the white side with Mrs. Hudson as Queen and Dr. Watson replacing the Bishop. The black side has Professor Moriarty as the King accompanied by Irene Adler as Queen and the Hound of the Baskerville replacing the knight.

The most unique part of this chess set is the pieces. Hand painted in enamel, these amazing pieces are reminiscent of the original illustrations that were featured in Doyle’s first short stories published in a magazine. This makes it a priceless collector’s choice.

It’s the Wizards versus the Wizards in this incredibly-detailed Harry Potter theme chess set. The pieces are quite reminiscent of the Wizard’s chess in the blockbuster movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. While everything’s accurate, the pieces don’t move of their own accord. Maybe wearing a wizard’s robe and speaking the name of the piece might make them move.

Jokes apart, these beautifully-crafted gray and white pieces are made using the resin casting process, making them look as gorgeous as the original. The medieval look of the chess set and Harry Potter characters makes it a perfect collector’s item for all ardent Harry Potter fans.

Nothing can get more interesting than playing a game of chess featuring a bunch of grotesque zombies and gorgeous slayers. That’s right; Slayer vs. Dead is the zombie-version of chess that you would love to play after dark. This chess set has detailed pieces, each with 1 1/8” base height. The kings are 3 ¼ inches tall and are amazingly detailed. If you love zombie movies and like to have a unique novelty chess set with an undead theme, then this is the ONLY chess set available.

One of the most stunning and complex chess variants, the three dimensional chess was featured in several Star Trek episodes. In the original ST series, you might have seen Dr. Spock playing a game of chess over multiple boards installed one above the other. This was not a Star Trek invention, but a unique variant of chess actually invented by Dr. Ferdinand Maack in 1907.

The exact replica of the original tridimensional chess played by Dr. Spock can now be purchased online. The entire set, although a bit pricey can be a great collector’s edition for those eager to know what three dimensional chess is.

This rare chess set includes 3 boards, unique pieces and a manual that explains the basics of this variant. The pieces 24 karat gold and sterling silver plated and are crafted to perfection, making them a rare collector’s edition.

Comic book geeks and Marvel comic aficionados will love to have this collector’s edition set. It features incredibly-detailed pieces representing your favorite Marvel characters like Captain America, Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, Dr. Octopus and Magneto.

In this Marvel theme chess set, the white side has all the heroes joining forces to vanquish the super villains of the black side. The chess set features a glossy playing board and 32 hand-painted colorful pieces all packed inside a lovely tin box.

Studio Anne Carlton is notable for offering intricately-crafted themed chess sets. Like the Sherlock Holmes set, the Lord of the Rings Decorative chess set boasts detailed pieces and a stunning vinyl chess board.

It brings out the magic of J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe and features pieces depicting characters like the Lady Arwen of the Elves, Dunedin Argon, Frodo Baggins and other good and evil characters associated with the Ringbearer’s Quest. A masterpiece of its own, this chess set has hand painted and certainly is worth to be called a collector’s edition.

Having pieces representing the Empire and the Rebellion, a game of chess might be more engaging than ever before. Well, there’s actually a chess set that brings in the epic space battle on your table.

The Star Wars: Classic 3D chess set features you favorite SW characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo Darth Vader and Yoda. The pieces are 2 inches to 4 inches tall and each piece is accurately modeled after SW characters. It is a perfect gift for die-hard Star Wars fans.

Collectors and history-buffs might find this chess set worth a buy, mainly because of amazingly detailed pieces and medieval-looking oak veneer board. With the unique crusades chess set, players can now be a part of battle and use every chess tactic to defeat the opponent’s king.

The chess set has colorful pieces, making it easier to determine which side is European and which ones depict the Arabic knights and pawns. They have an amazing medieval touch, making this a perfect medieval chess set for history geeks. The bad news is that people have to buy the board separately. The set of 32 hand-painted pieces are priced at $66.99.

The Super Mario chess game is a great mashup between the ancient board game and video game legend Mario. Featuring accurately detailed pieces depicting popular Mario characters like Luigi, Bowser, the cute mushroom, yoshi, birdo and princess peach, the chess set looks cute is a perfect gift for kids aged 7 and up.

The pieces look more like cutesy little colorful toys making this chess set impressively more unique than any other themed chess sets reviewed here. However, they have replaced the original pieces in a rather odd way. For example, Luigi replaces the Queen of the white side, which might be surprising for some fans and personally I think princess peach should have been Mario’s queen (she’s on Bowser’s side as Queen, more surprises!).

Anyway, the beautifully-carved gems look wonderful on the chess board once you position them in their respective places. And the battle becomes more epic when you rack your brain to defeat Bowser’s minions.