Story Time Chess Launches!

 

Learning Chess the “Old Fashioned” Way-- With a Twist!

For today’s generation of kids, learning subjects like math, reading and science from computers, smartphones and tablets is the new normal. ChessKid has taught hundreds of thousands of kids how to play the ancient game electronically.

But even though a new generation of “electronic kids” has emerged, pen & paper will never truly go out of style. Chess is no different, and many of the game’s benefits truly emerge when kids learn the game in true hands on, over-the-board fashion.

Introducing Story Time Chess. Story Time Chess is a board game that teaches Chess to children ages 3-7 using stories. The stories communicate the mechanics of Chess to preschoolers in a way that makes learning Chess simple and fun! Each piece has an illustrated story that teaches children how that piece likes to move. Once children hear all the stories, they can play full games of Chess!

To bring these stories to life, Story Time Chess features detailed illustrations a former Disney Art Director and specially designed Chess pieces that have a twist: each piece has a slot that can hold a character from their story. This way, children younger than ever can visually connect the stories to the Chessboard and understand how the pieces move.

“As someone who’s taught Chess to hundreds of kids, through a lot of experimentation, I found that the best way to teach kids a traditionally complex subject is to connect with them in fun, relatable ways,” explains Tyler Schwartz, founder of Story Time Chess.  

“Instead of simply stating to a child that a King can move only one square at a time, we bring our character, King Shaky to life! Then kids understand right away that the scared King is only willing to move in small steps.”

Story Time Chess includes two game boards: a story themed board with character designs, and a standard Chess side for regulation Chess. Children can play with the characters in the slots on the story side board, or play regulation Chess on the standard Chess side.

Story Time Chess also features fun mini games to expand Chess knowledge further, including an engaging card game that encourages children to use all the pieces on the board and takes their abilities to the next level.  The company recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness and accelerate production.    

“Kids have evolved quickly, but it’s not enough to have them rely solely on technology for their learning, and Chess has always been incredibly fun when playing on a physical Chess board,” says Mike Klein, Director of Content for ChessKid.  “We think Story Time Chess is an excellent companion piece to playing Chess online, and works well with children at all stages in their Chess education, whether they are little prodigies or playing for the first time”.