Wednesday 25 May 2016

Shake a set?

A few days ago I saw a kick starter campaign for a chess set that did not need setting up. Or at least that's what the claim seemed to be. Now normally I'm a fan of interesting and/or inventive sets but this idea did not quite make sense to me.
Based on the video at the link you simply tipped the box upside down onto the table, lifting it up to reveal a ready to play set. Simple and effective. But looking behind the curtain it seemed at the end of the game you needed to replace all the pieces in storage holes inside the box, in the correct order, and then place the board over the top.
So my first (and possibly only thought) is: Isn't this just the same amount of effort that you need to set up a board normally (if not more)?
I saw at least one other person discuss this product, suggesting it might be useful for film directors to make sure the board is set up correctly (yes Captain America). However as the board seems to be a perfect square, I'm sure the odds of the bottom right hand corner being a dark square will remain above 50% in film, television and print, and may even push that number hight, rather than lower..

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