Gear

ThinkFun’s Laser Chess Is Even Cooler Than It Sounds

On this episode of “Toy Review,” Fatherly’s editor-at-large, Joshua David Stein, unboxes and reviews Laser Chess by Thinkfun, which is exactly as cool as it sounds. ADVERTISEMENT It is a two-player strategy game that combines the spatial-thinking skills of chess with the high-tech fun of laser beams. It’s also the first logic game with a... View Article

by Fatherly
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On this episode of “Toy Review,” Fatherly’s editor-at-large, Joshua David Stein, unboxes and reviews Laser Chess by Thinkfun, which is exactly as cool as it sounds.

It is a two-player strategy game that combines the spatial-thinking skills of chess with the high-tech fun of laser beams. It’s also the first logic game with a real Class 1 laser! Players alternate turns moving their mirrored pieces around the board, and at the end of each turn, players fire an actual laser beam from their Laser. The laser beam bounces from mirror to mirror, and if the beam strikes a non-mirrored surface of any piece, it is immediately removed from play. If you illuminate your opponent’s king, you win!

Laser Chess was created by two mechanical engineers, and JDS claims that he plays it every night with his sons. While STEM doesn’t sound like it would be fun for toys and games, this one is legitimately fun. And he found that his kids are beginning to understand how angles, deflection and reflection work. Plus, for him as a dad, it was really fun to see kids grasp a concept like that. Laser Chess is an activity where a parent and their little logic lovers can learn something together.

Laser Chess comes with a $40 MSRP, and you can find it on Amazon or at your local retailer.

What games do you play with your kids? Let us know what you play with your kids that isn’t a mindless time-suck.

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