Jurassic Park Board Games: chess set

Jurassic Park Chess Set: Pieces and How to Play

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The Jurassic Park Chess Set from The Noble Collection swaps the King and Queen for dinosaurs. This 2-player collector’s set follows standard chess rules, making it a fun pick for chess and Jurassic Park fans alike.

  • 2021
  • 2 players
  • chess set
  • The Noble Collection

A T. rex King and raptor Knights. The rules are still plain old chess.

Jurassic Park Chess Set ratings and Geek Level

Difficulty
Time to explainabout 15 min
Player experience
Geek Level4 / 10Owns the soundtrack
How we rate

The chess rules handle the strategy; the dinosaurs provide the atmosphere. See how we rate for how these numbers work.

The Jurassic Park Chess Set changes the pieces’ looks, not their moves. You still play standard chess, and the steps below take you from setup to checkmate. Want a dinosaur game that doesn’t need chess skills? Try Jurassic Park Danger!.

Position the board with a light square at each player’s bottom-right corner.

Quick guide: Chess, with dinosaurs

The steps of a chess game stay the same, whatever the pieces look like.

Each Queen starts on her own color: white on light, black on dark.

  1. Step 1:

    Turn the board so each player has a light square in the bottom-right corner.

  2. Step 2:

    Set out 16 pieces per side: Rooks in the corners, then Knights, Bishops, Queen, and King. Put eight Pawns in front.

  3. Step 3:

    White moves first. Players take turns moving one piece at a time.

  4. Step 4:

    Capture a piece by moving onto its square and removing it.

  5. Step 5:

    If your King is attacked, you’re in check and must get out of it on your next move.

  6. Step 6:

    Use castling, en passant, and promotion when the rules allow.

  7. 7Step 7:

    Checkmate wins the game. Stalemate and other draw rules end it in a draw.

The quick version skips special moves that can catch new players off guard, including castling, en passant, and promotion. Below, find the setup, how each piece moves, and how games end, based on the FIDE Laws of Chess. For more themed chess, the Lord of the Rings chess set works the same way.

How to play chess with the Jurassic Park Chess Set

Setup

  1. Set the board with a light square in the bottom-right corner for each player.

  2. On each player’s back rank, put the Rooks in the corners, followed by the Knights and Bishops. The Queen and King take the two central squares.

  3. Each Queen starts on her own color: the white Queen on a light square, the black Queen on a dark square.

  4. Put each player’s eight Pawns on the rank directly in front of the other pieces.

  5. White goes first.

Turn by turn

  • King and queen

    The King moves one square in any direction, but can’t move to a square attacked by an enemy piece. The queen can travel any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally, but can’t jump over pieces.

  • Rook and bishop

    A Rook can move any number of squares along a rank or file. A Bishop can move any number of squares diagonally. Neither can jump over another piece.

  • Knight

    A Knight moves in an L: two squares in one direction, then one at a right angle. It’s the only piece that can jump over others.

  • Pawn

    A Pawn moves one square straight ahead into an empty square, or two squares from its starting square if both squares are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward and can’t move backward.

  • Castling

    Move the King two squares toward a Rook, then place the Rook on the square the King crossed. Neither piece can have moved, the squares between them must be empty, and the King can’t be in check or cross an attacked square.

  • En passant and promotion

    If an enemy Pawn moves two squares and lands beside your Pawn, you can capture it as if it had moved one square, but only on your very next move. A Pawn reaching the far rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

End of the game and scoring

Checkmate wins: the King is in check and has no legal way out. Stalemate is a draw: the player to move isn’t in check but has no legal move. Players can also agree to a draw. Under FIDE rules, a player can claim one after the same position appears three times or after 50 moves by each side without a Pawn move or capture.

Key rules

  • Check

    A King is in check when an enemy piece attacks it. You must deal with the threat, and you can’t make a move that leaves your own King in check.

  • Capturing

    To capture, move onto an enemy piece’s square and remove it. You can’t land on a square occupied by one of your own pieces.

  • Automatic draws

    Under FIDE rules, a game is automatically drawn after five occurrences of the same position, or after 75 moves by each side without a Pawn move or capture.

  • Dinosaur pieces, standard chess rules

    The Noble Collection lists a T. rex King, Spinosaurus Queen, Dilophosaurus Bishops, Velociraptor Knights, Brachiosaurus Rooks, and Pteranodon Pawns. The sculpts are the only change; every piece moves as in ordinary chess.

Tips for your first game

  • Learn the Knight’s L-shape first. It’s the move players miss most often.
  • Before each move, make sure your King won’t be left in check.
  • Once the King has moved, castling is off the table, even if it moved back.
  • Check the box to see how the two armies are told apart. The listing doesn’t describe the color scheme.

White moves first, and then players alternate turns.

Chess doesn’t connect to the story, so the films provide the look. The Noble Collection’s pieces feature creatures from across the series. Here’s what the listing says comes in the box and which films each dinosaur appears in. The Jurassic Park board games page has the other licensed options.

The set and the films behind its dinosaurs

You can’t make a move that leaves your King in check.

The game

  • The Noble Collection set

    The Noble Collection lists the Jurassic Park Chess Set with 32 sculpted dinosaur pieces and a branded board. The set is shown in stock, and no release year is given.

  • Materials and size

    The listing names PVC and cardboard as materials but doesn’t say which part is made from each. The overall product size is 27 by 27 by 9.5 centimeters; piece height isn’t listed.

The film or series it covers

The set takes its cues from the Jurassic Park film series, which started with Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film, based on Michael Crichton’s novel. It doesn’t retell a specific story.

Chess isn’t part of the films, so the theme comes through in the pieces. Each dinosaur represents a chess piece, with creatures from the first film joined by dinosaurs from later entries.

Scenes and story beats in the game

  • 1

    The Tyrannosaurus rex, star of the 1993 film, takes the King’s spot.

  • 2

    Velociraptors and Dilophosaurus both appear in the 1993 film. They stand in for the Knights and Bishops.

  • 3

    The Brachiosaurus is the first dinosaur visitors see in the 1993 film, and it plays the Rook.

  • 4

    Spinosaurus and Pteranodon appear in Jurassic Park III (2001), where they represent the Queen and Pawns.

What comes in the Jurassic Park Chess Set

  • 32 sculpted dinosaur chess pieces
  • A Jurassic Park-branded playing board
  • Materials listed as PVC and cardboard
  • Overall product size: 27 by 27 by 9.5 centimeters, according to the listing

Which dinosaur plays which piece

  • King

    Tyrannosaurus rex. One piece per side; the game ends when it is checkmated.

  • Queen

    Spinosaurus. The most mobile piece moves any number of squares in a straight line or diagonally.

  • Bishops

    Dilophosaurus, two per side. They move diagonally.

  • Knights

    Velociraptors, two per side. They move in an L-shape and can jump over other pieces.

  • Rooks

    Brachiosaurus, two per side. They move along ranks and files.

  • Pawns

    Pteranodons, eight per side. They advance one square, or two from their starting square, and capture diagonally.

Jurassic Park Chess Set: Your questions answered

Does the Jurassic Park Chess Set use normal chess rules?

Yes. The pieces look different, but the rules stay the same. Castling, en passant, promotion, and checkmate all work as in standard chess.

How many pieces come with the Jurassic Park Chess Set?

The Noble Collection lists 32 sculpted dinosaur pieces, 16 for each player, along with a branded board.

Which dinosaur is the King in the Jurassic Park Chess Set?

The Tyrannosaurus rex is the King, and the Spinosaurus is the Queen. Dilophosaurus are the Bishops, Velociraptors are the Knights, Brachiosaurus are the Rooks, and Pteranodons are the Pawns.

How many players can use the Jurassic Park Chess Set?

Two players, just like any chess game.

Who makes the Jurassic Park Chess Set?

The Noble Collection makes it, and its product page lists the set as in stock.

What is the Jurassic Park Chess Set made of?

The listing names PVC and cardboard as materials, but doesn’t say which parts use which.

Which films do the chess pieces come from?

The T. rex, Velociraptors, Dilophosaurus, and Brachiosaurus appear in the 1993 film. Spinosaurus and Pteranodon appear in Jurassic Park III (2001).

Position the board with a light square at each player’s bottom-right corner.

Each Queen starts on her own color: white on light, black on dark.

Sources

  1. The Noble Collection: Jurassic Park Chess Set noblecollection.com
  2. FIDE Handbook: Laws of Chess handbook.fide.com
  3. Wikipedia: Rules of chess en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia: Jurassic Park (film) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia: Jurassic Park III en.wikipedia.org