If you ever watched Ron sacrifice himself in that giant wizard’s chess match and thought, “Yeah, I’d like a go at that — but maybe without the risk of being flattened,” GoChess Wizard Mini is the next best thing.
It’s not exactly ehchanting the pieces to move them magically, but it gives the classic game a Harry Potter-inspired makeover. The board is complete with themed pieces and a bit of that familiar magic… minus Ron yelling, “Do you want to stop Snape getting that stone or not?!”.
I’ve also recently been dabbling in Duolingo’s chess lessons, so I thought I was primed for this one. Nope, that didn’t stop me from losing many games over the past week. This new GoChess set is a serious teacher.
Through the GoChess app, you can connect the board to your phone or tablet and choose from a range of game modes, all surrounded by a gentle layer of Hogwarts-esque ambience — nothing dramatic, but enough to make every move feel a little more enchanted; candle LEDs the edge of the board and music plays through the app.
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I’d recommend using the app with a device that’s not going to used while playing; the app has to remain open to sync your pieces.
The Game Modes
There are three core ways to play:
- 1 vs 1
- 1 vs remote player (Chess.com)
- 1 vs Machine (AI)
Playing Online
While playing online, you’ll need to move your opponent’s pieces on the physical board as well as your own. Daily challenges also require you to set the board yourself.
The pieces won’t come to life and thunder across the board for you, but this remains one of the most modern and enjoyable ways to learn and play chess.
It may be called the GoChess Wizard “Mini” but it’s still a great size.
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The app allows you to connect to Chess.com and Lichess.org to take on real players worldwide. You can also log all yours and your opponent’s moves to go back and see where you may have gone wrong or if you’re attempting to pull off the same magical checkmate in the future. For the seasoned chess master, this is the definitive way to play.
What in the box?
Aside from the beautiful packaging, inside you’ll find a few things.
- 32 Harry Potter-themed Chess Pieces (Black and White)
- Harry Potter-themed Chess Board
- USB-C Charging Cable
- 2 x Pouches for piece storage
- Mobile/Tablet stand
A Magical Way To Learn
My 10-year-old daughter learned to play chess in just an hour, even beating me in a few rounds thanks to the hint settings. Every time you pick up a piece, the board lights up the next recommended move — or a square you’d be wise to avoid. It’s a bit like having Hermione whispering advice over your shoulder, minus the judgement.
You do need to make sure each piece is placed in the correct starting position. The board can’t recognise pieces individually; it only tags them by where they begin. We discovered this the hard way when we accidently swapped the king and queen.
Here’s the Harry Potter queen for reference:
Particula’s GoChess is brilliant way to modernise a classic and an incredible tool for learning — one that’ll be in regular rotation in our house for years to come.
GoChess Wizard Mini is starting to pop up now at Australian retailers. It’s also available now online and retails for around $599 AUD — not exactly cheap. There’s also a standard GoChess Mini board which is a little more affordable but functions the same.
Now, go and get the Philosopher’s stone before Snape. It’s up to you — not me, not Hermione…
This product was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this article.
