Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Geek Toys: star trek tri-dimensional chess


The more I research into the toys that Sheldon and the gang owns and enjoys in The Big Bang Theory, the more I think that their occasional implications that they are poor/have a limited amount of funds is really a load of hogwash.

In season 1, episode 11, also known as The Pancake Batter Anomaly, the show opens up with Leonard and Sheldon going through a battle of tri-dimensional chess on a very elaborate and visually complicated board, with Sheldon ending the game with his hilarious line: "Must be humbling to suck on so many different levels."

The game itself dates back to in 1907, then called Raumschach (German for Space Chess), by Dr. Ferdinand Maack.

But it faded after World War II.

It made a real comeback and popped back into the minds of nerds everywhere when Spock was seen playing it in the original Star Trek. The game actually played a pretty pivotal role in the actual show in fact.

That chess set is the version that Sheldon and Leonard is seen playing on in the show.


This set of Star Trek Tri-dimensional chess is a Franklin Mint exclusive, meaning that they're the only makers of this set. And it is beautifully assembled with actual 24 karat gold and sterling silver plated chess pieces, truly demonstrating the art and the beauty of the game as a whole.

But as you can guess, it is anything but cheap.

In fact, if Amazon is any indication, it retails for at least $315.00 CDN dollars!!! And that's without taking shipping into consideration.

Still, how beautiful would this look on atop a book shelf, awaiting for your next attempt at conquering a three-dimensional battlefield?

Only reason why I looked it up.

Though if you ask me, as far as games are concerned, I think I'll be sticking to the regular 2-D versions. They're not as fancy looking... but they're cheaper.

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