Bauhaus Schachspiel

The reduced geometric shapes took a few games to read at a glance, but now I actually prefer them to standard Staunton pieces. The knight is just an L-block and it's somehow easier to spot mid-game.

I've had this on my coffee table for two weeks and guests keep picking up the pieces to figure out how the knight and bishop are actually distinguished — it's a fun little puzzle before anyone even starts playing. The abstract forms take a game or two to get used to, but the board itself looks like

The reduced geometric pieces are genuinely beautiful on a shelf, but I mostly love how quickly they read on the board once you learn which block is which. Playing with a set designed in 1923 feels like owning a little piece of design history.