Recommendations for electronic chessboard?

Hardware and technical stuff
1

Making this thread with the caveat that obviously now that we have tablets, they are by far the superior option in terms of cost, performance and portability. However, I’d like to get something for my 10yo son as I feel there is an advantage to have the tactile response of moving actual pieces and playing in 3D. I’ve been looking around on Amazon but honestly have no idea what’s good and what’s not. I was looking at this Lexibook chess board which is only $50 but doesn’t have any kind of digital display so I thought that might be a little difficult for him to parse the computer’s moves.
https://www.amazon.ca/Lexibook-CG1300-Interactive-electronic-difficulty/dp/B001DSTT5A/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3SLHY6V0KKGSG&keywords=electronic+chess+board&qid=1701977025&sprefix=electronic+chees%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.b06bdbbe-20fd-4ebc-88cf-fa04f1ca0da8

The next level up is getting into the $100 range and then after that it seems like it’s $300 for ones that have the squares light up and show the computer’s move as well as your pieces possible moves. I want to keep the cost down as much as possible so $300 is probably out of the question, but I could see spending $100 if it’s far better than the basic version. Any suggestions/advice?

2

I have no idea what’s good these days. I had something like this in the late 80s:

3

Back in the 80s there was a chess board that moved the pieces by itself with magnets that I always wanted. Looks like someone had a kickstarter campaign for a new version:

4

Well I ended up going with this. They’re $299 Cdn but had a $60 off coupon to bring it down to 239 plus tax. Definitely pricier than what I wanted to pay but hopefully it will be a good learning tool. If it helped John (video above) become a grandmaster then hopefully it will help my son (and daughter) too!

5

I’ve got a square off pro I’ve liked using. Somehow a physical board just makes it easier for me to see what’s going on.

6

I had that exact one. Didn’t know these were still a thing.

7

“Well I ended up going with this. They’re $299 Cdn but had a $60 off coupon to bring it down to 239 plus tax. Definitely pricier than what I wanted to pay but hopefully it will be a good learning tool. If it helped John (video above) become a grandmaster then hopefully it will help my son (and daughter) too!”

What board did you get specifically? I am in the market for a board like this and was wondering if you got the Lexibook and if so, how it is holding up.

8

Oops, I guess I forgot to paste the link. It was the Vonset L6. We’re enjoying it so far. I’m not a huge fan of the design of the pieces though, the bishops and the queen are too similar. I have a set of wooden magnetic pieces that I’m going to try out. It’s cool how the board lights up and shows what move it wants you to make for it. Also, in training mode it will give you advice by lighting squares different colors, depending on how good a move moving the particular piece you’ve picked up is.

9

Thank you! I’ll check it out then