Game Box
Game Components
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Chess Game is a foreign (non-US) release chess game, presumably originally produced in 1999, and since produced by several companies, such as Wood Expressions, Inc., Character Games Ltd. and Really Useful Games.
Unlike the fancier--and more costly--ST:TNG Commemorative Chess Set by Franklin Mint, this set consists of PVC pieces on a standard cardboard chessboard. Additionally, both sides' main pieces consist of crewmembers from the USS Enterprise-D as follows:
- King: Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- Queen: Dr. Beverly Crusher
- Bishops: Lt.Cmdr. Data
- Knights: Cmdr. William T. Riker
- Rooks: Lt. Worf
The main differences in both sides pieces are their bases, the pawns and the uniforms each side wears. The "black" side (black bases in the shape of the TNG Combadge) wear the standard Starfleet uniform (2366-2373) and the pawns are the Enterprise-D. The "gold" side (gold bases also in the shape of the TNG Combadge) wear the "jumpsuit" versions of their uniforms (apparently inspired by Star Trek: Generations) and the pawns are the USS Enterprise-B (also from Generations).
- Apparently, depending on where the set was released and who released it, the style of the game box varied, from simply showing a chess board and the Enterprise-D, to a full TNG crew photo, to an actual shot of the pieces and game board. Rarity differences between the boxes seem to be negligible, although the latter style (pictured above) seems to be the most common.