The chess set includes 32 hand-painted figurines from the classic Nintendo video game series including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Toad, 1-up mushroom, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Birdo, Goomba, Hammer Bros., and Magikoopa.

I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’d rather have Toad playing the role of the pawns instead of some lousy gold coins – but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. And what’s with Luigi being the Queen to Mario’s King? That’s just a little too weird for me. I know Peach is just a Princess, but still – I think that might have been a better choice. At least Magikoopa looks the part of the bishop.

The entire set should be available this Fall, and can be pre-ordered now over at First4Figures for $44.99 (USD). At least they didn’t put a crown on Luigi’s head.

[via GoNintendo]

Available for pre-order over on the Star Wars Shop for an introductory price of $539 (USD), this Gentle Giant’s detailed chess set pits Dark vs. Light. The set includes 32 collectible pewter figurines, with the Jedi wearing gold and the Empire donning a silver finish. Darth Vader, Boba Fett, C3-PO, R2-D2, and all your favorites are ready to do battle on the chess board.

The board has a glass etched surface with imagery of the Death Star in the background. Under the board, there are padded storage drawers for protecting your pieces, but why would you want to hide the best part?

If you don’t want to wait until September 2009 to get your hands on one of these, I guess you’ll just have to settle for this LEGO minifig Star Wars chess set instead.

[via The Awesomer]