The Best Cat Chess Sets: 3 Picks Worth Buying in 2026
Three cat chess sets, ranked by king height, board size, felt, and whether the drawers actually close.
| Image | Pick | Product | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best overall | Cats Vs Dogs Animal Chess Set with 17 inch High Gloss Cherr… | Price |
 | Best for display | Cats Versus Dogs Chess Set 3.5 Inch Tall Hand Painted with … | Price |
 | Best for travel | Magnet Chess Game with Cat & Dog Theme | Price |
The best cat chess set for most people is the HPL Cats Vs Dogs set with the 17 inch high gloss storage board. Thirty two hand painted resin pieces, felt bottoms, and two felt lined drawers built into the board itself. That's the pick, and the board is why. Seventeen inches across eight files works out to a little over 2 inches per square before the border takes its cut, and that number is what keeps a 3 1/4 inch king from elbowing his neighbors.
Three sets made the cut, and they do different jobs. One is a real playing set with storage under the lid, one is a 15 inch glass display piece, and one is a magnetic travel game with cat stickers that isn't chess in any strict sense but keeps a kid quiet for an hour in the car. I'd buy the first for a table, the second for a shelf, and the third for a backpack.
How I picked these
I set four thresholds and dropped anything that missed two of them. King height between 3 1/4 and 4 inches, because below that adult hands feel like they're moving toys and above it you need a board most households don't own. Felt or some base lining on every piece, since bare resin dragged across glass sounds like cutlery in a drawer. A board or a storage box included, not just a bag of men. And a return window I could actualy use, which means reading the listing for restocking language before checkout rather than after. Fourteen days is workable. Seven is a dare.
The other filter was honesty in the copy. Plenty of listings on the themed chess sets shelf call a laminate board "cherry" and let you assume veneer. I read the feature bullets line by line and kept only sets where the materials, the piece count (32, or a number that matches the game), and the board size were all stated. If a listing won't put the king height in inches on the page, I assume nobody measured one.
1. Cats Vs Dogs Animal Chess Set with 17 inch High Gloss Cherry & Burlwo…
- 3 1/4" King: 17" High Gloss Laminate Storage Board Included
- Total Piece Weight: 2 Pounds
- Standard 32 Piece Set of Men
- 2 Drawers With Felt Lined Divided Compartments
On paper this is the most complete set of the three. The listing says 32 hand painted solid resin pieces with felt bottoms, a 3 1/4 inch king, and a 17 inch high gloss laminate storage board with two felt lined drawers divided into compartments. Total piece weight is 2 pounds. The cherry and burlwood in the name describes a finish color, not veneer, and the listing is honest about that if you read the word "laminate." If you're shopping the dog side of the fence instead, the best dog chess sets page covers the same ground.
Two things I'd want a buyer to know before ordering. A 3 1/4 inch king sits an eighth of an inch under the 3.375 floor US Chess uses for tournament sets, so treat this as a home set and nothing more. And 2 pounds across 32 pieces works out to about an ounce each. They'll move fine; they won't feel like lead in the hand. Then there's the board math. A 17 inch surface with a border wide enough to frame two drawers likely leaves squares somewhere between 1.75 and 2 inches, which only lands inside the 2 to 2.5 inch guidance if that border is slim. The listing doesn't state square size, so I'd ask before I paid.
What owners say: Nothing yet, as far as I can tell. The listing shows no star rating and no review count, so there's no owner chorus to quote and I won't invent one. The two things I'd check first are piece weight and whether the drawer hinges hold up after a year of use. Storage boards in general draw the same two complaints, drawers that sag once they're full and felt that pills where the pieces rub.
- Good for: Families who want a set that folds shut into its own board.
- Skip it if: You want tournament weight and a hardwood board.
2. Cats Versus Dogs Chess Set 3.5 Inch Tall Hand Painted with Glass Board
- Glass board: 15" by 15"
- High Quality Cold Cast Resin
- Made in a Premium Factory in China
This is the one I'd point at a shelf. A 15 inch by 15 inch glass board with 3.5 inch tall hand painted cold cast resin pieces, made in a factory in China per the listing. That king height lands inside the US Chess range, which is more than the HPL set can say. The board, though, is 2 inches smaller in each direction than the HPL playing surface, and the pieces standing on it are a quarter inch taller. That's a display proportion, not a playing one.
The catch is everything the listing doesn't say. No piece count, no square size, no mention of felt, no storage. Fifteen inches divided across eight files is 1.875 inches at best, and less once the board has a border, so these tall pieces are going to look crowded on their squares. It's a display object first. If you want a themed set that plays well and looks odd on purpose, the best unique chess sets list is a better hunting ground.
What owners say: Same story here. No rating and no review count on the listing, so I can't hand you a verified buyer's quote. What I can tell you is that the features section runs three lines and never mentions felt, which is the first thing I'd ask a seller.
- Good for: A coffee table or a bookshelf where the board stays out.
- Skip it if: You plan to play serious games on it, or you hate dusting glass.
I'll be blunt: this isn't chess. It's a magnetic stone game with DIY cat and dog character stickers, a rope ring, and a storage bag. No 64 squares, no king, no pawn structure. What it is, is a screen free thing that fits in a glove box and survives a picnic table.
The stickers do the heavy lifting on the theme, so your mileage depends on how careful the person applying them is. Kids won't care. The rope ring keeps the play area defined and the bag keeps the stones from migrating under the car seat. Magnetic stones hold through a bumpy mile of dirt road, which is more than I can say for the loose plastic pieces rattling around my own glove box. At the size these sets usually run, it's a five minute setup and a two minute cleanup, which is the whole argument for it.
What owners say: The listing posts no rating or review count, so I can't tell you how the stickers hold up after a month of toddler handling. That's exactly what I'd want to know before buying, and it's not there.
- Good for: Road trips, camping, and kids who lose loose pieces.
- Skip it if: You actually want to play chess.
What actually matters when you buy cat chess
King height and piece weight. US Chess guidance puts tournament kings at 3.375 to 4.5 inches and squares at 2 to 2.5 inches, with the king base about 75 to 80 percent of a square. The resin sets here run 3 1/4 to 3.5 inches. Piece weight tells you more than height does: 2 pounds across 32 pieces is an ounce each, and anything under that feels hollow.
Square size versus board size. A 17 inch board sounds generous until you divide it by eight and allow for a border. Ask for square size in writing. If the listing doesn't state it, assume the squares are small and the pieces will overhang.
Felt on the bottom of every piece. This is the difference between a set you keep on a good table and a set you keep in a box. One listing here mentions felt bottoms and felt lined drawers; one mentions nothing at all. The best themed chess sets roundup uses the same filter for a reason.
What the theme is made of. Hand painted resin, printed laminate, and vinyl stickers are three diffrent products at three different price points. None of them is dishonest, but only one of them will still look right in five years.
Return friction. Oversized boards ship in big boxes and some sellers charge to take them back. Read the return policy before you click, not after the box is open on your floor.
Side by side
| Set | Key spec | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HPL Cats Vs Dogs | 3 1/4 inch king, 32 resin pieces, 2 lb total piece weight, 17 inch laminate storage board with 2 felt lined drawers | Best overall |
| Pacific Giftware Cats Versus Dogs | 3.5 inch tall cold cast resin pieces, 15 inch by 15 inch glass board | Best for display |
| aesthec magnetic cat and dog game | Magnetic stones, DIY cat and dog stickers, rope ring, storage bag | Best for travel |
Which one I'd buy
If you want one set to play on and put away, buy the HPL set with the 17 inch board. The drawers settle it; loose pieces in a bag is how themed sets end up in a closet. If the set is going on a shelf and the game is secondary, buy the Pacific Giftware glass board and accept the crowded squares. And if there's a seven year old in your life who needs something for the back seat, buy the magnetic game and stop pretending it's chess. Check the king height first and the board size second, because those two numbers decide whether a set gets played or dusted. For more four legged options, the best animal chess sets list is where I'd start browsing next.
Questions people ask me
What is cat chess?
Cat chess is a themed chess set where the pieces are hand painted cats, usually paired against dogs so the two sides read differently across the board. The rules are ordinary chess; only the sculpting changes. Some so called cat chess games are actually magnetic stone games with cat stickers, which is a different product and worth knowing before you buy.
What king height should a cat chess set have?
US Chess puts tournament sets between 3.375 and 4.5 inches, with squares from 2 to 2.5 inches and a king base around 75 to 80 percent of a square. The cat sets I looked at run from 3 1/4 to 3.5 inches, so one sits just under that floor and one sits inside it. For a home table, anything in that range plays fine.
Are cat chess pieces heavy enough for real games?
Check the total piece weight, not the piece count. The HPL set lists 2 pounds across 32 pieces, which is roughly an ounce per piece. That's light for a club night but fine for family games. The listing for the Pacific Giftware set doesn't state a piece weight at all.