Best Hexagonal Chess Sets in 2026: 3 Picks for Three Players
Three wooden hexagonal chess sets, ranked by the numbers that matter: king height, board footprint and where the pieces live when you're done.
| Image | Pick | Product | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best overall | Husaria Wooden Three | Price |
 | Best mid-size | Medium 3 Player Chess Set | Price |
 | Best for travel | Husaria Three | Price |
The best hexagonal chess set for most people is the Husaria 21-inch three-player board. It's the only set here with a 3-inch (76mm) king and individually hand-carved lime wood pieces, and the folding board doubles as felt-lined storage. Burned coordinates on the border, brass clasps, 21.3 x 18.4 inches of playing surface.
The catch is table space. Three players means three sets of elbows, so that 21.3-inch board wants close to 30 inches of clearance on every side. If your room can't give it that, drop to the 13.77-inch Sunrise and accept smaller pieces.
How I picked these
Four thresholds, and I didn't bend them for a pretty board.
King height of 2 inches or more. Hexagonal sets run smaller than square ones. US Chess guidance for tournament play puts the king at 3.375 to 4.5 inches, which I use as a reference point rather than a rule for a three-player hex board. Below a 2-inch king, adult fingers start bulldozing pieces. One set here hits 3 inches, one hits 2, and one doesn't publish a number at all, which I've flagged instead of guessing.
A footprint between 12 and 22 inches across. Under 12 inches and the hex cells get cramped for grown hands. Over 22 and it's furniture, not a game.
Felt on the bases and felt in the box. Felted bottoms glide and don't chip. Lined compartments stop pieces rattling inside a folding board, which is where cheap sets die. I run the same four checks on plain chess boards, and they hold up there too.
Named woods from a named workshop. Lime, hornbeam, beech, birch, all stated, all Polish shops. "Solid wood" with no species is a red flag on any board.
This is the one I'd build a games night around. Three armies in red, green and navy, carved from solid lime wood, felted at the base, king at 3 inches (76mm) and queen at 2.8 inches (70mm). The board is beech and birch with burned pyrography and algebraic coordinates on the border, opening to 21.3 x 18.4 x 1 inches. Brass clasps, three interior compartments, rules included.
Here's what that size costs you. A 21-inch hex board wants a deep table and roughly 30 inches of clearance all around, so nobody is reaching over a corner to move. Which is why I'd start thinking about a best chess side table rather than commandeering the dining table for a Tuesday. The king base isn't listed, so I can't check it against the 75 to 80 percent of a cell figure I normally use. At 3 inches of king on a board this open, I doubt it bites.
What owners say: The listing shows no rating count, so there's no review pile to sort through yet. Where this set comes up in three-player chess discussions, people mention the burned coordinates doing real work once the hex geometry stops being obvious, and the interior compartments as the reason it survives a shelf. The standing complaint about three-player hex chess in general is the first ten minutes, when nobody can remember which diagonal is legal.
Good for: three players who want a folding wooden set with a 3-inch king and felt-lined compartments. Skip it if: your table is under 30 inches wide or you want a set with a published review history.
2. Medium 3 Player Chess Set
- Board measures 13.77"W x 0.88"H x 13.77"D( 35cm x 2.25cm x 35cm)
- Beautiful Chess Set with Hand Carved Board and Pieces,Incredible Detail.
- Board is made from beech and birch. Felt bottom chessmen are made from hornbeam and beech.
- Rules of the game has been added to each set
The middle child, and for plenty of households the right one. A 13.77-inch (35cm) hexagonal board in beech and birch, pieces in hornbeam and beech, three armies in brown, white and red, rules in the box. Handmade in Poland. It's the size that fits a coffee table without moving the coasters.
What's missing is the number I care about most: king height isn't listed anywhere on the page. So you're buying on board size alone, which usually means pieces in the 2-inch range, closer to Husaria's 12-inch set than to its 21-inch. The copy also calls the board folding but doesn't spell out felt-lined compartments. If box storage is the reason you're paying for a folding set, ask before you order.
What owners say: Owners of this Polish-made set tend to talk about the carving and the edge numbers, both of which matter more on a hex board because the cells don't line up the way your eye expects. The recurring note is piece size: fine for adults around a small table, fiddly for anyone with big hands or a fast move.
Good for: families and coffee-table play where 13.77 inches is the space available. Skip it if: you need a stated king height or confirmed felt-lined storage before you spend.
3. Husaria Three
- Algebraic Coordinates: Number and letter algebraic coordinates adorn the borders
The travel answer, and the one I'd throw in a bag without thinking. Opens to 12.7 x 10.9 x 0.9 inches and closes with decorative metal clasps over three felt-lined compartments. King at 2 inches (50mm), queen 1.6 inches (40mm), pawns 1 inch (25mm), pieces in hornbeam and beech, board in beech and birch with pyrography and algebraic coordinates. Three-player rules ship with it.
Two inches of king on a 12.7-inch board is small, and small is both the point and the problem. Fingers will knock pieces during a fast game, especially in the last ten moves when everyone leans in. The listing also gives the weight as 0.49 lbs and 1.1 kg in the same line, which can't both be true (1.1 kg is roughly 2.4 lbs). Treat the weight as unconfirmed and the folded size as the real spec.
What owners say: The 12-inch Husaria gets discussed for the clasps and compartments more than the play. It closes tight, pieces stay in their own wells, and the wood takes a knock without chipping. The grumble is the king, which is the trade you make for a set that travels.
Good for: club nights, backpacks and small kitchen tables. Skip it if: you want a king over 2.5 inches or you only play at home.
What actually matters when you buy hexagonal chess
King height, and why tournament numbers don't transfer
US Chess guidance puts the king at 3.375 to 4.5 inches with 2 to 2.5 inch squares, which assumes 64 cells and two players. A three-player hex board spreads three armies across the same footprint, so the pieces shrink: 3 inches on the 21.3-inch Husaria, 2 inches on the 12.7-inch one. Use 2 inches as your floor and 3 as your target. If a listing won't state a king height, that's information too. Serious play still happens on square wood, and the best chess boards for tournament play all sit in that 3.375 to 4.5 range.
Footprint and clearance for three players
A hex board behaves like a round table. The 21.3 x 18.4 inch Husaria needs close to 30 inches in every direction once three people sit down, because each player owns an edge and you can't stack two on one side. The 35cm Sunrise at 13.77 inches is the coffee-table size. The 12.7 x 10.9 inch Husaria fits a laptop desk with room for a mug.
Storage: felt, clasps and a lid that closes flat
All three fold. Two of them state felt-lined compartments in the copy; the Sunrise just says folding. The 21-inch Husaria uses three compartments and brass clasps in a 1-inch thick closed board. The 12-inch uses three felt-lined compartments and decorative metal clasps. If you're paying a folding-board premium, the compartments are half the value. A folding board with loose pieces in one cavity is just a rattle.
Wood species and printed coordinates
Lime for the big Husaria's pieces, hornbeam and beech for the other two, beech and birch for all three boards. Species tell you how a piece feels: hornbeam is dense and takes knocks, lime is light in the hand. Coordinates matter more than they sound. On a hex board with three armies, "the hex next to the blue knight" stops working around move six. The same timber logic drives price at the top end, which is what the best expensive chess sets have in common with this one.
What the listings won't tell you
None of these three show a rating count in the data I pulled, so there's no star average to break ties with. You're reading spec sheets and maker reputation. Husaria is a known Polish workshop and that counts for something. It also means return terms carry extra weight: confirm the window before ordering, because a 21-inch board that lands with a cracked hinge is a shipping problem, not a chess problem.
Side by side
| Set | Key spec | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Husaria 21 in three-player | 21.3 x 18.4 x 1 in open, 3 in (76mm) king, lime wood pieces, brass clasps | Best overall |
| Sunrise Medium 3 Player | 13.77 in (35cm) hex board, hornbeam and beech pieces, king height not listed | Best mid-size |
| Husaria 12 in three-player | 12.7 x 10.9 x 0.9 in open, 2 in (50mm) king, three felt-lined compartments | Best for travel |
Which one I'd buy
If you have a table that can hold 21.3 x 18.4 inches and you want the set that looks like it belongs in the room, buy the Husaria 21-inch three-player. The 3-inch king and lime pieces are the reason, and the compartments mean it stores without a shoebox.
If hex chess is a thing you take places, buy the 12-inch Husaria. It folds to laptop size, the clasps hold, and the 2-inch king is the only real compromise.
And if you're honestley not sure your group will play three-player chess more than twice, spend the money on something that plays two games instead. The best checkers and chess sets cover more family nights per dollar than any hex board will, and I say that as someone who likes the oddball stuff.
Questions people ask me
How many people can play on a hexagonal chess board?
The three sets here are built for three players, with a third army added to a hex grid where each side owns an edge. Two players can still use the board, though the extra cells change the game. Both Husaria sets ship with three-player rules, and the Sunrise set includes a rule sheet too.
What size hexagonal chess board should I get?
12 to 14 inches if it lives on a coffee table or in a bag, 21 inches if it has a table of its own. The large board carries pieces with a 3-inch king (76mm); the compact Husaria runs a 2-inch king (50mm), and the Sunrise doesn't publish a king height at all.
Are hexagonal chess sets good for beginners?
They're a novelty, not a teaching tool. Three-player hex chess shifts the movement rules enough that a kid who just learned how a bishop travels will get lost in the first ten minutes. Buy one for a group night, keep a standard 64-square board for lessons.