The 4 Best Lewis Chessmen Sets Worth Buying in 2026
Four Lewis chessmen replicas, ranked by how they actually play, not how they look in the box.
| Image | Pick | Product | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best overall | The Isle of Lewis Chessmen | Price |
 | Best full-size pieces | Berkeley Isle of Lewis Chess Set | Price |
 | Best for small tables | Isle of Lewis Chess Set | Price |
 | Best pewter gift | Royal Selangor Hand Finished The British Museum Collection … | Price |
My top pick is the Regency Chess 4 Queen Edition. It's a 3.25-inch stone resin replica of the Lewis chessmen, made in England, boxed, with two spare queens and a two year warranty. Of the four sets here, it's the one I'd put on my own table and leave there.
The originals came out of a sandbank near Uig in 1831: 93 pieces, most of them carved from walrus ivory, and enough of them to make several sets. That's why the replica market is crowded. And it's why the four below are the ones worth your money.
How I picked these
I started with size and worked backward. US Chess guidance puts a tournament king at 3.375 to 4.5 inches tall, squares at 2 to 2.5 inches, and the king's base at roughly 75 to 80 percent of a square. Only one of the four sets below clears that king height, which tells you plenty about who these are really made for.
Then material and finish. Two of the four are English stone resin with felted bases stated in the listing. One is stone resin with the base detail unstated. One is hand-finished pewter at 92 to 97 percent tin. I didn't count anything that ships without a board as a complete set, but I did note which listings tell you what board to pair with. If you want to see the same logic applied to other collecting niches, the best themed chess sets follow identical rules about scale and finish.
And return friction. A boxed set with a two year warranty is easier to send back than a loose bag of pieces, so the two Regency listings and the Berkeley set get a nudge there.
1. The Isle of Lewis Chessmen
- 3.25 Inch King height - Ideal for a 20 - 24 inch chess board
- Made In England - Superb Quality - Deluxe Presentation Box - Two Year Warranty
- Precise replicas of the original Lewis chessmen artefacts
- Two additional Queens - Stone resin pieces
The 4 Queen Edition is the one I keep coming back to. Regency bulks out the standard army with two extra queens, which nods to the original hoard not dividing neatly into a modern 32-piece set, and it ships in a deluxe presentation box with a two year warranty. Stone resin, not plastic. The listing pairs a 3.25-inch king with a 20 to 24 inch board, and that range is the honest tell on the footprint.
The concession is size. At 3.25 inches the king sits under the 3.375-inch floor US Chess uses, so this is a set for a club night at home rather than a rated event. You also need to buy the board separately, and a 20 to 24 inch board is a real purchase in its own right. If all you own right now is a 16 inch roll-up, this set will look marooned on it.
What owners say: Owners of stone resin Lewis replicas talk about weight first and detail second. The recurring grumble is that the pieces are chunkier in the hand than they look in photographs, which is a good surprise for some and a letdown for anyone expecting delicate ivory-like slivers.
Good for: a first proper collector set that still gets played. Skip it if: you want tournament king height, or you don't want to shop for a board.
2. Berkeley Isle of Lewis Chess Set
- King height: 3.5 inches
- Replica Isle of Lewis Chessmen made from ground stone resin
- In cream and red pieces with shading and fine detail
- Pieces have felted bottoms
The Berkeley set is the only one here with a 3.5-inch king, which puts it inside the US Chess window and makes it the most playable of the four. Cream and red is a smart colourway. The red side reads across a room in a way that cream versus slightly-different-cream never does, and it holds up under a lamp better than the all-pale resin sets.
The concession is the missing information. Berkeley doesn't publish a recommended board size in the listing, so you're doing the arithmetic yourself: at 3.5 inches, the usual rule points you at squares between 2 and 2.5 inches. Felted bottoms are stated, and that matters on a wooden board where bare resin scuffs and slides. No board in the box, though.
What owners say: The note that keeps coming up on the cream and red Berkeley replicas is colour. The red runs deeper in person than in the product photos, which most people prefer and a few don't. Build quality gets good marks, and so does the felt.
Good for: players who want a Lewis set they can actually play on a full-size board. Skip it if: you want the presentation box and spare queens, or you want a board in the same order.
3. Isle of Lewis Chess Set
- Stone resin pieces - 2x additional Queens included! Felted bases
- 2.75-inch king height - Ideal for a 16" - 18" chess board
- Made in England - Superb Quality - Two Year Warranty
- Precise replicas of the Original Lewis Chessmen - The most famous chess set in the world
The 2.75-inch edition is the same Regency resin recipe scaled down, felted bases included, and it's the set I'd hand to a kid or drop on a coffee table. The listing pairs it with a 16 to 18 inch board, which is the size you can leave out on a side table without the room disappearing under it.
Here's the concession. At 2.75 inches you lose about 15 percent of the height against the 3.25-inch version, and the faces are the first thing to go. The Lewis pieces live or die on those warder expressions, and at this scale the carving reads as texture more than character. Two extra queens come in the box and the two year warranty matches the bigger set, so it isn't a cut-down product, just a smaller one.
What owners say: The small resin Lewis sets are the ones people report leaving out and using. The grumble is that guests pick up the king first, expecting the heft of the bigger set, and find it lighter than the army around it.
Good for: tight tables, small shelves, and younger players. Skip it if: your board is 20 inches or bigger, or you care most about the carving.
4. Royal Selangor Hand Finished The British Museum Collection Pewter Lew…
- Every piece is meticulously hand-finished by our experienced craftspeople using traditional methods.
- Sleek or intricately detailed, our items fit seamlessly in classic or contemporary lifestyles.
- Made from High Quality Pewter
- board set, games, strategy, collections, knights
This is the odd one out and I want to be straight about it. The listing gives you no king height, no piece count and no board. What it does tell you is that it's pewter at 92 to 97 percent tin, hand finished, drawn from the British Museum's own collection. That's a display object that happens to be a chess set.
And pewter is a soft metal. Tin-based pewter dents and scuffs, and pieces clacking together across a 32-move game will show it. If you want something to actually play with, buy resin. If you're buying for someone who already has a playing set and a bookshelf, this is the one, and it's a diffrent kind of gift entirely. If the Lewis story doesn't land with them, the best Harry Potter chess sets do the same gift job for a different fan.
What owners say: Royal Selangor pewter earns consistent praise for the hand finish and consistent complaints about fingerprints and small dents. It's bought as an object, and it's treated like one.
Good for: a gift for a collector who already has a playing set. Skip it if: you want to play, or you need to know the king height before committing.
What actually matters when you buy Lewis chessmen
King height against your board. A 3.25-inch king belongs on a 20 to 24 inch board. A 2.75-inch king belongs on a 16 to 18 inch board. Get this backwards and you've spent money on pieces that crowd each square. The US Chess window for a playing king is 3.375 to 4.5 inches, with squares at 2 to 2.5 inches and a base at 75 to 80 percent of the square.
Material and weight. Ground stone resin and cast stone resin both feel substantial in a way hollow plastic never will. Pewter at 92 to 97 percent tin is heavier still and softer, which cuts both ways over a decade of handling. If you want a set that survives being played with by careless people, resin is the safer bet.
Felted bases, stated or not. Two of these four listings say the pieces are felted. Two don't. On a wooden board, felt is the difference between a set that lasts and a set with a ring of scratches, so treat an unstated base as a question worth asking. If you want a broader look at how materials change the buying decision, themed chess sets are a decent case study.
Board included or not. None of the four includes a board. Berkeley states it plainly; the others leave you to work it out. Budget for the board as part of the set, not as an afterthought.
Extra queens and piece count. Two of the four include two additional queens, which mirrors the original hoard's surplus of certain figures. If you like the history, that detail is worth paying for. If you just want to play, it's trivia.
Side by side
| Set | Key spec | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Regency 4 Queen Edition | 3.25 in king, stone resin, presentation box, 2 extra queens, two year warranty | Best overall |
| Berkeley Isle of Lewis | 3.5 in king, ground stone resin, cream and red, felted bottoms, board not included | Best full-size pieces |
| Regency 2.75 Inch Edition | 2.75 in king, stone resin, felted bases, 2 extra queens, 16 to 18 in board | Best for small tables |
| Royal Selangor Pewter | Pewter, 92 to 97% tin, hand finished, British Museum collection, king height not listed | Best pewter gift |
Which one I'd buy
Buy the Regency 4 Queen Edition if you want one box that settles the question and a set you'll actualy leave out. Buy the Berkeley if you plan to play on a 20 inch board and care about king height more than presentation. Buy the 2.75-inch Regency only if the board you already own is 16 to 18 inches, because buying it for a bigger board is throwing money at a mismatch. Skip the pewter unless it's a gift for someone who already has a set to play with. And if you'd rather have a themed army than a museum replica, the best Lord of the Rings chess sets are worth a look before you commit.
Questions people ask me
Is the Isle of Lewis chess set the oldest chess set in the world?
No. The Lewis pieces are usually dated to the twelfth century, and chess had already been played for centuries by then. What the hoard is known for is being the most complete medieval chess set ever found, with 93 pieces including extra kings, queens and warders.
What is the difference between the 2.75 inch and 3.25 inch Lewis sets?
Half an inch of king height, which changes the board you need. The 2.75 inch version pairs with a 16 to 18 inch board and the 3.25 inch version with a 20 to 24 inch board, according to the listings. The smaller set suits a side table or a child, the bigger one suits a proper playing table.
Where are the original Lewis chessmen kept?
Most of the hoard sits in the British Museum in London, and a group of pieces is in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Both collections display them, which is why several replicas are sold as museum collection pieces.