I’ve always been interested in a very specific chess set. It is the set shown in the intro video to the game Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings.

The set, known as Lewis chessmen, is a unique set of pieces. The main pieces (all but the pawns) are especially humanoid.

image of Lewis chessmen

I intend print out a set of pieces in the Lewis chessman model.

Note that the Knight is not finshed yet. This has yet to be printed.

Something that I would like to integrate into the design is some sort of chamber inside the base of the pieces that can be filled to provide weight.

If I can make easily printed threads, I can create a plug to hold heavy fill material to get these to a better weight, with the weight located in the base. It would be nice to write a Grasshopper definition to do just that.

For fill material I’m thinking sand, small ball bearings, or some combination of both. Ball bearings might be easy to feel, when they roll around inside, but if they can fill the volume of the space they would be pretty stable. Sand might also feel strange, and sound like a maraca if there is space. In either case, limiting empty space is the key.

Professional chess sets have specific weights and tolerances for each piece. I think. After looking into FIDE handbook, there is no note of the weight of pieces. The height is defined, but not the weight.

After plugging the space, we must secure the bottom of the piece. The simplest thing to do is to add a circle of felt.