Checkered Crown

Checkered Crown is an animated history adventure brand creating short stories and interactive experiences for curious families. Its five-minute cartoons explore moments when power nearly changed hands, following people with competing plans, risks, and ambitions. The first season is planned as seven episodes, with stories set in places including London, Florence, Madrid, and the Low Countries. The adventures feature a recurring cast of six chess-piece characters who take on new roles in each tale, bringing historical events to life through original characters and stories inspired by real history.

Beyond its animated series, Checkered Crown offers The Road, a free browser-based chess adventure with a prologue and fourteen history-inspired chapters. Players explore opening strategies, learn how to respond, and practice ideas by switching sides. The brand’s books and related activities include First Moves, a chess adventure with stories, lessons, puzzles, and coloring pages. Its offerings also include chess puzzles, mazes, word searches, connect-the-dots activities, comics, and character-inspired merchandise sold through its official Etsy shop.