Which cheap set - World Chess Academy or Best Chess Set Ever?

I’m looking at getting a basic set, and have narrowed it down to two main options, the World Chess Academy set and the Best Chess Set Ever. I don’t have a lot of room to leave a full size set left out permanently, so these two look good due to the foldable / rollable boards, but they are still reasonably sized.

How do the two sets compare? Is there any reason to favour one over the other? I live in the UK, and it seems both should be reasonably available here, so I’d prefer not to import as I don’t want to spend too much on a simple set.

Thanks.

Questions to consider:

Does one set have wooden pieces? Which one is more expensive? Did you check the reviews? What is the rating? Does it have an instructions manual?

Both sets are plastic pieces, the world chess has a folding cardboard board, the Best Set Ever has a rollable one that is slightly larger. Prices are similar (£30-40). I’ve read a review on here of the World Chess set, which was very positive. There’s a review on here of plastic pieces that includes those from both sets, but it only lists the sizes etc, there wasn’t anything qualitative.

Which one has more pieces? Like it could come with 32 (16 white 16 black) or 64 (32 white, 32 black)

The Best Chess Set Ever is available in two sizes/weights: "triple" and "quad".  Are you looking at the triple or the quad ("XL")?

I have an Academy set and the BCSE XL.  I like both for different reasons but the XL set is massive and very heavy.  I'm not a fan of the triple-weighted set's knight but that's just me.

Maybe a deciding factor is if you want a more modern or classical Staunton look?

I think it's good to have triple because you get backup pieces in case something goes missing.

This is pretty much it. Both chess sets are functionally identical, so it would come down to personal taste. 

I'm not completely sure I understand this but I believe both the Academy and the XL sets come with extra queens.

One additional topic I thought of after I first posted was the boards - compare the folding cardboard of the Academy set with the BCSE's silicone board.  Personally I abhor silicone boards because of the stickiness but again, that's just me.  They certainly handle spills better than cardboard or mousepad.  Of course you can always seek out a better board for either set.

I love my World chess set. The peices themselves are excellent but the board isn't going to last with repeated folding and unfolding.

@digitaldave71. Have a look at House of Staunton. They have a 20% off promotion right now and have a range of great plastic pieces at various price points, sizes and weights, along with roll-up vinyl boards for a decent price. (I have the Collectors, Marshall, Hastings and Fischer plastic pieces and all are decent). You'll pay a bit for shipping, but this is offset somewhat by the lower US cost of the product. Also, with the 5 orders I've made with them, I've never incurred any customs, handling or tax charges. (I'm in the UK too). You could possibly pick up a set for the same overall cost as the ones you mention above.

I think you should get the one that is bigger (the rollable one.)

I don't recommend the DGT plastic set. It has a terrible design and horrible ergonomics. BCSE has extra weight and also size configurations. Of course, I would highly recommend the Academy Set:

Review - World Chess Official Academy Chess Set

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will be ordering the World Chess Academy Set based on the slightly smaller size for the space where I can set up, the fact that the board will fold up rather than roll up for storage. As for the appearance, I’m not that bothered, until recently I didn’t even know what a Staunton set was!

Get the bigger one.