You play with words. Of course, anything can be a chess piece, even 3 bamboo rods like in Pilipines. Figurines like in Warhammer can also be used to play chess but for chess and chess variants I think the best is Staunton-like pieces. Staunton's style is remarkable because it is at the good balance point between something purely abstract and very descriptive pieces like figurines.
You play with words. Of course, anything can be a chess piece, even 3 bamboo rods like in Pilipines. Figurines like in Warhammer can also be used to play chess but for chess and chess variants I think the best is Staunton-like pieces. Staunton's style is remarkable because it is at the good balance point between something purely abstract and very descriptive pieces like figurines.