Go Set: 19×19 Board with Stones & Bowls
A full-size 19×19 board, a complete set of stones and two bowls: everything the game needs.
- Pieces
- 361 stones: 181 black, 180 white
- Piece size
- 22 mm diameter, single convex
Go, xiangqi & shogi
Go, xiangqi and shogi: the other East Asian games worth a set
The same shelves that hold mahjong sets hold the other great East Asian table games: go, with its 361 stones; xiangqi, the Chinese chess played on the lines; and shogi, the Japanese chess where captured pieces come back. The same factories make them and AliExpress lists far more of them than any Western shop. These are the sets we would start with.
Magnetic Folding Go Set
A folding 19×19 board with flat magnetic stones for travel, lessons and the sofa.
- Pieces
- 361 flat magnetic stones
- Piece size
- About 15–18 mm diameter, flat
Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) Set
Thirty-two engraved wooden discs and a folding board with the river and the palaces.
- Pieces
- 32 pieces: 16 red, 16 black
- Piece size
- Disc diameter 3.5–5 cm
Shogi (Japanese Chess) Set
Forty pentagonal pieces with kanji, a 9×9 board and the drop rule that changes everything.
- Pieces
- 40 pieces: 20 per side, promoted faces on the reverse
- Piece size
- King about 3.2 × 2.9 cm, pieces graded down to the pawn
Other categories
- American sets — American mahjong sets compared: 166-tile boxed sets (152 in play) with jokers, racks and pushers, large-print tiles, travel sets, and what the NMJL card changes.
- Chinese sets — Chinese mahjong sets compared by tile size and material: standard 144-tile melamine sets, jade-look acrylic sets and travel sets, and which size suits your table.
- Riichi sets — Japanese Riichi mahjong sets explained: red-five dora tiles, smaller tile dimensions, point sticks and why a Chinese set is not a substitute.
- Tables — Automatic and folding mahjong tables compared: what an automatic shuffler does, which tile size it needs, and when a plain folding table is the better buy.
- Mats — Mahjong mats compared: thick rubber mats, felt-topped mats and bordered table mats.
- Tiles — Mahjong tile sizes and materials explained, plus where to find replacement tiles, blank tiles and tiles for automatic tables.
- Accessories — The mahjong accessories that genuinely improve play: racks and pushers for American mahjong, a proper carrying case, dice and wind indicators, and the ones to skip.