Mah Jong Sets
Mah jong is an ancient Chinese game usually played with a set of beautifully decorated tiles, although some versions have been played with a deck of cards instead. Usually for four players, the game has some similarities to rummy or poker. Players must combine tiles into matching or sequential sets. Scoring is calculated according to the hands of each player. Most mah jong games are comprised of four sets of four hands each for a total of sixteen rounds.
Mah jong originated in China hundreds of years ago. Although many historians disagree on the exact lineage of the game, there is a growing consensus that mah jong originated sometime during the Ming Dynasty. Mah jong can be translated as “sparrow” from some Chinese dialects.
People from China have been playing mah jong for centuries, and now the game is popular all over the world. There are a number of variations that have developed in countries from Japan to Fiji to the U.S. Mah jong first became popular in the West during the 1920s. The game experienced a revival in the U.K. when British author Alan D. Millington wrote “The Complete Book of Mah-jongg” in 1977, a text that is still widely regarded by mah jong players today.
Different versions of mah jong require slightly different sets of tiles. Sets will usually have at least 136 tiles, but may have as many as 152. The most common way to play mah jong is according to Hong Kong rules. A typical Hong Kong set will have 144 tiles composed of three suits of nine tiles each, a group of honour tiles and a group of bonus tiles.
The suits of a typical majhong set are circles or dots, characters (numbers one through nine), and bamboo. Each of the nine tiles from each suit has a unique design, often beautifully hand-painted in colour. In addition to the tiles from each suit, a majhong set should include honour tiles. There are seven honour tiles, and honour tiles have no numerical sequence. Four represent the prevailing winds of North, South, East and West. These tiles are painted with the Chinese characters representing these directions. The last three honour tiles are the three dragon tiles, each painted with a single design in red, green and white. Some authors that have concluded that the three dragon tiles represent traditional Confucian values of benevolence, sincerity, and filial piety, or respect for one’s family and ancestors.
Many people consider the last group of tiles in a majhong set to be the most unique and the most beautiful. The final eight tiles in a set are bonus tiles, and the design of these tiles can vary greatly according to different versions of the game. In Hong Kong mah jong, the eight bonus tiles include four flower tiles (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo) and four season tiles (spring, summer, autumn and winter). In other versions of mah jong, bonus tiles with images of animals may be used. In some forms of American and Vietnamese mah jong, “joker” bonus tiles include a particular Chinese character. Mah jong sets may also include dice for deciding the order of play, chips or counting sticks to assist in scoring, and a marker to designate the dealer. The type of accessories included can vary widely with each mah jong set.
Tiles in a mah jong set are often made of bone (cattlebone is common today) and bamboo, with the carved and painted bone face of the tile placed on a bamboo backing. Some tiles may be ivory (less common today because of the legal issues involved), stone or wood. Valuable mah jong sets may be hand-carved or hand-painted. Mass produced sets might include tiles made of plastic or bakelite.
Most mah jong sets come contained in special boxes, which can be a distinctive feature of the set itself. Some sets are packed in elaborate rosewood boxes, carved on all four sides with animals or scenes of people playing mah jong. Other boxes could be make of various colours of jade. A beautiful box can make a mah jong set into a work of art, even when it is not being played.
The game of mah jong itself has fascinated people all over the world. The sets used to play mah jong are more than just equipment. These intricate, elegant games are often lovingly crafted in ways that allow today’s players to see the beautiful, traditional works of that have delighted players for centuries.
This unique chess set comes from the fine Italian chess manufacturers Italfama. It’s a beautiful little chess set spanning a mere 12 inches across. It comprises a stunning gloss lacquered chess board made from erable wood. What makes it unique is that a gold dust has been rubbed into the grain before staining and lacquering has take place. It produces a stunning shimmering effect that we haven’t seen on any other chess boards.
The chessmen are turned brass and coated in gold and silver. They are a simple yet very elegant Staunton design and made to an extremely high standard of Luxury. The king stands just two inches high, so make no mistake, this is one very small chess set, small but beautiful.
The overall quality and finish is just what you would expect from an Italian made chess set. Those of you that like shiny things that sparkle will love this great little set.
Italian Chess Set
The Book Chess Set By Regency Chess
This is an excellent little travel chess set that has been made from good quality solid hardwoods. It’s a mere eight inches in length, so quite a compact little set. It’s been made using Sheesham wood and boxwood, the whole set being polished instead of lacquered which is a very nice touch. Our test sample has real ebony squares and chessmen which seems like an extravagance for such a basic little set. We are told that because the squares and chessmen are so tiny that it makes sense to use up the tiny off cuts of ebony for this purpose.
The pieces are pegged instead of being magnetic. They are really tiny but still retain their definition and character as Staunton chess pieces. They store in their pre game positions when the set is closed so it can be opened up and a game played straight away, likewise closed down and returned to mid game.
The overall finish and quality is excellent, as with most handicraft items the metal hardware has something to be desired, but it’s functional and more than good enough for the price of the set. So to summarise we give this little set top marks!
The Metropolis Metal Italian Chessmen
The Metropolis chessmen are a unique set of metal chess pieces with a very interesting retro sci-fi look. They have been turned from brass and nickel to an excellent standard of finish. The pieces have been lathed so don’t have any annoying casting lines on them. Each one is instantly recognisable despite their slightly unique style.
These fine chess pieces have been manufactured in Italy by Italfama, at £200 per set they are far from cheap, but finely crafted Italian items seldom are. It’s clear that the quality is reflected in the price.
To sum up I would say these chessmen have plenty of character, being metal makes them very nicely weighted indeed, they are well made and look very classy indeed. A great little chess set!
This great little chess set is one our best selling products. It’s been crafted from solid sheesham and boxwood to a extremely high standard. The first thing that strikes you about it is the size of the set, at just seven inches across it is very compact indeed. The chessmen are also very tiny, the king for example only stands 3.2 cm tall. Part of what makes this set so lovely is that despite the small size of the chessmen they retain excellent detail and finish. They are classic Staunton and each piece is instantly distinguishable from the rest. The pieces are magnetic and will stick to the board even when it’s turned sideways.
The board itself has been very well crafted from solid sheesham wood, otherwise known as Golden Rosewood. The fitting of the cabinet on these sets is excellent and when folded out the surface of the board is smooth and free of a gap in the center where the two halves join together. The set has been waxed polished to an excellent standard of finish, a much superior finish to the lacquered sets available.
The closing clasp and hinges have a little to be desired, they are fairly easy to replace which is good news as the wood part of the set will last for decades, the hardware will be the first thing to wear out. But if the set is well looked after it shouldn’t be a problem.
A great little set that never fails to impress.
As any chess player will know it’s important to have a nice safe box to store your precious wooden chess pieces in. This chess piece case is a purpose built case especially for chessmen and is available from most good chess stores. The construction of the box is MDF with veneer top back and sides. It’s clearly been manufactured on a production line as opposed to hand made. This however means that the box is very clean, free of the usual hand made imperfections and generally quite satisfying.
Everything about the box seems sturdy and strong, the hardware is well fitted and everything seems to work well and fit properly. The metal hardware appears to be chrome plated, it’s clearly far eastern metal work but for the price of the box we wouldn’t expect anything else. All the hardware on our sample box was well polished and free from tarnish.
The box measures 9.5 x 6 x 4 inches so is a fair size. We tried it with a set of Staunton chess pieces with four queens and a 4.5 inch king height. They all fit in nicely, in fact we were surprised to see such a large chess set fit inside so easily. Of course the chessmen must be laid down on top of each other, not something that will pose a problem for genuine high quality hardwood chess pieces.
The inside of the box is plush lined to protect the chess pieces. All of the lining is well cut and fitted, all true to form on this neat and well finished box. One thing that is marginally annoying is that on the edges and corners there is MDF showing through, it’s not a huge deal because it’s been so well finished off, but to the trained eye it’s very noticeable.
To sum up I would say that this is an excellent chess storage case for the money. It’s a very good size, attractive, practical and looks like it will last many years. While some of the materials are slightly ‘budget’ the whole thing still has a very good sense of quality about it, mainly due to it’s clean and machine finished look.
Burl Wood Chess Piece Case
16 Inch Tournament Chess Set Review
The sixteen inch tournament chess set comes from The Polish Chess Company and as you might therefore expect, is made in Poland. It is available under various guises from many outlets and is a very popular and common chess set. It features a mahogany cabinet with ply top construction, weighted Staunton chess pieces, alpha numeric inlaid chess board and compartments for the chessmen to sit inside the case when closed.
Firstly the bad
There is no doubt that this chess set is robust, substantial and very good value for money. However there are shortcomings. The overall finish on the set is fairly rustic and rough in some areas. It combines real mahogany with stained birch wood and the staining isn’t perfect in all areas on our review sample.
The inserts that hold the chessmen inside are flimsy and essentially made from vacuum formed plastic, not as nice as felt or foam inerts. The chessmen themselves are also a bit rustic, lacking the smooth finish of the Indian chessmen that are readily available in the market place.
Now the good
The set is a good substantial size and a good weight at 1.3 KGs. It feels substantial and heavy in the hands and very robust. It certainly gives me the impression it will last for years. The overall construction is solid and satisfying.
The Chessmen are nicely weighted and have very good quality baize on their bottoms. They are a classic Staunton pattern and with a king height of three inches a very good size for a folding travel chess set.
The set is extremely practical, it’s large enough for a proper game of chess, but will all stow away nicely and fit easily on a book shelf out of the way. Having the alpha numeric is also extremely handy for logged games or correspondence games.
To summarise I would say this is generally a very well made and practical chess set, albeit a tad rough around the edges. If you are looking for a perfectly clean piece of furniture made to musical instrument standard then this set probably isn’t for you. However if you need a great chess set, at a good price, with weighted pieces and a decent sized board you won’t find better for your money.
16 Inch Tournament Chess Set
The Sovereign Staunton Chess Pieces 3″
Today’s chess product review focuses on the Sovereign series chessmen from The Regency Chess Company, England. The first thing you notice about these Staunton chess pieces is their size, or rather lack of it. So many of the luxury chessmen available today feature a four inch king or higher. These chessmen however feature a three inch king height.
They say that small is beautiful and this is a perfect example in support of that statement. By scaling the chessmen down in size the detail becomes quite special, the lines and curves seem much tighter than they do on larger sets. It makes them very appealing indeed. The smaller size is also an advantage if you don’t want to have to buy a huge 23 inch board. These pieces will sit very happily on an eighteen inch board, or a twenty if you like a little more air around the pieces.
One of the design features that lends such elegance to these pieces is their very wide base. At one and a half inches (for the king) they are very wide relative to their modest height. This allows for some really deep curves in the shanks and sweeping lines. The Staunton design has been rigidly stuck to here while creating some very beautiful pieces.
The knights are classic reproduction Jacques without any unnessesary detail or carving. On the set I am reviewing the uniformity of all four is really good. The polishing and level of detail on the finish is excellent.
The pieces are not over weighted like some of the lead filled pieces on the market, instead they are double weighted with iron to achieve near perfect balance of each piece. The bases are covered with traditional green baize, hand cut extremely well I might add.
The overall quality and finish of this chess set is about as good as it gets. It’s no secret that they have been sourced from India but clearly from an established and reputable workshop who have gone to great lengths to ensure 100% quality control. I can safely say that there is not one piece in the set that is suffering from a defect or ding. The amount of pieces they must throw away to achieve this is worrying, but it seems justified in the name of perfection. Why not check out some chess set videos.
24″ Briarwood chess board by Italfama
Up for review this time is one 24 inch Italian made Briarwood inlaid chess board by Italfama. To be exact this board actually measures 23.6 inches across. That’s the total dimension of the board including the border, not just the playing surface. The board is described as being made from Briarwood and Elmwood and of veneer type construction method.
Firstly I would say that to the trained eye it is clear that this board is indeed a veneer board, but it has been done extremely well indeed. It takes on a really solid wooden appearance with all the joins being really well mated together. Those who feel the need to insist on a solid wooden board should certainly consider this one. It has all the looks and feel of a solid wooden board but wont suffer any of the cracking or warping issues associated with solid wooden boards.
There is a sticker on the back that mentions the inlays are done by hand. Generally speaking the inlay is very good, but there are some very minor areas where the dimensional aspects could be better. The alignment of the squares is good, but not mathematically perfect. But I really am splitting hairs here.
The wood grain pattern on our review sample is very attractive, with lovely brown tones and curly patterns and knots. It makes this board a real piece of furniture, something really beautiful as well as extremely functional. The lacquering on the board has been done to an extremely high standard, it’s thick, very glossy and professionally polished. The base of the board is perfectly lacquered and has good quality felt feet to keep the underside of the board, and your table free of scratches and marks.
The price of the board is high at around £200, but when did anything hand made and Italian ever come cheap? The board is certainly well worth the money and is the ideal partner for your luxury four inch king (and larger) Staunton chessmen. It is also available in smaller sizes.
Italfama Chess Board