suncel Go with Double Salient in Iron Boxes

*** edited June 2018 : I bought this product at $18 but with FREE shipping. Now there's shipping cost, so probably much more cost-effective to just buy your Go set from Yellow Mountain Imports, or others. ***This product was $18+ when I bought it just about a month ago (last week of Nov. 2017).The tin container came damaged/dented (pretty bad, but still closed), it may have been dropped/damaged by Amazon, and/or by the original seller/ manufacturer (like a factory second), the new price point now might be indicative of prior damage hence the lowered price ( I dunno).But that being said, I still give this product a 5 star.Like the original reviewer below said, tin can was damaged, but I just tossed it and got 2 stackable screw-on plastic bowls for the stones (I got 183 black stones, yaaah! and 180 white stones, some a bit mis-shapen , but otherwise round ). These stones are great and was basically the reason I bought 'em.When I initially bought this product, there was no review, so I was basically comparing prices with other stones (I didn't wanna bother with the portable/magnetic stuff, as cheap Yes, but I wanted to have the "real" Go/Weiqi experience, and learn how to plop stones down the East Asian way, with some audible authority, Lol!), and $18 bucks was the most cost effective in the line up of Amazon choices (I'm just starting out with Go/Weiqi).As to the folding "leather" board as advertised, I'm pretty sure leather doesn't stretch like rubber, so it's some fake leather synthetic stuff, but still pretty good, along with the great quality stones, you have a great Go/Weiqi starter set.So in conclusion, expect the tin cans to come damaged (I didn't even raise a fuss about that, since I would've gladly paid $30 bucks for just the stones alone),but enjoy the stones and the fake leather folding board (you do need to iron out the creases on the folding board though, i just kinda stretched it out and roll it up when storing it, the creases are still visible but you can plop stones on 'em now and they stay flat , you'll figure out a way).I'm very happy with this product.

I don't write a lot of reviews. For this, I had to make an exception.Let's begin by correcting the product description. (I suspect the seller is not a native English speaker). "Go set with double convex stones and tin bowls" would be more accurate. For the money, (about $18.50 -- practically nothing) this is hands down the best set I have ever come across. It's not perfect (see below), but even so, it represents tremendous value for, say, a beginner looking for a starter set.The board is from a flexible fleece fabric with a rubber backing, somewhat similar to a mouse pad, but thinner. The product picture shows it as yellow; the one I received was light brown. (Nothing wrong with brown, but I would have preferred yellow.) Due to how the board was folded into the tin at the factory, it had permanent creases that made placing stones difficult. I was able to remove these creases using an iron on the very lowest heat. After that, the board was quite usable. It would probably work even better if glued onto a flat piece of plywood or MDF.The real reason to buy this set are the stones. They are made of practically indestructible melamine, a close relative of plastic, but denser and heavier. Not as heavy as glass, shell or slate, but they do have more heft than plastic. The product description says that their shape is "single convex" (flat on the bottom, lens shaped on top, Chinese-style) stones, but the ones I received are "double convex" (lens shaped on both sides, Japanese-style) stones, which I much prefer. The stones are pleasant to hold, with a shape that is even and consistent, about 9.8 mm thick, with no odd or misshapen ones in the entire set - quite amazing, really, at a cost per stone of about 5 cents. The 21.5 to 22 mm diameter fits any Japanese standard go board. I cannot stress this enough: the thickness, shape and over all quality of these stones is unmatched by any other budget offering I've seen -- and it's not even close. The next step up would be a set of quality glass stones of similar thickness, but those would set you back around $90 (and would not include any board or bowls).For inexpensive goods manufactured in China, lead content is sometimes a concern. I tested both black and white stones with a home lead detection kit - no lead found.Finally, the "iron pots": these are flimsy tins with printing on them. They are barely serviceable as go bowls and have a tendency to fall apart. I quickly replaced them with inexpensive plastic food jars from a local super market.In sum: the board and bowls are pretty low grade stuff, but the stones are simply superb, and easily worth the price of the entire set by themselves. Highly recommend.Update: this set has gone up from $18.50 with free shipping, to $20.00 with $28.00 shipping. The stones are still the best plastic ones I’ve seen, but $48.00 is no longer such a good deal. Consider spending a little more for low end glass stones instead. Removing one star.

I already have more stones than I know what to do with. But the lure of a full board and set of stones is too much. The first reviewer said a low heat iron reduced the creases in the board. Good advice! A full game of Go takes over an hour, I convince my dad to play with me in return for listening to his stock picks.Melamine is a cheap plastic made of formaldehyde, but it sounds enough like real stone. Feels good. And playing on the full board beats 13 by 13 and 9 by 9.My aluminium / tin boxes arrived without damage but might not last for long. It feels good to lug it around in metal. Not that there's any worry of scratching a board or losing a few stones. Makes the game more fun. More portable. And more playable!

The game arrived with all three tin containers terribly disfigured. It’s a shame because the artwork on them is quite lovely. The tins are simply not made stout enough to withstand shifting of the “stones’” aggregate weight during shipment. I’m not returning as it was only the “stones” I was needing.

I saw this game and wanted to try it. I like the convenience of the foldable leather. Board!! One of the tin containers was slightly bent, top and bottom but it still does the job.

My kids love play it. The tins (two small round ones and the big one) come bent a little but still functional. Can still be opened and closed. good quality stones. Very smooth feel.

The item is nice. We like it. However, maybe because of the shipping, the iron box is totally crushed, which made us feel bad