How to Choose a Set

Most sets are sold on how they look. Almost none tell you whether they are the right size to actually play on. Here is what to check, by game, before you spend anything.

Chess

Three numbers decide whether a chess set is playable or decorative.

• King height 3.75 in — the standard club and tournament size. Below 3.5 in the pieces start crowding each other.
• Square 2.25 in — the standard board square. A quick check: four pawns should sit inside one square with room to spare.
• Board 20 in — 2.25 in squares across eight files, plus the border.
• Weight — measured in ounces for the whole set, not per piece. Light pieces tip when the table is knocked. Ask for the number rather than the word 'weighted'.
• Felt bases — a pad under each piece. It protects the board and it is the quickest way to tell a made set from a moulded one.

If you want a set for study or club play, match the base diameter of the king to the square: divide the base diameter by 0.78 and you get the square size that suits it.

American Mahjong

American mahjong is not the same game as Chinese mahjong and the sets are not interchangeable. What matters:

• Tile count — an American set needs the 152 playing tiles plus jokers. Sets list 152, 160 or 166 depending on how many jokers and blanks are included. Check the number before you buy, and check it again when it arrives.
• Readable faces — the single most common complaint about modern sets. If the numerals are pale, or the Bams and Dots are hard to tell apart at arm's length, the set will be voted off the table by the group. Look at a photograph taken from a seated player's distance, not a macro.
• Engraved, not printed — printed faces wear off with handling. Engraved and pigment-filled faces do not.
• Tile size — 1.2 in is standard, around 1.5 in is sold as extra large. This matters because of the racks.
• Racks and pushers — a rack has to be long enough for a 19-tile wall, and its groove has to be deep enough for your tile thickness. Tiles that fall off the lip are the most frustrating way to discover a mismatch.
• NMJL card — the National Mah Jongg League card is published yearly and sold separately. No set includes the current card.

Backgammon

• Checkers 1.75 in (44 mm) — tournament diameter. Below 1.5 in the board is a travel set, whatever the listing calls it.
• Board 21 in and up when open, for full-size checkers.
• Inlaid points, not sewn — sewn-on points leave a seam the checkers catch on. Inlaid points let them slide.
• Playing surface — felt and microfibre give a predictable glide and a quiet dice roll. Cork tends to make dice spin; bare wood is loud.
• The case — on a folding attache, the hinges and the clasp are what fails first. Check that the two halves meet flush and that the clasp actually holds.

Go

• 19x19 for full games, 13x13 for a faster game and for teaching.
• Stone count — 181 black, 180 white for a full set.
• Board thickness — thicker boards give the stones a deeper sound. It is a preference, not a requirement.

Sizes on this site

Every product page on The Proper Set lists the measurements in inches and the materials as they were given to us by the maker. Where a number is not published, it is because we have not verified it, and we would rather leave it blank than guess.