Children's travel xiangqi set

The box containing this small and cheap xiangqi set seems to indicate that this set is aimed at children (I can't read the Chinese).

Inside the box is a plastic fold-up board ...

... which contains the small plastic magnetic pieces.

Not much else to say about this children's travel set, I guess. 

Small vintage wooden xiangqi set

Another listing on eBay of a xiangqi set in a very nice box, with little additional information. I was lucky last time a similar (but larger) set showed up, so tried my luck again.

And the box really is nice; certainly looks pretty old.

Inside, a dark red board made from some sort of cloth, and simple wooden pieces. 

Inside the box, like in the larger one. drawings and Chinese writing.

So lets put the pieces on the board so see what it look like.

Pieces definitely look old and well-used. 

Given the low price, definitely happy with it!

'Three Kingdoms' xiangqi set

Xiangqi (Chinese chess) is normally played with disc-shaped pieces featuring Chinese characters indicating their identity. 

I do have a few exceptions to this in my collection of xiangqi sets, where the pieces are 3-dimensional figures rather than flat discs. First of all, there is my 'Terracotta Warriors' set, and also this figurine children's set.

Occasionally, I did come across another set with 3d pieces on the internet, but always with (to me) ridiculous prices. Until quite recently ... 

The pieces in this set come in a sturdy wooden box, which, when opened to reveal the pieces, also functions as the board.

The pieces are mostly in the form of traditional Chinese warriors, inspired by the Warring States and Three Kingdoms periods, with the exception of the cannons, chariots and horses, which, not surprisingly, resemble cannons, chariots and horses ... Note that the pawns are all a bit different from each other; nice touch!

To help knowing which 'human' figures are which piece, all pieces carry a small badge on their base with the relevant Chinese characters.

Nice colourful 3D set; worth waiting for the right opportunity! 

Bamboo xiangqi set

Some time ago, I got myself a nice bamboo xiangqi board, to serve as a playing surface for a number of xiangqi sets I had bought.

Keen to get a set of bamboo pieces, I kept my eye out in the usual places. As far as could tell, a bamboo set of xiangqi stones was not available in the UK, and the one or two from China were far too expensive for me. Until I saw a set on Amazon (US) for a very friendly price (even taking shipping into account; it escaped any import duties).

The set came with the customary faux leather board.

.

And this is what the set looks like on its 'own' faux leather board:

But, as the whole point of getting a bamboo set is to pair it with my bamboo board, the next step is pretty obvious, right?

Bamboo pieces on a bamboo board; finally!

Synochess

In the vast majority of chess variants, the two (or more) sides have identical sets of pieces at the start. But not all of them do .... In real war, armies facing each other are not necessarily identical, and this has been reflected in some chess variants. One of these, Spartan chess, I already have in the collection.  

Another chess variant with unequal armies is Synochess. In this variant, one side, called the 'Kingdom', has a normal western set of pieces. The other side, the 'Dynasty', has a set of pieces coming from xiangqi and janggi (Chinese and Korean chess, respectively).

In the collection, I've got board and pieces to easily put together a Synochess set.

For the board, I picked my 'mahjong' board, as that one combines western and Chinese influences.

@

As to the pieces, I decided to use my Bakelite St George set for the 'Kingdom', and my Acrylic xiangi set for the 'Dynasty'. This ensures both sets are disc-shaped and so don't look too different. 

A Synochess set with both western and Chinese traits!

'Mahjong' set

Saw this xiangqi set on eBay (yes, I have a saved search on those, with email notifications ...). Just the one picture of the closed box, but it looked really unusual, and it didn't cost a lot, so I took the punt.

Turned out it was a xiangqi set with rectangular pieces, reminiscent of mahjong stones!

The set didn't come with a board,  but that was easily remedied, as I have plenty of those. Best fit was this faux leather board.

Looks good, and you must admit this 'mahjong' set is an unusual and unique addition to my ever- growing collection of xiangqi sets.

Shong Chee set

I stumbled across this 'Shong Chee' set on Etsy. As far as I can make out, it was marketed in the 1980s by a company in Taiwan.

The game comes as a hinged wooden box, which contains plastic pieces (plus the rules for 'Shong Chee', which are identical to those for xiangqi, so it's not a Taiwanese variant of Chinese chess).

Put the pieces on the board, and it looks like an ordinary xiangqi set

But look more closely, and you'll see the set is far from ordinary (and that's why I snapped it up from Etsy as soon as I saw it) ...

All the pieces have been given names very different from xiangqi (though their moves remain identical). No rook, but an Air Force. Navy rather than horses. Ministers/elephants replaced by Congressmen. No king and mandarins in the palace, but a President and Senators. Army instead of pawns. And, finally, Missiles taking the place of the cannons. 

Definitely a unique set in my xiangqi collection, and glad I got it!