'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!