Cheap 18mm stones

[S2W]

I have a cruddy go board I bought from Barns and Noble. It is a terrible set - ugly and coming with 160 stones in total. But it does have 19x19 points and - with the help of a black pen - some are even marked as star points.

I'm hoping to use it as a travel board to take when the club meets at the local. coffee shop (perhaps it's only good feature is that it folds in two to make a box to contain the stones). But the points are spaced too close for standard size pieces. Does anyone know of a cheap set of 18mm stones that's available online?

[EdLee]

Hi S2W, it took me about 10 years, going through different sets of glass stones (both Korean and Japanese),
with the Japanese set over US$100. Then it came full circle and I (re)discovered the 10 mm ING weighted plastic stones,
for about US$25 -- they are now my favorite set for our weekly coffee shop use. Available from Yutopian/Kiseido.

For the same price, ~$25, a glass stones set would probably be quite "cruddy," IMHO.

All my glass sets had chipped stones, because they chip when you drop them onto the coffee shop floor, which is
usually not carpeted. The ING stones are for all practical Go purposes "indestructible".
Sometimes, when you accidentally drop one onto the floor, you can even catch it on its first bounce.
I highly recommend it for the budget conscious, and it's a fantastic set for club use.
The 10mm refers to the thickness, which is very nice indeed. The diameters are standard-size.

[gowan]

I think S2W is saying that the spaces on the grid are smaller than standard so standard stones won't fit.

[skydyr]

If you have an h-mart near you, they have stone sets to go with undersized boards that would be about right and cost maybe $10. That said, they also come with only 160 stones and break at the drop of a hat. What's wrong with the stones that came with the set?

[S2W]

I think S2W is saying that the spaces on the grid are smaller than standard so standard stones won't fit.

That's right - I have another set of standard sized stones but they are too cramped on the board. I agree with Ed though that plastic stones have their advantages (and fit the aesthetic of the board)

What's wrong with the stones that came with the set?

Nothing really - it's just the number - 160 (80 of each color). It's a good number to play my 4yr old son (we always end in a "draw") not so good at the club. But you bring up one possible option - I could always buy another set (I notice that now the same set is even advertised as having 361 stones). I'm just a little reluctant to give barns and noble more money.

[S2W]

Here's the link:
Buyer beware

[gogameguru]

Here's the link:
Buyer beware

We got some samples from China once that were like that too (with about 100 stones of each color). It turned out that it was a gomoku set rather than a go set. Maybe that's also what happened here, despite the display packaging and description on the page you linked to.

I think it will be hard to find stones in that size without buying a complete travel set with another miniature board to go with it. Your best bet might be to order a bag of black buttons and another of white buttons. You'll want to look for size 28L (28 lignes).

In general, this is why it's better to stick with standard sized equipment. It's like buying a bike with Shimano parts - they're easier to fix or upgrade without buying a whole new bike.