I paid lower than advertised price of a new set, from an 'offer' here on Amazon. I like the set. I'm keeping the set. It's smaller than advertised, and is still a bit on the large side, for my intended uses (wanted a set I can use comfortably on a small desk). Still need about a 20" deep by 30" wide playing area, for (Mahjong tile based) Solitaire. Played two rounds of Solitaire on the hard desktop (also of melamine, like these tiles) and then tried it with a wool blanket (good tight weave) and the blanket was much better than the tabletop - very enjoyable; now I know what to get for a playing surface. The blanket worked on the desk because it was carefully flattened and weighted down, for this test run. Obviously a proper felt surface (bonded to a substrate for firmness) would be ideal. Look up the felting process on Wikipedia - it's pretty much the same thing as dreadlocks, for how it works. Amazon messed up on shipping, refunded shipping costs, and still delivered by Tuesday, for a Friday purchase. Driver (Flex) refused a $5 tip (since shipping was free, due to the mess-up, I could afford the extra $5 .. driver waved me off on that). For what I paid, and for what I want out of this set, I'm super happy with my purchase. I think I would pay full price for the same set (undamaged case scenario) and still be happy, at least in comparison with what I've seen on the market. Only one or two sets I've seen have those great Flowers and Seasons designs, and the execution of the design was really quite good, for the set I have in front of me. One or two smudged tile paint jobs (not very noticable, but I did pick up on it). The case did arrive severely damaged, as stated in the ad (the ad did not specify what damage was to be expected; I gambled on it not being a problem with the tiles, but rather with the attractive case they come in - that was a good guess on my part. The tiles were exactly as a new set would ship them, but the case was in need of some reconstruction (technique used to create it might resemble old bookbinder technique .. haven't looked into it carefully to see what can be done for it). Looks like cloth covered MDF panels and that the cloth ripped at the corners, but wasn't too interested in the case, so haven't taken a thorough look at it, to confirm what just a glance at it told me). Case seems to be thickly padded on the inside, just on the bottom, but haven't confirmed this. Perhaps the inside of the lid as well. Just did not look at it. I think a lot of people would very much like the design of the cover on the top of the case; it's a deep traditional red color scheme with black accents and a nice overall tone/texture to it. The clasps on the case would make some of us smile - hokey but unique and more or less stamped metal, with some kind of a finish (no idea if it is durable or not). Even if repaired I'd expect to have to treat the case rather gently, to get any long use out of it. I went with one of those twice shoebox sized plastic tubs they sell at the supermarket. The kind of thing a child's blocks might be stored in. I would say, expect to only use the case to carefully display on some guarded (from shoving other stuff against it) shelf, and to open it very carefully, each and every time (and to transport the tiles out of the home, to someone else's home, in some other container besides this case). Not a daily driver. But really quite attractive and quaint, the first time you see this case. It'd be an excellent model, to redo the design, as a home crafts project, I think. The tiles are 29.6 x 22.2 x 14 mm (1.17 x 0.87 x 0.55 in). (I was expecting closer to 31 or 32 mm tiles, from the stated '1.25 x 0.75 x 0.5 in' dimensions in the ad - these tiles are undersized, compared to those stated dimensions). Also, the ad seems to suggest > 6 lb for the set. That would have to include the case, which weighs an arbitrary amount and isn't relevant (except for shipping weight, of course). One tile weighs exactly 13.33 grams; the set weighs 1.94 kg (4.28 lb.) (without the included case; just the tiles). They occupy a flat space 7x10.5" when laid out as 12x6 tiles (29.6 x 6 = 177.6 mm = 6.99 in; 22.2 x 12 = 266.4 mm = 10.488 in) Tile thickness varies slightly, but isn't noticed - the digital calipers said 13.8 to 14.2 mm (0.54 to 0.56 in) which really isn't much, but is mentioned in contrast with the other two dimensions, which did not vary enough to measure, from the small sample of tiles that were checked. Note that since they are over the advertised 0.5" (but not by much) they could be a bit of a tight fit, if exactly 0.5" (or less) was the expectation the customer had in mind. Had looked at up to 40 mm tile sizes and deliberately chose smaller tiles, but this (melamine) ivory set went a bit too small (by measure) in comparison with what was advertised (29.6 mm vs 31.75 mm / 1.25"). Although, in practice, it is working out perhaps better than planned, since even at this size, they take up considerable tabletop space when playing Solitaire, using them. No chemical smell/odor at all when opening the plastic shrink-wrap holding the four sets of 36 tiles. I'd call it frustration-free packaging - just the right kind of plastic wrap to yeild easily when you want to (rip) it open - no tool was used to get it started. No way to save the wrap, probably - a single use wrapping. Folded at the corners, like a wrapped present (but transparent plastic wrap). Uniform melamine mixture/color - they look like white fudge (appetizing). Something to be aware of, with small children. Definitely in the piano-key off-white range of color ('ivory'). Attractive and aesthetically pleasing, but clacky to handle (my first set of Mahjong tiles; no comparison made to any other set from direct experience - have none). The Flowers and Seasons are of very good design - easy to distinguish among them. The Bird (One of Bamboo) still looks like a dragon to this novice's eyes, but yes, I can see there's a bird there, now. The design matches (exactly) media offered from another seller, down to details (just look at the Flowers and Seasons - they appear to be unique to this set's design). The case says Model No. 80-MAHJ and Wuxi, China for the place of manufacture. Still having mild difficulty distinguishing between South and West, but there's enough of a difference that most people should pick up on it, with use (the central shapes are similar, but the upper and lower peripheral parts of the ideograms used, distinguish the one from the other). I like the abstraction to represent the Green Dragon that was used, for this set. The markings are of red, black and green, including some of the spots for the Dots. For example a 2 of Dots has a black spot and a green spot. The green is dark enough not to really notice it (it's not a loud green). I believe the Green Dragons are, in fact, green, though they look almost black in photographs. On careful inspection (just now) it's quite evident there is exactly one shade of green on any tile in the set; the green you can definitely see in the Bams is that same green that colors the Green Dragons (and the floral work on the Flower tiles, and the green spots accompanying the black or red spots on the Dots suit tiles). If you wanted green, and not black, for the green dragons: you're in luck with this good set. Playing (Mahjong tile-based) Solitaire with this set was a real (and unique) pleasure; it's a very different game than on the computer. For one thing, you have your discards (as it were) to refer to. unlike the computer version where they just vanish (no representation of 'captured' tiles on a computer version of this game). It's a lot of upper body work (especially when absolutely new to the game on the physical level) and quite frankly one can get a sore back playing Solitaire this way, a bit too long in one session. Felt it in chest muscles, shoulders and neck (this improved as I learned how
