I'm quite new to the game of Go; I had been using a small travel-sized go board for practice along with some books I got, and replaying a game or two. I find that I learn better if I'm actually placing stones rather than reading or clicking. The only problem is that the travel board is small (about 9-1/2 by 10-1/5 inches) such that the stones are difficult to remove in later stages (they're about 12mm in diameter. I've had a lot of fun with it, but thought I should watch out for a larger board and stones. I did manage to pick up a cheap normal-sized board, but it didn't come with the stones.

On an impulse I purchased a set of stones which came in an interesting wooden container, I hadn't seen anything like it, but I'm still new to all this. Unfortunately these stones are too small for the larger board. The stones themselves appear to be made of the same materials as the travel go board; I'm not sure if the black is actually slate, but the white is glass I'm sure. These are about 16mm in diameter, almost halfway between the travel-board stones and regular sized stones.

The container is interesting, as it is stackable. The bottom half contains the white stones while the top half has the black stones, then the lid. The container narrows from its base to the top. In this case, there are no lids that can act as the prisoner trays.

My questions would be: Does anyone know anything about such stones or bowls? (I've attached pictures of them for reference) Are there boards made for stones of this size? Did I just buy stones for a slightly larger travel set?

Thanks for any help!

Here are the pictures:

Hi yasher175, if you stick around long enough in your Go career,
most likely you'll eventually get yourself one "standard"-sized set.
Or two. Or more.

Hello,
Those are really cool looking bowls. I've never seen any like that before.

The white is definitely glass and from the coloration the black looks slate. To be sure, look for any nicks or scratches in the black and shine a light on it, if there's a shine then it's glass, if not, slate.

The only place I've seen that sells boards for stones that size is Kurokigoishiten. Those are pricier Kaya boards though.

http://shop.kurokigoishi.co.jp/en/category/0908

If you find any other places that sell smaller boards, let us know

I cannot really help identifying the materials, though I think it is possible that those black stones are glass (but they sure could be slate as well.

I have seen several vintage Japanese travel boards with really small glass stones (~6-7 mm diameter IIRC), and the black ones also were quite dull/matte, not glossy. I don’t know how they produce them, but maybe it’s the same process as for the white ones, and then put them in an etching bath for a minute? And FWIW, all the black standard size glass stones I have also are not glossy …

And what an awesome container, I also would have been strongly tempted if I had seen it somewhere (depending on the price, of course), because, as EdLee said, “or more”

_________________
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?