diff --git a/PROJECT-PLAN.md b/PROJECT-PLAN.md
index cea97e9..1b34347 100644
--- a/PROJECT-PLAN.md
+++ b/PROJECT-PLAN.md
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 # Project Maharajong Development Plan
 
-## Current Status (Updated 2026-06-08)
-- **Active branch**: `design-playing-mat` (PR #20 open)
-- **Blocked on**: Shopify domain propagation (maharajong.com purchased, awaiting DNS)
-- **Next up**: Order prototype tile blanks from Amazon; contact Jayi/Promlogo for custom samples; fix tile aspect ratio
-- **Deferred**: #3, #5, #8 (business/research tasks — on hold until game design is finished)
+## Current Status (Updated 2026-07-03)
+- **Live**: Pre-order landing page is the homepage at [maharajong.com](https://maharajong.com) — waitlist email capture working (customers tagged `preorder`), password protection removed
+- **Store**: Shopify Advanced; draft "Founding Edition" product created ($399 placeholder, SKU MRJ-FE-001); homepage SEO title/description set; main nav menu rebuilt
+- **Research**: Competitor analysis, user personas, and business model canvas complete (see `research/` and `business/`) — headline: no direct Indian-fusion competitor exists; viable price corridor $329–$399 (+$499 Founding tier)
+- **Next up (critical path)**: decide tile blank material → order prototype blanks (Amazon) + custom samples (Jayi/Promlogo) → CMYK test strips → print-then-engrave workflow tests
+- **Open items**: social sharing image in Online Store → Preferences (one manual click), policies/legal pages (#27), waitlist welcome email (#30)
 
 ## Phases & Milestones
 ### Phase 1: Foundation & Research
@@ -14,33 +15,33 @@
 - [x] #7 Initial Rules Draft — `rules/gameplay-rules.md` v0.1
 - [x] #16 Production equipment specs — `production/engraving/` + `production/printing/`
 - [x] #11 Playing mat design — `design/mat/mat-design-final.png` (PR #20)
-- [ ] #6 Tile Design Concepts — 51 images generated; production audit complete (see `production/tile-production-audit.md`)
-- [ ] #12 Tile rack design — spec done (`design/racks/tile-rack-design-spec.md`), needs image
-- [ ] #3 Competitor Analysis — deferred
-- [ ] #5 User Personas — deferred
-- [ ] #8 Business Model Canvas — deferred
+- [x] #6 Tile Design Concepts — 51 designs; `print-ready/` (32:23 crop) + `transparent/` (UV) exports; proof sheet PDF
+- [x] #12 Tile rack design — spec + reference images (PR #35)
+- [x] #3 Competitor Analysis — `research/competitor-analysis.md`
+- [x] #5 User Personas — `research/user-personas.md`
+- [x] #8 Business Model Canvas — `business/business-model-canvas.md`
 
 ### Phase 2: Design & Prototyping
-- [ ] #13 Dice design — spec done (`design/dice/dice-design-spec.md`), needs image
-- [ ] #14 Trinkets & accessories — spec done (`design/trinkets/trinkets-design-spec.md`), needs image
-- [ ] #17 Adapt tile designs for UV printer — audit done, action items: fix aspect ratio (3:4→32:23), CMYK test strips, transparent backgrounds
-- [ ] #18 Adapt tile designs for laser engraver — audit done, action items: create SVG engraving overlays, test print-then-engrave workflow
-- [ ] #21 Social media teaser image — 3 variants generated (square, story, landscape) in PR #20
-- [ ] Tile blank material selection — sourcing spec done (`design/tile-blanks-spec.md`), 3 suppliers evaluated
+- [x] #13 Dice design — spec + reference images (PR #35)
+- [x] #14 Trinkets & accessories — spec + reference images (PR #35)
+- [ ] #17 Adapt tile designs for UV printer — ✅ aspect ratio fixed (PR #34), ✅ transparent backgrounds (PR #36); remaining: CMYK test strips on tile material
+- [ ] #18 Adapt tile designs for laser engraver — remaining: SVG engraving overlays, print-then-engrave workflow test
+- [x] #21 Social media teaser images — 3 variants + hero banner/tile strip/og-image composites (`design/marketing/`)
+- [ ] Tile blank material selection — sourcing spec done (`design/tile-blanks-spec.md`); **DECISION PENDING — blocks everything downstream**
 - [ ] Tile mockups, playtesting simulations
 - [ ] Digital prototype (medium TBD)
 
 ### Phase 3: Ecommerce Setup
-- [ ] #22 Shopify store setup & domain — account created, domain purchased, awaiting DNS propagation
-- [ ] #23 Storefront theme design & brand customization
-- [ ] #24 Product catalog & listings
+- [x] #22 Shopify store setup & domain — live at maharajong.com
+- [x] #23 Storefront: pre-order landing page live as homepage (`web/landing/`, Horizon theme + Custom Liquid section rendering `pages/maharajong`)
+- [~] #24 Product catalog & listings — draft Founding Edition product created; publish when pricing is final
 - [ ] #25 Payment processing & checkout optimization
 - [ ] #26 Shipping, fulfillment & packaging
 - [ ] #27 Legal compliance, policies & data protection
-- [ ] #28 SEO optimization & search visibility
+- [~] #28 SEO — homepage + landing page title/meta set; sitemap/keyword work remaining
 - [ ] #29 Analytics, tracking & conversion measurement
-- [ ] #30 Email marketing & automation flows
-- [ ] #31 Pre-launch QA & testing
+- [~] #30 Email marketing — waitlist capture live (tag `preorder`); welcome/nurture flows not yet built
+- [ ] #31 Pre-launch QA & testing — landing page verified desktop/mobile; checkout untested (no live product)
 - [ ] #32 Launch marketing plan & go-live
 
 ## Repository Structure
@@ -48,15 +49,12 @@
 - `AGENTS.md` — Agent instructions (Grok for images)
 - `rules/gameplay-rules.md` — Complete rules v0.1
 - `/design/moodboard/` — 37 moodboard images (rangoli, temples, peacock, spice)
-- `/design/tiles/` — 51 tile images, `generate_tiles.py`, `tile-design-spec.md`
+- `/design/tiles/` — 51 tile images + `print-ready/` + `transparent/`, generation/crop/export scripts, proof sheet
 - `/design/mat/` — Mat design final + spec + `generate_mat.py`
-- `/design/racks/` — Tile rack design spec
-- `/design/dice/` — Dice design spec
-- `/design/trinkets/` — Trinkets & accessories design spec
-- `/design/marketing/` — Social media teaser images (square, story, landscape)
+- `/design/racks/`, `/design/dice/`, `/design/trinkets/` — Specs + reference images
+- `/design/marketing/` — Teasers, hero composites (`hero/`), web-optimized exports (`web/`)
 - `/design/tile-blanks-spec.md` — Tile blank sourcing: 3 suppliers, material comparison, next steps
-- `/production/engraving/` — xTool F2 Ultra UV laser engraver spec
-- `/production/printing/` — eufyMake E1 UV printer spec
-- `/production/tile-production-audit.md` — Compatibility audit: tiles vs. both machines
-- `/research/` — Competitor analysis and user research (placeholder)
-- `/business/` — Business model and plans (placeholder)
+- `/production/` — Equipment specs (xTool F2 Ultra, eufyMake E1) + tile production audit
+- `/research/` — `competitor-analysis.md`, `user-personas.md`
+- `/business/` — `business-model-canvas.md`
+- `/web/landing/` — Landing page: `index.html` preview, `shopify-page.liquid` (deployed), `DEPLOY.md`
diff --git a/business/business-model-canvas.md b/business/business-model-canvas.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f12330f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/business/business-model-canvas.md
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+# Maharajong — Business Model Canvas & Supporting Analysis
+
+**GitHub issue:** #8 (Business Model Canvas)
+**Prepared:** 2026-07-03
+**Stage:** Pre-launch (waitlist collection); production in prototyping (tile blank material undecided)
+**Scope:** DTC premium Indian-fusion mahjong set, 152 hand-finished tiles + silk-inspired mat + 4 racks + dice + scoring trinkets, sold via Shopify (Advanced plan, USD) at maharajong.com.
+
+> **Read this first — everything below is an estimate.** Costs, prices, and volumes are modeled from the internal spec/audit files and July-2026 web research (sources cited at the end). No supplier quotes have been received yet (Jayi/Promlogo are "quote-based"), the tile blank material is undecided, and there are no live sales. Treat every dollar figure as a planning placeholder to be replaced with real quotes. Assumptions are stated inline as **[Assumption]**.
+
+---
+
+## Part 1 — The Business Model Canvas (9 blocks)
+
+### 1. Value Propositions
+- **A mahjong set that doesn't exist yet.** Indian-fusion cultural design (Lotus/Peacock/Vedic suits, Garuda/Nandi deities, rangoli bonus tiles, Chakra wilds) fusing Chinese, Riichi, American, and Indian card-night traditions — a genuine white-space product in a category dominated by Chinese-traditional and American-Western-decorator sets.
+- **Hand-finished in-house, not drop-shipped.** Each of the 152 tiles is UV-printed (eufyMake E1) and laser-engraved (xTool F2 Ultra) in-house — a "made by the founder, not a factory reprint" story that supports premium pricing and authenticity.
+- **Tactile/visual premium:** multi-layer colored-edge tiles (ivory face + navy/gold edge), optional 3D-embossed honor tiles, recessed engraved gold detail, silk-inspired mat, matched racks/dice/trinkets — a giftable, display-worthy object.
+- **Cultural resonance + giftability:** targets the Indian diaspora, festival gifting (Diwali/wedding season), and the design-forward "mahjong-as-decor" trend that Ralph Lauren/Prada/Oh My Mahjong opened up.
+- **Complete, ready-to-play set** with a rulebook bridging Eastern strategy and Indian social play — no add-ons required.
+
+### 2. Customer Segments
+- **Primary — South Asian diaspora households (US-first):** design-conscious buyers who want a game that reflects Indian culture; strong festival/wedding gifting occasions. High willingness to pay for cultural authenticity.
+- **Secondary — the "mahjong-as-lifestyle" buyer:** the same demographic buying Oh My Mahjong ($499), The Mahjong Line, Bam! (largely non-Asian US women, 35–65, decor-driven). Cross-cultural design appeal.
+- **Tertiary — premium boardgame / collectible-game enthusiasts and gift-buyers:** people who buy $200–650 heirloom/artisan game sets as gifts or collectors' items.
+- **Niche high-end — bespoke/corporate/wedding-favor commissions:** low volume, high margin, custom-color runs (enabled by Jayi's Pantone/multi-layer OEM capability).
+- **[Assumption]** launch geography is US-domestic first (Shopify USD, simpler shipping/duty), international as a fast-follow.
+
+### 3. Channels
+- **Owned DTC storefront (primary):** maharajong.com on Shopify Advanced — full margin capture, brand control, first-party data.
+- **Waitlist / email (current active channel):** the pre-launch waitlist is the launch demand signal and the cheapest owned acquisition channel; convert to a Founding-Edition list.
+- **Organic + paid social:** Instagram/Pinterest/TikTok (visual product, diaspora communities, "mahjong aesthetic" trend). Teaser images already produced (square/story/landscape).
+- **Community & occasion marketing:** Diwali/wedding-season pushes, diaspora influencers, mahjong-club and cultural-org partnerships.
+- **Marketplace (optional, later):** curated Etsy listing for discovery (premium sets already sell $500–650 there) — accepts marketplace fees for reach.
+- **[Assumption]** no wholesale/retail distribution at launch (margin too thin at DTC-set COGS; revisit only after COGS is proven).
+
+### 4. Customer Relationships
+- **Founder-led, high-touch:** "hand-finished by the founder" narrative, behind-the-scenes production content, direct email replies — a personal brand, not a faceless store.
+- **Waitlist nurture → Founding-Edition early access:** reward early signups with numbered/limited first-run status and a discount or bonus.
+- **Made-to-order / small-batch cadence:** communicated lead times and "drops" (scarcity is a feature at this volume, not a bug) rather than always-in-stock expectations.
+- **Post-purchase:** rules support, playtesting community, care instructions, and expansion-pack roadmap (regional motifs, holiday sets) to drive repeat/LTV.
+- **Retention lever:** because a mahjong set is a one-time durable purchase, LTV must come from **gifting repeat, expansions, and referrals** — not resupply.
+
+### 5. Revenue Streams
+- **Core set sales (primary):** one premium SKU at launch. Modeled price corridor **$249–$399** (see Part 2).
+- **Founding Edition premium tier:** limited numbered run at a higher price (**$449–$499**) with signed/numbered certificate.
+- **Accessory / à-la-carte:** replacement tiles, extra racks, upgraded case, mat-only — incremental margin and lower-price entry points.
+- **Made-to-order custom commissions:** wedding-favor/corporate custom color runs at a premium (quote-based).
+- **Future — expansions & digital:** regional/holiday tile expansions; a possible digital companion (roadmap item in rules doc) — deferred, not launch revenue.
+- **Waitlist → pre-order deposits** (if a Kickstarter/pre-order path is chosen — see Part 3).
+
+### 6. Key Resources
+- **In-house production equipment (owned, capitalized):** eufyMake E1 UV printer (144 tiles/batch, ~1 set/run) and xTool F2 Ultra UV laser engraver (40 tiles/batch, ~4 batches/set). This is the core moat and the main capacity constraint.
+- **Design IP:** 51 unique tile designs, mat, racks, dice, trinkets specs, rulebook, print-ready/transparent/engraving-overlay asset pipeline (partly built; SVG engraving overlays still to do).
+- **Brand & domain:** maharajong.com, brand identity, moodboard, marketing imagery.
+- **Waitlist / email list:** the pre-launch demand asset.
+- **Founder time & craft skill:** the finishing labor and the brand voice — also the primary bottleneck (single-operator).
+- **Working capital:** to fund the first blank order (MOQ ~100 sets) + consumables + packaging before revenue.
+
+### 7. Key Activities
+- **Tile finishing production:** UV print → gloss → engrave (or engrave → print → gloss), QC, per the production audit. ~4 laser batches + ~1–2 print runs per set.
+- **Sourcing & supplier qualification:** finalize tile blank material (resin/acrylic/melamine) and supplier (Jayi vs Promlogo vs test blanks) — the #1 blocking decision.
+- **Design finishing:** SVG engraving overlays for 51 tiles (flagged "major work"), CMYK color test strips, depth maps for embossed tiles.
+- **Ecommerce build & ops:** Shopify storefront, listings, checkout, shipping/packaging, policies, analytics, email flows (Phase 3 backlog #22–#32).
+- **Marketing:** waitlist nurture, social content, launch campaign, festival-timed pushes.
+- **Fulfillment:** pack (protect 152 tiles + mat + racks), ship, handle returns/breakage.
+
+### 8. Key Partnerships
+- **Tile blank supplier(s) — critical:** Jayi Acrylic (full-service OEM, MOQ ~100, Pantone/multi-layer) and/or Promlogo (blank tiles, multi-material, small test batches). GUSTARIA/Amazon blanks for prototyping only.
+- **Accessory / component sourcing:** mat, racks, pushers, dice, case, scoring trinkets, packaging — either bundled into a Jayi OEM order or sourced separately.
+- **Consumables suppliers:** UV ink (CMYKWG), gloss overcoat, laser consumables, spare blanks.
+- **Logistics:** USPS/UPS/DHL for outbound; customs broker/freight forwarder for inbound blanks from China (duty-managed).
+- **Platform partners:** Shopify (Advanced), payment processor (Shopify Payments), email/marketing app, possibly a pledge/crowdfunding platform if the pre-order route is chosen.
+- **Community partners:** diaspora influencers, cultural orgs, mahjong clubs.
+
+### 9. Cost Structure
+- **Variable / per-set COGS:** tile blanks (×152), UV ink + gloss consumables, laser consumables, mat + 4 racks + dice + trinkets, packaging, inbound duty/freight on blanks, finishing labor, and outbound shipping (if free-shipping offered). Detailed in Part 2.
+- **Platform/transaction:** Shopify Advanced **$399/mo** (or **$299/mo** billed annually) + Shopify Payments **2.4% + $0.30** per order + apps.
+- **Customer acquisition:** paid social / influencer spend (DTC CAC benchmarks $78–$156; see risks).
+- **Fixed / one-time:** equipment (already owned — treat as sunk/depreciation), design finishing time, brand/site build, first blank-order MOQ commitment (working capital).
+- **Structural note:** this is a **capex-forward, labor-intensive, low-throughput** model. Machines are paid; the binding constraints are **founder finishing hours** and **per-set material + component cost**, not marginal software cost.
+
+---
+
+## Part 2 — Unit Economics Sketch
+
+> All figures **[Estimate]**. No supplier quotes yet. Ranges are deliberately wide. Replace with real Jayi/Promlogo quotes before committing.
+
+### 2a. COGS per set (152 tiles + components)
+
+| Cost line | Low | High | Basis / assumption |
+|---|---:|---:|---:|
+| Tile blanks ×152 | $30 | $75 | **[Assumption]** custom China acrylic $0.20–$0.50/tile in bulk (Amazon retail blanks are $0.52/tile; OEM at MOQ 100 should be at/below that). |
+| Inbound duty + freight on blanks | $8 | $30 | **[Assumption]** China plastics/acrylic effective duty ~13.8%–47%+ (Sec. 301; de minimis no longer applies) + sea/air freight, amortized per set. Wide because material/HTS undecided. |
+| UV ink + gloss (per set) | $4 | $12 | **[Assumption]** CMYKWG 6-channel ink + gloss overcoat across ~1–2 print runs of 152 tiles. |
+| Laser consumables (per set) | $1 | $4 | **[Assumption]** UV cold engraving, ~4 batches; low consumable draw. |
+| Mat (silk-inspired) | $8 | $25 | **[Assumption]** custom printed mat, sourced or OEM. |
+| 4 racks + pushers | $8 | $20 | Jayi racks MOQ 100; **[Assumption]** ~$2–5/rack. |
+| Dice + scoring trinkets | $3 | $10 | **[Assumption]** small custom components. |
+| Packaging (protective, giftable box) | $10 | $30 | Must protect 152 tiles + mat + racks; premium unboxing. |
+| Finishing labor (founder) | $20 | $60 | **[Assumption]** ~1–3 hrs finishing/QC/pack per set at ~$20/hr notional. **This is the swing variable.** |
+| **COGS subtotal (ex-outbound ship)** | **~$92** | **~$266** | |
+| Outbound shipping (US, 2–3 kg) | $14 | $34 | USPS Priority small→large (Apr 2026). International $33–$60+. Charge separately or bake into price. |
+| **Landed COGS (US, incl. ship)** | **~$106** | **~$300** | |
+
+**Working COGS midpoint for pricing: ~$150–$180/set (US)** excluding paid CAC. Labor and duty are the two biggest sources of variance — both are currently unknown.
+
+### 2b. Price corridor & margin math
+
+Reference retail (July 2026): mid-custom hand-painted sets ~$200; Oh My Mahjong bundle **$499**; luxury handcrafted / Etsy premium **$500–$650**; designer (Prada) **$7,800** (outlier). Healthy DTC contribution margin is **>35%**; target LTV:CAC **3:1–5:1**.
+
+Using **COGS = $165** (midpoint, ex-CAC, ex-Shopify fee) as the base:
+
+| Price point | Shopify fee (2.4%+$0.30) | Gross profit (price − COGS − fee) | Gross margin | Room for CAC + overhead |
+|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
+| **$249** | ~$6.30 | ~$78 | **~31%** | Thin — barely covers CAC; risky |
+| **$329** | ~$8.20 | ~$156 | **~47%** | Healthy — clears the >35% bar with CAC headroom |
+| **$399** | ~$9.90 | ~$224 | **~56%** | Strong — best absorbs $80–$150 CAC and overhead |
+| **$499 (Founding)** | ~$12.30 | ~$322 | **~65%** | Premium tier; matches Oh My Mahjong price anchor |
+
+**Read:** at **$249** the model is fragile once CAC ($78–$156 DTC benchmark) is added — a first sale could be break-even or a loss. **$329–$399 is the defensible corridor**; **$399 + a $499 Founding tier** gives the cleanest unit economics and matches the premium anchors in the market. If landed COGS runs to the high end ($250–$300), **only $399+ is viable at all.**
+
+### 2c. Break-even set count (against fixed costs)
+
+**[Assumption]** annualized fixed costs to model (equipment treated as already-owned sunk cost, so excluded from cash break-even; included version noted):
+
+- Shopify Advanced: $299/mo annual = **$3,588/yr**
+- Apps / email / domain: **~$1,000/yr [Assumption]**
+- Site build + design finishing (one-time, amortized yr 1): **~$3,000 [Assumption]**
+- **Fixed total (yr 1, ex-equipment): ~$7,600**
+
+Contribution per set (price − landed COGS − Shopify fee, **ex-CAC**), at COGS $165:
+
+| Price | Contribution/set | Break-even sets (fixed $7,600) |
+|---:|---:|---:|
+| $249 | ~$78 | **~98 sets** |
+| $329 | ~$156 | **~49 sets** |
+| $399 | ~$224 | **~34 sets** |
+
+Add CAC (say $100/set): contribution drops to ~$0 at $249, ~$56 at $329, ~$124 at $399 → break-even becomes **impossible at $249**, **~136 sets at $329**, **~61 sets at $399**. If equipment cost is added back (e.g., ~$5,000–$8,000 of machines to recover), add roughly **another 25–65 sets** at the $399 price.
+
+**Read:** at $399 with disciplined CAC, break-even is roughly **60–100 sets in year one** — plausible against a warmed waitlist. At $249, break-even is unrealistic once acquisition cost is counted.
+
+---
+
+## Part 3 — Three Launch Strategy Options
+
+### Option A — Small-batch artisan, high price
+Produce a limited first run in-house, sell at **$399–$499**, position as hand-finished/collectible, made-to-order lead times.
+- **Pros:** highest margin/set; matches the "hand-finished by founder" story; minimal upfront cash beyond one MOQ blank order; scarcity supports price; no platform fees beyond Shopify; validates real COGS before scaling.
+- **Cons:** throughput-capped by founder hours (~4 laser batches + print runs + finishing per set); slow revenue; MOQ ~100 blanks is still a working-capital commitment ahead of proven demand; single-operator bottleneck limits volume.
+- **Best if:** the waitlist is modest and you want to prove COGS + product-market fit with minimal risk. **Lowest downside.**
+
+### Option B — Kickstarter / Gamefound pre-order campaign
+Fund the first production run via crowdfunding; backers pledge before you commit to bulk blanks.
+- **Pros:** de-risks working capital (demand + cash before you buy inventory); marketing/reach engine; validates price at scale; classic path for premium tabletop.
+- **Cons:** **~8–10% off the top** (KS 5% platform + 3–5% processing) plus pledge-manager and fulfillment fees; campaigns commonly need **$20k–$100k** of prep/marketing spend to succeed; you owe fulfillment on a fixed backer count regardless of your real per-set COGS (dangerous when COGS is still unknown and tariff-exposed); a single-operator, hand-finished process is a **fulfillment-risk red flag** at backer scale (hundreds of hand-finished sets on a deadline). Tariff volatility on China blanks adds margin risk to fixed pledge prices.
+- **Best if:** the waitlist is large and you can pre-price with a real quote in hand and a fulfillment plan that isn't 100% founder-hours. **Highest reach, highest execution risk given the hand-finished, single-operator constraint.**
+
+### Option C — Hybrid "Founding Edition" (recommended)
+Run a limited, numbered **Founding Edition pre-order to the existing waitlist** on Shopify (deposit or full pre-pay), capped at a batch you can actually finish (e.g., 50–150 sets), at **$449–$499**; then continue small-batch DTC at **$399** afterward.
+- **Pros:** captures pre-order cash to fund the blank MOQ (like B) **without** KS's ~8–10% fee or an external platform; scarcity + numbering supports the premium price (like A); demand is validated by the waitlist you already have; keeps full margin and first-party data on Shopify; cap protects against over-committing single-operator capacity.
+- **Cons:** smaller reach than a public KS campaign; requires the waitlist to be warm/large enough to fund the run; still exposed to COGS/tariff uncertainty (mitigate by getting a firm quote before opening pre-orders and setting the cap conservatively).
+- **Why recommended:** it aligns with the actual constraints — single-operator capacity, undecided COGS, an existing waitlist, and full-margin Shopify DTC — while getting cash before inventory commitment. Best risk/reward for this specific business.
+
+---
+
+## Part 4 — Key Risks & the 3 Decisions That Most Affect Viability
+
+### Key risks
+1. **COGS uncertainty is total.** No supplier quotes exist; landed COGS modeled at $106–$300/set — a 3× spread. The whole margin story is unproven until Jayi/Promlogo quote.
+2. **Tariff / duty exposure on China blanks.** Effective duties on Chinese plastics/acrylic run ~13.8% to 47%+, de minimis no longer shields sub-$800 shipments of Section-301 goods, and rates are volatile (145% → 30% swings cited in 2025). This can move COGS materially between the day you price and the day you import.
+3. **Single-operator throughput ceiling.** Every set needs ~4 laser batches + print runs + gloss + QC + pack by the founder. This caps volume and makes deadline-bound fulfillment (esp. Kickstarter) hazardous; illness/backlog = missed ship dates.
+4. **Durable one-time product / weak repeat.** A mahjong set is bought once. LTV must come from gifting, expansions, and referrals; against DTC CAC of $78–$156, a low price makes first-order economics negative.
+5. **Unresolved production workflow.** SVG engraving overlays for 51 tiles ("major work"), print-then-engrave order, and CMYK color shift (gold/teal) are still open — quality and per-set time both depend on these landing.
+6. **Breakage / shipping fragility.** 152 tiles + mat + racks at 2–3 kg; packaging and international shipping/returns cost and breakage risk are real and under-modeled.
+
+### The 3 decisions that most determine viability
+1. **Tile blank material + supplier + landed cost** (resin vs acrylic vs melamine; Jayi vs Promlogo; and the actual **duty/freight** on the chosen HTS). This single decision sets ~40–60% of COGS and unblocks all production testing. **Get firm quotes before pricing anything.**
+2. **Price floor / positioning.** Committing to the **$399 (+$499 Founding)** corridor rather than $249. The math shows sub-$330 pricing cannot absorb realistic CAC + overhead; the premium corridor is the only one that survives high-COGS and high-CAC scenarios.
+3. **Launch mechanism = capacity vs cash tradeoff.** Choosing the **hybrid Founding-Edition pre-order (Option C)** — capped to real single-operator finishing capacity — funds the inventory commitment without KS fees or over-promising fulfillment. Getting this wrong (e.g., a large public KS with hand-finished sets and unknown COGS) is the most likely path to a cash/fulfillment crisis.
+
+---
+
+## Sources
+- Premium/luxury mahjong retail pricing (Oh My Mahjong $499; Prada $7,800; Etsy luxury $500–$650; Bam!, The Mahjong Line, Maztermind, The Craft House): [WWD](https://wwd.com/shop/shop-home/best-designer-luxury-mahjong-game-sets-shop-online-1238466783/), [Bam! Let's Mahjong](https://www.bamletsmahjong.com/), [The Mahjong Line](https://themahjongline.com/), [Maztermind](https://maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set), [Etsy luxury set](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1572413443/luxury-mahjong-set-premium-traditional)
+- Shopify Advanced plan cost & fees ($399/mo, $299/mo annual; 2.4% + 30¢): [Shopify Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), [BSSCommerce Advanced plan review](https://bsscommerce.com/shopify/shopify-advanced-plan/)
+- DTC CAC / margin / LTV benchmarks ($78–$156 CAC; >35% contribution margin; LTV:CAC 3:1–5:1): [Roster DTC CAC 2026](https://www.getroster.com/blog/dtc-customer-acquisition-cost-2026-the-ambassador-infrastructure-shift/), [Top Growth Marketing unit economics](https://topgrowthmarketing.com/unit-economics-ecommerce/), [Farabiulder CAC benchmarks](https://farabiulder.com/blog/typical-customer-acquisition-cost)
+- Shipping (USPS Priority $13.66–$34.02 domestic; Priority Mail Intl from $32.65/$43.55): [USPS Flat Rate guide (Shippo)](https://goshippo.com/blog/usps-flat-rate-box-sizes-prices-how-it-works), [USPS Priority Mail International](https://www.usps.com/international/priority-mail-international.htm)
+- China import duty / Section 301 / de minimis (plastics/acrylic ~13.8%–47%+; de minimis removed for Sec. 301 goods): [Gateway Lines Section 301 guide 2026](https://gatewaylines.com/press-releases/complete-guide-to-section-301-china-tariffs-in-2026), [CBP de minimis executive order](https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1915?language=en_US), [US Tariff Rates — plastics from China](https://ustariffrates.com/import/plastics/from/china)
+- Kickstarter fees & board-game fulfillment (5% platform + 3–5% processing; $20k–$100k campaign cost; tariff volatility): [SendFromChina Kickstarter fees 2025](https://www.sendfromchina.com/NewsCenter/kickstarter-fees-guide.html), [LaunchBoom cost to publish a board game 2026](https://www.launchboom.com/game-tips/cost-to-publish-a-board-game/), [Bitewing Games — tariffs & crowdfunding](https://bitewinggames.com/the-state-of-tariffs-crowdfunding-for-board-games/)
+- Internal: `design/tile-blanks-spec.md`, `production/tile-production-audit.md`, `rules/gameplay-rules.md`, `PROJECT-PLAN.md`
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+# Maharajong Competitor Analysis
+
+**GitHub Issue:** #3
+**Prepared:** 2026-07-03
+**Stage:** Pre-launch (waitlist), price corridor under evaluation: **$329–$399** core, **$499 Founding tier**.
+**Purpose:** Map the competitive landscape for Maharajong (152 hand-finished tiles, Chinese/Japanese/American mahjong fused with Indian Rummy, rangoli artistry, Vedic symbols; DTC on Shopify), stress-test the price corridor, and extract concrete lessons for the Founding Edition launch.
+
+> **Read this first.** Every price below was checked against a live web search or fetch in July 2026 where possible. Some figures come from AI-generated search-result summaries rather than a direct page fetch (noted inline as **[Search-summary, unverified by direct fetch]**) — treat those as directionally right but re-check before quoting externally. Anything that is my synthesis rather than a sourced fact is flagged **[Inference]**.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Landscape Map
+
+Maharajong sits at the intersection of three markets that don't currently overlap: the **US premium-mahjong-as-lifestyle-object revival**, the **Indian premium-gifting economy**, and the **"cultural reimagining of a heritage game" niche** that The Mahjong Line accidentally created and got punished for occupying carelessly. No competitor currently sits at that intersection — this is the core finding of this analysis.
+
+### 1a. Category map
+
+| Category | Who's in it | Relevance to Maharajong |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Direct** | Culturally-reimagined mahjong sets (Jewish-heritage sets, "The Mahjong Line"-style redesigns) | Closest positioning analogue — same "heritage game reinterpreted through a specific culture" move, same price band |
+| **Category-adjacent (premium mahjong)** | The Mahjong Line, Oh My Mahjong, Bam Bird Boutique, Where the Wind Blows, Yellow Mountain Imports (premium lines), Maztermind, ultra-luxury (Hermès, Louis Vuitton, RIMOWA, Prada, CLOT x Coach) | Defines the price ceiling/floor and the "why does a game cost this much" buyer conversation Maharajong will be pulled into by default |
+| **Category-adjacent (Indian premium gifting)** | Potli Ganjifa cards, GI Heritage Mysore Ganjifa cards, Humble Raja "Kings of India" cards, Woodestic Carrom, Daamaira luxury chess | Defines what "premium + Indian" currently costs and how it's marketed — mostly priced far below Maharajong |
+| **Indirect (mass-market anchor)** | Amazon/Walmart mahjong sets (GUSTARIA, HNDTEK, Jongyance), Yellow Mountain Imports entry lines | The "why not just buy a $50–80 set" objection every buyer will silently ask |
+| **Indirect (mid-tier)** | Yellow Mountain Imports branded lines ("Pepper," "Koi Fish") | The "reasonable upgrade" buyers will mentally compare against before jumping to $329+ |
+
+### 1b. Price × positioning table
+
+| Tier | Price | Representative products | Positioning |
+|---:|---:|---|---|
+| Mass-market | $30–$100 | GUSTARIA, HNDTEK, Jongyance (Amazon); YMI entry Chinese sets ($68–80) | Functional, melamine, soft case, "scratch-resistant" |
+| Mid-tier | $100–$250 | YMI branded lines ("Pepper" $172.99, "Koi Fish," "Mojave") | Nicer case/wood, themed color, more complete accessory kit |
+| **Premium lifestyle** | **$270–$500** | The Mahjong Line ($375–495), Bam Bird Boutique ($295–615), Where the Wind Blows ($270–375), Yellow Mountain premium ($172–197) | Design/brand/story-led; **Maharajong's direct comp band** |
+| **Premium-plus** | **$640–$900** | Oh My Mahjong starter/ultimate kits ($640–900, corrected from earlier $499 estimate) | Bundled "everything" kits (mat, shufflers, cards, coordinated racks) |
+| Indian-craft premium (adjacent, not mahjong) | $20–$360 | Humble Raja cards ($20), Potli Ganjifa ($233), Daamaira chess (~$360) | Artisan/heritage story, but priced well below Western "designer mahjong" |
+| Artisan boutique | ~$275–490 (unconfirmed on some) | Goldielox "Menschie," Set to Mahj "The Chagim" ($395), Weitzman Museum sets ($410–490), Maztermind (walnut/brass, price unconfirmed) | Heritage-specific storytelling (Jewish-American) or fine-woodworking craft |
+| Ultra-luxury outlier | $4,600–$89,500+ | RIMOWA Attaché ($4,625), Prada Saffiano ($8,100), Hermès (~$41k–57k), Louis Vuitton trunk (~$62.5k–89.5k) | Fashion-house collectible, not a "game" purchase at all |
+
+**[Inference]** Maharajong's stated $329–$399 corridor lands it just *below* the established premium-lifestyle floor of ~$375 (The Mahjong Line) and meaningfully below Oh My Mahjong's actual current pricing ($640–900, not the $499 previously assumed in internal docs — see correction in §4). The $499 Founding tier sits *inside* the premium-lifestyle band, roughly where Oh My Mahjong's cheapest bundles start.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Competitor Profiles
+
+### The Mahjong Line
+- **Price:** $375 (travel) – $495 (Classic/Petal Pink); most full sets $425–485.
+- **Materials:** custom-designed acrylic tiles, rack/pusher sets, playing mats, cards; no premium raw-material claim (not stone/bone) — the price is design- and brand-driven, not material-driven.
+- **Channel:** DTC (themahjongline.com), also eBay.
+- **Brand voice:** Dallas-founded "lifestyle" brand; colorful modern redesigns pitched as a stylish refresh of American mahjong for a new generation of players.
+- **Strengths:** strong design/color variety, was first mover in making mahjong a decor-and-identity purchase, drove the entire premium-tile-set category into existence.
+- **Exploitable weakness:** the 2021 NPR-covered cultural-appropriation controversy — three non-Chinese founders replaced Chinese characters, dragons, and bamboo motifs with English words, flour sacks, and pastries, then issued an apology critics called "empty" (deleted posts, disabled comments). Gear Patrol's framing — "$425, and that's not even what's wrong with it" — captures the durable reputational vulnerability: buyers still associate the category's most famous brand with erasing the origin culture while charging a premium for the erasure. This is the single most exploitable gap for Maharajong, whose founder-led, "made by someone with a real stake in the culture" story is a direct rebuttal.
+- **Sources:** [themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles](https://themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles), [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2021/01/17/957779101/texas-based-mahjong-company-faces-backlash-for-cultural-appropriation), [Gear Patrol](https://www.gearpatrol.com/home/a35129168/the-mahjong-line-cultural-appropriation/), [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/dallas-company-criticized-redesigning-chinese-mahjong-tiles-n1252894)
+
+### Oh My Mahjong
+- **Price:** starter/ultimate kits **$640–$900** (Solara/Willow $665; Willow Ultimate $900; Sierra/Gemma/Jasmine $640) — materially higher than the $499 figure used in Maharajong's own internal pricing docs; **correct this reference**. Standalone rack/pusher sets run $60–110.
+- **Materials:** ~160 acrylic tiles (standard American set), stone (pink quartz/blue lace agate) or acrylic racks, neoprene mats, shufflers, cards.
+- **Channel:** DTC (ohmymahjong.com) plus boutique retail (Berings, Caldwell Gifts, Material Possessions) and Amazon.
+- **Brand voice:** "elevated," everyday-luxury American mahjong lifestyle brand; leans into bundled completeness ("everything you need, beautifully").
+- **Strengths:** aggressive bundling (mat + shufflers + cards + coordinated racks) removes all "what do I still need to buy" friction — a real gap versus a tiles-only competitor.
+- **Exploitable weakness:** reported quality inconsistency in some reviews; price now firmly in "why is this basically a used car down payment" territory, which widens the gap for a set priced under $500 all-in.
+- **Sources:** [ohmymahjong.com/collections/starter-kits-1](https://ohmymahjong.com/collections/starter-kits-1), [berings.com/brand/oh-my-mahjong](https://berings.com/brand/oh-my-mahjong)
+
+### Bam Bird Boutique ("Bam! Let's Mahjong")
+- **Price:** $295–$615 (most tile sets ~$400–475; e.g. Grand Millennial line $425).
+- **Materials:** hand-painted, engraved acrylic tiles; neoprene mats (32.5"×32.5"); dice and cards included.
+- **Channel:** DTC (bamletsmahjong.com), Etsy, boutique retail (Well Gifted).
+- **Brand voice:** boutique, "fresh, stylish twist" on classic tiles; grandmillennial/preppy aesthetic.
+- **Strengths:** engraving detail and color-palette execution praised; positioned just under The Mahjong Line on price while matching it on craft claims.
+- **Exploitable weakness:** same category vulnerability as The Mahjong Line — an aesthetic reskin of a Chinese/American game with no deeper cultural or mechanical differentiation. Nothing in the ruleset changes; the product is entirely visual.
+- **Sources:** [bamletsmahjong.com](https://www.bamletsmahjong.com/), [bambirdboutique.com/collections/mahjong-tiles](https://www.bambirdboutique.com/collections/mahjong-tiles)
+
+### Yellow Mountain Imports (premium lines)
+- **Price:** $172.99–$196.99 for branded "premium" American/Chinese sets (e.g., "Classic Royale II," "Pepper").
+- **Materials:** wood-veneer cases, wooden racks, dice, scoring coins; translucent tiles on Chinese-tradition lines.
+- **Channel:** DTC (ymimports.com), Amazon, eBay.
+- **Brand voice:** heritage import house; broad catalog, not a single lifestyle-brand narrative — sits below the true premium-DTC tier on both price and story.
+- **Strengths:** trusted, long-established import brand; real material upgrades (wood cases/racks) over mass-market melamine-and-soft-bag sets.
+- **Exploitable weakness:** no brand story, no cultural specificity, no design distinctiveness — purely a materials/completeness play. Easy to out-position on story and craft narrative, harder to out-position on raw price.
+- **Sources:** [ymimports.com/products/us-am008-a](https://www.ymimports.com/products/us-am008-a), [ymimports.com/products/fx-cm002-a](https://www.ymimports.com/products/fx-cm002-a)
+
+### Maztermind
+- **Price:** not published in this pass; must confirm directly at checkout (maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set).
+- **Materials:** walnut, beechwood, solid brass; tiered lunch-box-style case; Jesmonite tiles with UV printing on the "Majestic" line; marketed as "40 hours of labor, 15 artisans per set."
+- **Channel:** DTC (maztermind.com), Etsy (MaztermindLab).
+- **Brand voice:** artisanal, Saigon (Vietnam)-based handcrafted-luxury woodworking brand — process/craft story is the entire pitch.
+- **Strengths:** the "named process, named labor-hours" specificity is exactly what Persona 5 (Raj, the Design-Object Collector — see user-personas.md) wants and what Maharajong's own landing page currently under-delivers on.
+- **Exploitable weakness:** no cultural-fusion or gameplay story at all — pure craft-object positioning, nothing about *why this culture, why this design*.
+- **Sources:** [maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set](https://maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set)
+
+### Jewish-heritage mahjong sets (closest "cultural reimagining" analogue)
+- **Goldielox "Menschie Mahjong Set"** — ~$275, explicitly Jewish-themed iconography (matzo cracks, hamsa dots, "bubbie" jokers). [goldielox.com/products/menschie-mahjong-set](https://goldielox.com/products/menschie-mahjong-set)
+- **Set to Mahj "The Chagim"** — $395, 160 tiles mapped to Jewish holidays (Passover, Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, Sukkot, Purim). [annsandra.com/products/the-chagim-mahjong-tile-set](https://annsandra.com/products/the-chagim-mahjong-tile-set)
+- **National Museum of American Jewish History store (Weitzman)** — curated sets $410–490. [shoptheweitzman.org/collections/mahjong](https://shoptheweitzman.org/collections/mahjong)
+- **Positioning:** all lean on mahjong's genuine, well-documented Jewish-American cultural history (unlike the ahistorical "Indian mahjong" premise, mahjong really was adopted and popularized by Jewish-American communities mid-20th century) — meaning these brands have an *easier* authenticity claim than either The Mahjong Line or, arguably, Maharajong itself.
+- **Exploitable weakness (for the category, not any one brand):** none of these attempt gameplay innovation — they reskin the standard National Mah Jongg League ruleset. Maharajong's Riichi/Charleston/Rummy hybrid ruleset (see gameplay-rules.md) is a genuine mechanical differentiator none of these sets have.
+- **Chop Suey Club** (NYC) is worth noting as the counter-voice: it explicitly rejects Mahjong-Line-style redesigns and sells a traditional "Black Tile Chinese Mahjong Set" preserving original Chinese iconography — a live example of the "preservation vs. reinvention" debate Maharajong will be pulled into. [chopsueyclub.com](https://chopsueyclub.com)
+
+### Ultra-luxury outliers (context, not direct comps)
+RIMOWA Mahjong Attaché ($4,625, anodized aluminum case, 144 hand-painted resin tiles, Köln-made); Prada Saffiano Leather Mahjong Game ($8,100, leather-wrapped acrylic tiles); Hermès (rosewood + Swift calfskin, ~$41k–57k depending on source); Louis Vuitton Monogram trunk (~$62.5k–89.5k). These set the outer bound of "mahjong as fashion object" and are useful only as a rhetorical anchor ("even Hermès makes one — this is a legitimate collectible category, not just a game") — not as pricing comps. **[Note]** The Hypebeast roundup covering these is dated **March 2026**, not July as originally assumed in the research brief — correct this citation date if referenced externally. Source: [hypebeast.com/2026/3/luxury-mahjong-9-sets-next-game-night-hermes-louis-vuitton-rimowa](https://hypebeast.com/2026/3/luxury-mahjong-9-sets-next-game-night-hermes-louis-vuitton-rimowa)
+
+### Premium Indian-craft gifting products (adjacent category, not mahjong)
+- **Humble Raja "Kings of India" playing cards** — $20, Bicycle-grade stock, gold foil, dynasty-themed art. [humbleraja.com/products/kings-of-india-playing-cards](https://humbleraja.com/products/kings-of-india-playing-cards)
+- **Potli Ganjifa Dashavatar Set** — ₹19,500 (~$233), hand-painted on recycled sari cotton by Odisha Chitrakaars, silk box, Fair Trade artisan story. [potli.org/products/ganjifa-hand-painted-playing-cards-dashavtar-set-120](https://potli.org/products/ganjifa-hand-painted-playing-cards-dashavtar-set-120)
+- **Woodestic Carrom** (France, India-inspired) — approx. $199–799 **[Search-summary, unverified by direct fetch — JS-rendered pricing]**, "Indian classic reimagined through modern European luxury." [woodestic.com/shop/woodestic-carrom](https://woodestic.com/shop/woodestic-carrom)
+- **Daamaira Crystal Skyline Chess** — ~₹29,999 (~$360) **[Search-summary, unverified]**, crystal/marble luxury décor-gifting positioning, not Diwali-specific. [daamaira.com/products/crystal-skyline-chess-board](https://daamaira.com/products/crystal-skyline-chess-board)
+- **Takeaway:** the entire "premium Indian craft object" category — even at its most expensive — tops out around **$360**, well under Maharajong's $329–$499 corridor. Maharajong would be pricing *above* every comparable Indian-craft gifting product and *below* every comparable Western designer-mahjong product. That's the intended positioning, but it means Maharajong cannot lean on "Indian gifting market norms" to justify price — it must win the comparison against Western premium mahjong instead.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Gap Analysis — Where Maharajong Is Genuinely Differentiated vs. Contested
+
+### Genuinely differentiated (high confidence)
+1. **No direct competitor exists.** Exhaustive search for "Indian mahjong set," "rangoli mahjong tiles," "Vedic mahjong," "Bollywood mahjong" returned no commercial product — only a Mumbai social club (The Mahjong Network) that plays *standard* tiles in a desi social context, not a redesigned product. Maharajong would be first-to-market in this specific fusion.
+2. **Genuine mechanical differentiation, not just reskinning.** Every competitor profiled above — The Mahjong Line, Oh My Mahjong, Bam Bird Boutique, the Jewish-heritage sets — reskins an existing ruleset (standard American/NMJL mahjong) with new art. Maharajong's actual rules (Charleston + Riichi-style Ready declarations + Rummy-style runs + festival scoring — see gameplay-rules.md) are a real hybridized ruleset. This directly answers Persona 3's (Dana) core objection: "is this just a skin?"
+3. **Founder-finished, in-house production story.** None of the premium competitors researched claim single-founder, in-house UV-print-and-laser-engrave production (Maztermind claims artisan labor but at a 15-person workshop scale, not a founder-direct story). This is a stronger authenticity/provenance claim than any competitor's, if executed and documented visibly.
+
+### Contested / needs to be earned, not asserted
+1. **"Authentic, not appropriative."** This claim is the single most contested space in the category — The Mahjong Line's ongoing reputational damage proves buyers (especially Personas 1 and 3) actively scrutinize exactly this claim. Maharajong gets no free pass just because the founder may have a personal connection to Indian culture; the market has been trained by the 2021 controversy to demand specifics (named collaborators, cultural consultants, sourcing) rather than accept a warm FAQ paragraph. **This is not yet earned — it's a design/communications task, not a fact already in hand.**
+2. **"Premium materials justify the price."** Unlike Maztermind (named woods, named labor-hours) or the ultra-luxury outliers (named leathers, named ateliers), Maharajong's tile blank material is still undecided internally (per business-model-canvas.md) and the "hand-finished" claim currently lacks the concrete specificity (hours per set, exact material, process video) that Persona 5 and skeptical reviewers (per the Gear Patrol "that's not even what's wrong with it" framing) will demand. Competitors who make this claim credibly back it with specifics; Maharajong currently can't yet.
+3. **"Indian Rummy fusion" as an onboarding advantage.** This is asserted in the rules doc and personas but untested — no evidence yet that rummy-fluent players (Persona 2/Meera) actually find mahjong's fundamentally different structure (walls, melds claimed off discards, four-player turn structure) as easy to learn as the marketing implies. Competitors don't face this claim because they don't attempt a rules bridge at all.
+4. **Price positioning vs. Oh My Mahjong.** Internal docs cite Oh My Mahjong at $499 as a price anchor; live pricing research shows Oh My Mahjong's actual current kits run $640–900. This makes Maharajong's $499 Founding tier look *more* like a discount/entry price relative to the premium-plus tier than previously modeled — worth re-running the pricing narrative with the corrected number.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Pricing Implications vs. the $329–$399 Corridor
+
+- **$329–$399 sits at or just below the established premium-lifestyle floor (~$375, The Mahjong Line's cheapest travel set) and meaningfully below Bam Bird Boutique's floor (~$295–400) and Oh My Mahjong's floor (~$640).** This is a defensible, not aggressive, price band — Maharajong would be pricing as a peer to the category's originators, not a discount challenger. **[Inference]** Given the corrected Oh My Mahjong figures, there may be room to push the core price toward the top of the corridor ($399) or even test slightly above it, since $399 still undercuts every "everything bundled" competitor while matching The Mahjong Line's mid-tier.
+- **The $499 Founding tier lands exactly at Oh My Mahjong's *cheapest* current kit ($640 is their actual floor for a full starter kit, though rack/pusher-only items go for $60–110) and above The Mahjong Line's most expensive line ($495).** This is a credible "we're a peer to the established premium brands" price, not an outlier — reinforced by the numbered/limited-edition framing that Persona 5 responds to.
+- **The Indian-craft gifting category (Ganjifa cards, carrom, luxury chess) tops out around $360**, meaning Maharajong cannot lean on "Indian premium goods are priced this way" as a justification — the comparison set that matters is Western designer mahjong, not Indian gifting norms. This validates the business-model-canvas's existing recommendation to anchor messaging on The Mahjong Line ($375–495), not Indian domestic price norms.
+- **Mass-market ($30–100) and mid-tier ($100–250) sets remain the "why not just buy a cheap one" objection every buyer will raise.** The category's own answer — durability/heirloom framing ("mahjong is meant to be passed down") and design/story as the product, not tile material — is one Maharajong can adopt directly, strengthened by the added claim of genuine cultural specificity and ruleset depth that generic sets can't offer.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Five Concrete Lessons for the Founding Edition Launch
+
+1. **Name the provenance specifically, don't gesture at it.** The Mahjong Line's unresolved reputational damage and Maztermind's "40 hours, 15 artisans" specificity are the two ends of a spectrum — vague claims get punished, concrete claims get believed. Before Founding Edition copy goes out, Maharajong needs the same level of specificity: named cultural consultants (if any), the founder's actual connection to the material, exact tile material and finishing process, hours per set. This is the single highest-leverage fix available and it's a writing/documentation task, not a production one — it can be done before COGS is finalized.
+
+2. **Bundle completeness the way Oh My Mahjong does, at a lower price than Oh My Mahjong.** Oh My Mahjong's $640–900 kits win by removing every "what else do I need" friction point (mat, shufflers, cards, coordinated racks all included). Maharajong's spec already includes mat + 4 racks + dice + trinkets — make sure launch copy explicitly frames this as "everything included, nothing extra to buy" and prices it as a clear value relative to Oh My Mahjong's higher floor, not just relative to The Mahjong Line.
+
+3. **Lead with mechanical depth as the anti-reskin argument, especially for the Founding Edition's early reviewers.** Every premium competitor researched — Mahjong Line, Oh My Mahjong, Bam, the Jewish-heritage sets — reskins the same standard ruleset. Maharajong's Charleston + Riichi-Ready + Rummy-run hybrid is a real, sourceable point of difference that no competitor can claim. Put this in the first paragraph of Founding Edition marketing, not buried in a rules PDF — it preempts Persona 3's (Dana) "isn't this just a skin?" objection directly and is a claim competitors structurally cannot copy quickly.
+
+4. **Borrow the "numbered/limited edition" scarcity mechanic that ultra-luxury and museum-store sets use, but at an accessible price.** RIMOWA, Hermès, and the Weitzman Museum sets all use limited runs, edition numbering, or maker-signed certificates to justify price and urgency. Maharajong's planned Founding Edition (numbered, signed certificate per business-model-canvas.md) is already aligned with this — make the numbering and cap size (e.g., "1 of 150") a headline element of launch creative, not a footnote, since Persona 5 (collectors) and general scarcity psychology both respond to it.
+
+5. **Use content marketing to own the "preservation vs. reinvention" conversation before critics frame it for you.** Chop Suey Club's public stance against Mahjong-Line-style redesigns, and the durable "$425 and that's not even what's wrong with it" Gear Patrol framing, show that this category's press and social conversation actively litigates authenticity. The Mahjong Line's mistake was staying silent/defensive post-backlash (deleted posts, disabled comments per NPR). Maharajong should get ahead of this with founder-voiced content — a "how and why this was designed" video/blog series published *before* launch criticism can form the narrative, similar to how Maztermind's process-documentation and the Jewish-heritage brands' explicit historical grounding pre-empt the "is this appropriation" question by answering it in public, first.
+
+---
+
+## Sources
+
+- The Mahjong Line pricing/positioning: [themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles](https://themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles), [themahjongline.com/products/the-minimal-line-plum-mahjong-tiles](https://themahjongline.com/products/the-minimal-line-plum-mahjong-tiles)
+- The Mahjong Line controversy: [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2021/01/17/957779101/texas-based-mahjong-company-faces-backlash-for-cultural-appropriation), [Gear Patrol](https://www.gearpatrol.com/home/a35129168/the-mahjong-line-cultural-appropriation/), [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/dallas-company-criticized-redesigning-chinese-mahjong-tiles-n1252894), [Today](https://www.today.com/tmrw/mahjong-line-apologizes)
+- Oh My Mahjong pricing: [ohmymahjong.com/collections/starter-kits-1](https://ohmymahjong.com/collections/starter-kits-1), [berings.com/brand/oh-my-mahjong](https://berings.com/brand/oh-my-mahjong)
+- Bam Bird Boutique / Bam! Let's Mahjong: [bamletsmahjong.com](https://www.bamletsmahjong.com/), [bambirdboutique.com/collections/mahjong-tiles](https://www.bambirdboutique.com/collections/mahjong-tiles)
+- Where the Wind Blows: [wherethewindsblow.com/product-category/tiles](https://wherethewindsblow.com/product-category/tiles/)
+- Yellow Mountain Imports: [ymimports.com/products/us-am008-a](https://www.ymimports.com/products/us-am008-a), [ymimports.com/products/fx-cm002-a](https://www.ymimports.com/products/fx-cm002-a)
+- Maztermind: [maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set](https://maztermind.com/products/premium-mahjong-set)
+- Jewish-heritage mahjong sets: [goldielox.com/products/menschie-mahjong-set](https://goldielox.com/products/menschie-mahjong-set), [annsandra.com/products/the-chagim-mahjong-tile-set](https://annsandra.com/products/the-chagim-mahjong-tile-set), [shoptheweitzman.org/collections/mahjong](https://shoptheweitzman.org/collections/mahjong)
+- Chop Suey Club (preservation stance): [chopsueyclub.com](https://chopsueyclub.com)
+- Karen Aruba Art, Imin Yeh "Paper Mahjong" (Contemporary Jewish Museum): [karenaruba.com](https://karenaruba.com), [thecjm.org/exhibitions/44](https://thecjm.org/exhibitions/44)
+- The Mahjong Network (Mumbai desi mahjong social club, standard tiles): Harper's Bazaar India coverage, July 2025
+- Ultra-luxury mahjong (Hermès, Louis Vuitton, RIMOWA, Prada, CLOT x Coach): [Hypebeast, "Luxury's Take on Mahjong," March 2026](https://hypebeast.com/2026/3/luxury-mahjong-9-sets-next-game-night-hermes-louis-vuitton-rimowa), [rimowa.com/us/en/bags/attache/mahjong](https://rimowa.com/us/en/bags/attache/mahjong), [prada.com](https://www.prada.com/us/en/p/saffiano-leather-mahjong-game/2SG001_0DC_F0002), [robbreport.com/style/accessories/louis-vuitton-mahjong-trunk](https://robbreport.com/style/accessories/louis-vuitton-mahjong-trunk), [juicestore.com/products/clot-x-coach-mahjong-set-black](https://juicestore.com/products/clot-x-coach-mahjong-set-black)
+- Indian premium gifting/craft comps: [humbleraja.com/products/kings-of-india-playing-cards](https://humbleraja.com/products/kings-of-india-playing-cards), [potli.org/products/ganjifa-hand-painted-playing-cards-dashavtar-set-120](https://potli.org/products/ganjifa-hand-painted-playing-cards-dashavtar-set-120), [giheritage.com/products/ganjifa-cards-of-mysore](https://giheritage.com/products/ganjifa-cards-of-mysore), [woodestic.com/shop/woodestic-carrom](https://woodestic.com/shop/woodestic-carrom), [daamaira.com/products/crystal-skyline-chess-board](https://daamaira.com/products/crystal-skyline-chess-board), [cashkaro.com carrom brand guide](https://cashkaro.com/blog/best-carrom-board-brands-complete-guide-with-price-ranges/86325)
+- Mass-market/mid-tier anchors: [Amazon — GUSTARIA mahjong set](https://www.amazon.com/GUSTARIA-American-Mahjong-Quality-Carrying/dp/B0D2RDXKHF), [Amazon — Yellow Mountain Imports standard American set](https://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Mountain-Imports-Standard-American/dp/B0773K3Y6D), [MahjongPlaybook best sets 2026](https://mahjongplaybook.com/buyers-guides/best-american-mahjong-sets/), [MahjongCompare best sets 2026](https://mahjongcompare.com/sets)
+- Consumer sentiment on premium pricing: [GammonVillage — why are mahjong sets so expensive](https://www.gammonvillage.com/mah-jong-shop/learn/why-are-mahjong-sets-so-expensive.cfm)
+- Market sizing: [Market Research Intellect — mahjong tiles market](https://www.marketresearchintellect.com/product/mahjong-tiles-market/), [DataInsightsMarket — mahjong](https://www.datainsightsmarket.com/reports/mahjong-1297953), [MarketIntelo — mahjong set market](https://marketintelo.com/report/mahjong-set-market)
+- Internal context reviewed: `business/business-model-canvas.md`, `research/user-personas.md`, `rules/gameplay-rules.md`
+
+**Data-quality flags:**
+- Some Indian-craft product prices (Woodestic Carrom, Daamaira chess) came from search-result summaries with JS-rendered pricing that a direct fetch could not confirm — re-verify before quoting externally.
+- backgammonindia.com's "luxury backgammon" claims (named artisans, ₹85,000–3.5 lakh sets) could not be verified as real products and are excluded as a likely SEO-content artifact.
+- Maztermind's actual set price was not found in this pass — confirm directly at checkout before using as a pricing comp.
+- No African-American, Filipino, Vietnamese, or Latino culturally-themed mahjong brands were found in this search pass — this may reflect a real gap in that sub-market or a search-term limitation; worth a follow-up pass if a broader "cultural mahjong" competitive set is ever needed.
diff --git a/research/user-personas.md b/research/user-personas.md
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+# Maharajong User Personas
+
+**GitHub Issue:** #5
+**Purpose:** Ground Founding Edition messaging, channel strategy, and pricing decisions in real buyer segments — not just "mahjong players" or "Indian people," but the specific overlapping audiences who would actually pre-order a premium, unproven, DTC tabletop set.
+**Status:** Living document — Maharajong is pre-launch, waitlist-only, price TBD. Personas should be revisited once waitlist signups give us real self-reported data (location, referral source, stated occasion).
+
+---
+
+## 1. How to read this document
+
+Every persona blends two kinds of material:
+
+- **[Evidence]** — a claim traceable to a cited source. Numbers, market sizes, and documented behaviors.
+- **[Inference]** — my synthesis or judgment call, extrapolating from evidence to Maharajong's specific case (which has no sales data yet). Flagged so it can be challenged or revised without re-litigating the sourced facts.
+
+Nothing here is a market-research report commissioned on Maharajong itself — it doesn't exist yet. Treat this as the best available proxy picture, built from adjacent markets (American mahjong revival, Indian gifting economy, Indian board-game market, rummy players, luxury tabletop collectors) that Maharajong sits at the intersection of.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Segment overview
+
+Maharajong is unusual in that it doesn't have one obvious customer — it's a wager that four different buyer pools overlap enough to support a single premium SKU:
+
+| Segment | Core hook | Core risk |
+|---|---|---|
+| A. American mahjong revivalists | Aesthetic object for an existing hobby | May see "Indian fusion" as a different game, not an upgrade to theirs |
+| B. Indian diaspora (US/UK/Canada) gift & identity buyers | Cultural pride + premium gifting occasion | Sensitive to authenticity; will scrutinize whether it's "for us" or "about us" |
+| C. India-based premium/urban gifting buyers | Griha pravesh, weddings, corporate gifting | Price ceiling is much lower in INR terms; DTC-from-US logistics are a barrier |
+| D. Rummy-native players (India, and diaspora) | Familiar mechanics (runs/melds) in unfamiliar (mahjong) box | Mahjong itself is a bigger education/onboarding lift than rummy variants |
+| E. Tabletop/luxury collectors | Object as heirloom, craft, and display piece | Indifferent to "Indian-ness" — buying craft & scarcity, not identity |
+
+**[Inference]** These aren't mutually exclusive — a second-generation Indian-American who plays mahjong with her book club *is* both A and B. The personas below name the dominant motivation for each composite buyer even where identities overlap.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Personas
+
+### Persona 1 — "Priya, the Culture-Forward Hostess"
+**Tagline:** *"I want my kitty party to look like it belongs in a magazine — and finally feel like mine."*
+
+- **Demographics [Inference from B]:** Female, 32–48, second-generation Indian-American or established first-gen immigrant (10+ years in US), married, household income $150K+ (matches the diaspora median). Lives in a diaspora-dense metro (Bay Area, NJ/NYC corridor, Chicago, Houston, DC) or is UK/Canada-based diaspora.
+- **Where she lives:** US diaspora hub. **[Evidence]** Indian-American households have a median income of $151,200 (2023), above the overall Asian-American median of $105,600, and are concentrated in California (~960K), Texas (~570K), New Jersey (~440K), New York (~390K) (Pew Research, [Indian Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot](https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/indian-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/), [New India Abroad](https://www.newindiaabroad.com/english/features/indian-americans-now-2nd-largest-asian-group-in-us-pew)).
+- **Motivations:** Has watched (with some fatigue) White American women turn mahjong into a lifestyle/aesthetic category via brands like The Mahjong Line — and wants a version of that social ritual that's actually rooted in her own culture rather than borrowed from one her community doesn't own. Wants something beautiful enough to host around, and meaningful enough to hand to her kids.
+- **Buying triggers:** Diwali (host gift to self or others), a milestone (new home, anniversary), or simply "finally, something like this exists" upon discovering the brand via Instagram/a friend.
+- **Objections:** "Is this actually made thoughtfully, or is it another appropriation situation?" **[Evidence]** The Mahjong Line — the category's most visible player — faced a widely covered cultural-appropriation backlash in 2021 for reskinning a Chinese game with no acknowledgment of its origins (NPR, [Texas-Based Mahjong Company Faces Backlash For Cultural Appropriation](https://www.npr.org/2021/01/17/957779101/texas-based-mahjong-company-faces-backlash-for-cultural-appropriation)). **[Inference]** This makes Priya *more* scrutinous of Maharajong's own claim to Indian identity, not less — she will read the FAQ's "is this respectful?" answer carefully and may check who's on the design team.
+- **Price sensitivity:** Moderate-low. Comfortable in the $300–500 range if quality and story justify it — **[Evidence]** this is the going rate for premium American mahjong sets like The Mahjong Line ($375–495) (themahjongline.com, [Mahjong Tiles](https://themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles)). **[Inference]** She'll compare Maharajong's price explicitly against that benchmark since it's the closest thing in her mental map.
+- **Channels:** Instagram/Pinterest (aesthetic-forward diaspora content), diaspora-focused newsletters and creators, word of mouth in mom/auntie friend groups, Diwali-season paid social.
+- **What the landing page should say to her:** Lean harder into the provenance story — who designed it, whether Indian artisans/consultants were involved, what "respectful of the traditions it draws on" concretely means (the FAQ answer is a start but is vague — she'll want specifics: named collaborators, material sourcing, a point of view on cultural ownership).
+
+---
+
+### Persona 2 — "Meera, the Rummy-Native Convert"
+**Tagline:** *"I already know how to build a run — teach me the rest in twenty minutes."*
+
+- **Demographics [Inference from D + B]:** Female or male, 28–55, grew up playing rummy (13-card Indian Rummy, teen patti at family gatherings) either in India or in a diaspora household. May be first-generation immigrant or India-based urban professional.
+- **Where she lives:** Split — India-based urban (Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Pune) *or* US/UK/Canada diaspora first-gen.
+- **Motivations:** Rummy is a genuinely massive, familiar game in Indian households — **[Evidence]** the Indian online rummy market alone was sized at $1.4–1.5 billion in 2024–2025, with an estimated 230–240 million paid online gamers in India by 2026, ~60% of whom play rummy (Statista via [GrabOn](https://www.grabon.in/indulge/games/best-rummy-sites-apps/), [DataInsightsMarket](https://www.datainsightsmarket.com/reports/rummy-card-game-1967428)). That's a huge pool of people fluent in runs, melds, and sets — Maharajong's core mechanics — even if they've never touched a mahjong tile. Meera is drawn to the promise that "Rummy-style runs" (explicit in both the gameplay rules and landing copy) make onboarding easy.
+- **Buying triggers:** Family game night upgrade; a friend hosting Maharajong and then wanting her own set; monsoon/festival season indoor gathering culture.
+- **Objections:** "Is this actually easier than real mahjong, or is that just marketing?" Also price, especially if India-based — international shipping/duties on a $300+ item from a US DTC site is a real barrier. **[Evidence]** As of August 2025, India enacted a nationwide ban on real-money online rummy/gaming (per market research summaries), which — **[Inference]** — may paradoxically push some appetite back toward *offline, physical, social* card and tile games as the cash-game outlet disappears; worth watching as a tailwind, not asserting as proven.
+- **Price sensitivity:** High if India-based (India's board game market, while growing fast at 10%+ CAGR to a projected $1.88B by 2030, is still price-anchored much lower than US premium goods — **[Evidence]** [IMARC](https://www.imarcgroup.com/india-board-games-market), [Business Standard](https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/game-on-india-board-game-culture-market-growth-2025-125102700144_1.html)). Low-moderate if US/UK diaspora with dollar/pound income.
+- **Channels:** WhatsApp family groups and forwards (still the dominant informal-recommendation channel in Indian households — **[Inference]**), Indian-culture YouTube/Instagram creators, board-game cafes (India's board-game-cafe culture is explicitly cited as a growth channel — [Business Standard](https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/game-on-india-board-game-culture-market-growth-2025-125102700144_1.html)).
+- **What the landing page should say to her:** Foreground the "already know how to build a run" angle harder than the site currently does — right now the Rummy connection is one bullet among four traditions; for this persona it should be the headline hook, not a footnote.
+
+---
+
+### Persona 3 — "Dana, the Mahjong-Line Alum Looking for Depth"
+**Tagline:** *"I've got the pretty set. Now I want one with a real story — and a game that doesn't get boring."*
+
+- **Demographics [Evidence + Inference]:** Female, 35–65, disproportionately suburban and Southern US (Texas, Oklahoma) per current coverage of the revival's epicenter, but the trend has broadened nationally. Not necessarily of Indian or Chinese heritage — this is the "new mahjong hobbyist" cohort.
+- **Where she lives:** US, suburban/exurban, revival hotspots (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, DC, and increasingly everywhere — **[Evidence]** mahjong-related Eventbrite listings rose 179% nationally and 867% in Houston between 2023–2024; Yelp named mahjong clubs a top 2026 trend, with searches up 4,467% year-over-year (Sept 2024–Aug 2025) and "mahjong lessons" searches up 819% (Axios Houston, [New Houston audience goes all-in on mahjong](https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2025/07/18/new-houston-audience-goes-all-in-on-mahjong); Harper's Bazaar India, [Here's why all the cool kids are playing mahjong now](https://www.harpersbazaar.in/culture/story/heres-why-all-the-cool-kids-are-playing-mahjong-now-1241184-2025-07-08)).
+- **Motivations:** Already owns one or more decorative American mahjong sets (The Mahjong Line, Oh My Mahjong, etc.) bought largely for their look. **[Evidence]** These sets run $375–495 (themahjongline.com) and use American mahjong rules dressed in a chosen aesthetic — "preppy," "minimal," "cheeky" — not a different ruleset. Dana is the buyer segment most likely to be recruited by "isn't this just a skin?" skepticism, but also the one already primed to spend $400+ on a tile set as an object and hobby marker. **[Inference]** She may be more receptive to Maharajong if it's positioned as offering *actual new gameplay depth* (Riichi-style Ready declarations, Charleston, festival scoring) rather than only a new visual theme — this is a real differentiator versus her existing sets.
+- **Buying triggers:** Wanting her *next* set to feel more substantive after the first "starter" purchase; being shown the set by a friend; feeling that the current revival's aesthetic (floral/preppy Americana) has become oversaturated and looking for something with more story.
+- **Objections:** Cultural-appropriation anxiety cuts sharply here too, but pointed inward — the mahjong revival's biggest brand was publicly called out in 2021 for taking a Chinese game and stripping its heritage (NPR, cited above). Dana may be wary of repeating that mistake by buying an "Indian-themed" version without understanding whether it's authentic or another surface reskin — **[Inference]** this objection is the mirror image of Priya's, coming from outside the culture rather than inside it, but it lands on the same FAQ answer.
+- **Price sensitivity:** Low — already spends $375–495 on tile sets as a category norm. **[Inference]** Maharajong can likely price at or above this benchmark for this buyer specifically, though the overall Founding Edition price must work across all segments.
+- **Channels:** Instagram, TikTok, mahjong-specific Facebook groups, mahjong social clubs/events (e.g., Green Tile Social Club-style meetups, which drew 700 people to a January 2025 Brooklyn event per [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/07/24/mah-jongg-dc/)), lifestyle press (Smithsonian, Harper's Bazaar, Axios have all covered the trend, meaning earned media is plausible).
+- **What the landing page should say to her:** Lead with mechanical novelty ("this isn't a reskin — it's a genuinely different, deeper game") and be explicit and confident about the cultural-authenticity answer already in the FAQ; don't bury it, feature it, because it pre-empts her single biggest hesitation.
+
+---
+
+### Persona 4 — "Anjali, the Milestone Gift-Giver"
+**Tagline:** *"My cousin's getting married / just bought a house — I want to give something that photographs well and means something."*
+
+- **Demographics [Evidence + Inference]:** Female or male, 30–55, India-based urban professional or upper-middle-class household, or diaspora member gifting back to family in India (or gifting within diaspora social circles for weddings/housewarmings).
+- **Where they live:** India (metro/Tier-1, increasingly Tier-2) and diaspora simultaneously — this persona operates across both markets because Indian gifting culture is transnational (NRIs shipping/carrying gifts to and from India).
+- **Motivations:** Festival and life-event gifting is a deeply ingrained, high-stakes social practice, not a casual afterthought. **[Evidence]** India's Diwali retail market alone reached roughly $69 billion in 2025, up ~25% year-over-year from $48 billion in 2024, and about two-thirds of India's annual personal/corporate gifting happens during Diwali (Outlook India, [Diwali Gifting Report 2025](https://www.outlookindia.com/xhub/featured-insights/diwali-gifting-report-2025-what-india-is-really-buying-for-the-festival-of-lights); TapWell, [16 Diwali Shopping and Gifting Statistics](https://tapwell.in/diwali-shopping-and-gifting-statistics/)). Average family Diwali gift spend reached ₹12,000 in metros and ₹7,000 in Tier-2 cities in 2025 (Outlook India, same source), and 74% of Diwali gifts were purchased online. Separately, the global Indian diaspora was estimated to spend over $10 billion on Diwali gifts in 2023 (LinkedIn/industry commentary, [Diwali gifting a 30 billion dollar market](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/diwali-gifting-30-billion-market-sagar-chugh-pzsaf)) — **[Inference]** treat this diaspora-specific figure as directional, not precise, since it's not from a primary statistical agency.
+- **Buying triggers:** Diwali, weddings, griha pravesh (housewarming), milestone anniversaries. **[Evidence]** For griha pravesh specifically, premium/luxury gifting has shifted toward "elegant lamps... statement decor pieces... designer dinner sets" that balance auspicious symbolism with contemporary aesthetics ([BoxUp Luxury Gifting](https://www.boxupgifting.com/blogs/all/13-luxury-housewarming-gift-ideas-for-griha-pravesh); [Peepul Tree](https://www.peepultree.world/blog/housewarming-gift-ideas)) — **[Inference]** a beautifully-boxed, culturally-resonant game set fits this "displayable, meaningful, not purely functional" gift category well, arguably better than a game marketed purely as "fun."
+- **Objections:** For India-based gifting, US-dollar DTC pricing will feel expensive relative to comparable luxury housewarming gifts (which the India market prices in INR, often INR 2,000–15,000 territory for premium decor items) — a $300–500 game is a significant outlier gift, appropriate mainly for a very close relationship or an NRI-to-India gift where currency arbitrage works in the giver's favor. Also: is this appropriate as a *gift*, i.e., does it read as thoughtful and auspicious, or as a novelty?
+- **Price sensitivity:** High for India-domestic gifting norms; low-moderate for NRI-to-India or NRI-to-NRI gifting (where US/UK/Canada income applies).
+- **Channels:** Wedding registries and platforms (increasingly common even in Indian-American weddings — **[Evidence]** guides now explicitly recommend Indian-American couples use Western-style registries (Pataaree Studios, [Wedding Gift Etiquette Guide for Indian Americans](https://pataaree.com/blogs/articles/wedding-gift-etiquette-guide)), corporate/festival gifting platforms, Instagram, and word-of-mouth ahead of Diwali and wedding season.
+- **What the landing page should say to them:** A distinct "gifting" framing — the site currently sells the *player* experience (four traditions, how it plays) but says nothing to the *giver*. Consider a gifting-specific message/section: presentation, box quality, "a gift that starts a tradition," and possibly gift-messaging/registry integration for the eventual e-commerce build.
+
+---
+
+### Persona 5 — "Raj, the Design-Object Collector"
+**Tagline:** *"I don't need to play it every week — I need it to be the best-made thing on my shelf."*
+
+- **Demographics [Evidence + Inference]:** Male or female, 35–65, higher discretionary income, existing collector of premium tabletop/design objects (may also own high-end chess sets, whisky decanters, or designer collaboration pieces). Not necessarily Indian or a mahjong player at all — buys craft and story.
+- **Where they live:** Anywhere with disposable income and design-object culture — US/UK/Canada urban, or India's own affluent urban collector class.
+- **Motivations:** The luxury mahjong-as-object category is real and growing — **[Evidence]** the piece "Luxury's Take on Mahjong" documents designer/luxury-house collaborations including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, RIMOWA (144 translucent resin tiles, 42 hand-painted symbols, crafted in Köln) and CLOT x Coach (Hypebeast, [Luxury's Take on Mahjong: 9 Sets](https://hypebeast.com/2026/3/luxury-mahjong-9-sets-next-game-night-hermes-louis-vuitton-rimowa)). Artisan producers in this space emphasize process — e.g., a "rigorous 30-step crafting process" and "40 hours of dedicated labor by master artisans" per set (per luxury mahjong retailer marketing, aggregated via search). Raj buys into craft narrative and scarcity/limited-run framing as much as gameplay.
+- **Buying triggers:** Founding Edition/limited-run framing itself (the site's positioning), press coverage, seeing it in a design or lifestyle publication, gifting to another collector.
+- **Objections:** "What's actually special about the materials and process, concretely?" Vague claims ("hand-finished," "premium") won't satisfy this buyer the way they might satisfy a casual gift-buyer — Raj wants specifics (material, maker, process, edition size, numbering).
+- **Price sensitivity:** Low — this segment is used to $400+ and even four-figure tabletop objects. **[Inference]** Raj is the least price-sensitive persona and the most likely to pay a premium *specifically for* scarcity (numbered Founding Edition units, maker credit, limited run).
+- **Channels:** Design/lifestyle press (Hypebeast-style coverage), Kickstarter/crowdfunding-adjacent audiences, high-end gift and design retailers, collector communities (BoardGameGeek high-end threads, luxury goods forums).
+- **What the landing page should say to them:** The current "In the Box" section gestures at this (hand-finished tiles, silk-inspired mat) but hedges heavily with "final contents may vary" disclaimers appropriate for prototyping-stage honesty. **[Inference]** Once specs are locked, this persona will want a materials/process deep-dive page or section — maker name, edition numbering, a "the making of" narrative — more than any other segment.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Prioritization for the Founding Edition
+
+**[Inference — this section is judgment, not sourced fact]**
+
+### Primary (design the Founding Edition waitlist and launch messaging around these two):
+
+1. **Persona 1 (Priya, Culture-Forward Hostess)** — She is the segment for whom Maharajong's actual thesis ("a mahjong revival, but actually ours") is not a nice-to-have but the entire reason to buy. She has the income, the occasion (Diwali, hosting), and — critically — the built-in awareness of the category gap (the Mahjong Line backlash primed exactly this audience to want an authentic alternative). She is also the most likely early-adopter and word-of-mouth spreader within diaspora social networks.
+2. **Persona 3 (Dana, Mahjong-Line Alum)** — She represents the existing, proven, and currently *booming* market (867% event growth in a single metro, 4,467% search growth nationally). She already spends $375–495 on tile sets as a category norm, meaning she validates the price point Maharajong needs. Her objection (authenticity) is answerable with the same FAQ content built for Priya, making the two primary personas mutually reinforcing rather than requiring separate messaging tracks.
+
+### Secondary (design for, but don't center launch messaging on yet):
+
+3. **Persona 5 (Raj, Design Collector)** — Real segment, low price sensitivity, but small in volume and requires production specs (materials, maker, numbering) that don't exist yet at prototyping stage. Worth a dedicated page once specs firm up; premature now.
+4. **Persona 2 (Meera, Rummy-Native Convert)** — Large addressable market (hundreds of millions of rummy-literate people) but real logistics friction for India-based buyers (DTC shipping, duties, INR/USD price gap) that a waitlist-stage product can defer solving.
+5. **Persona 4 (Anjali, Milestone Gift-Giver)** — Real and lucrative ($69B Diwali market, huge wedding-gifting culture) but requires gifting-specific commerce features (registries, gift messaging, presentation-first product photography) that are a post-launch build, not a waitlist-stage need.
+
+**[Inference]** Rationale for the ordering: the Founding Edition's job is to convert waitlist sign-ups into first buyers and generate credible social proof/reviews. Personas 1 and 3 are the ones who will actually complete a $300–500+ purchase on a still-unproven brand with no ship date, because they're each already primed by an adjacent trend (diaspora cultural pride / mahjong revival) to want exactly this. Personas 2, 4, and 5 are bigger or equally real markets but need either lower price points, different commerce features, or firmer specs before they'll convert — they're the growth story for Edition 2, not the Founding Edition.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Implications for marketing and product decisions
+
+**[Inference throughout this section]**
+
+1. **The FAQ's "is this respectful?" answer is load-bearing for both primary personas, from opposite directions — make it stronger, not just present.** Priya (persona 1) needs to see herself and her culture treated with real specificity (named collaborators, sourcing, consultation with Indian artists/communities) or she will read it as another extraction. Dana (persona 3) needs the same specificity because she's aware her own hobby's biggest brand got this wrong publicly. Right now the FAQ answer is warm but generic ("we render every symbol... with care and reverence. We welcome feedback"). **Recommendation:** name real people/process once available — who on the team or as consultants has cultural authority here — because this single answer is doing double duty for two different (and differently skeptical) primary buyers.
+
+2. **The landing page currently speaks to the *player*, not the *giver* — and gifting is a huge share of the addressable spend.** Diwali gifting alone is a $69B India market and a plausible $10B+ diaspora market; griha pravesh and wedding gifting are both premium-object-friendly occasions. Yet the site's only nod to gifting is a passing FAQ answer about cost. **Recommendation:** consider a gifting-angle section or at minimum gift-messaging copy for the Founding Edition emails, especially timed to Diwali (a natural pre-order deadline/urgency mechanic: "reserve before Diwali").
+
+3. **Price the Founding Edition against the Mahjong Line benchmark ($375–495), not against Indian domestic board-game norms.** The primary personas (1 and 3) are US/UK-diaspora and US-mahjong-hobbyist buyers with dollar incomes and an existing $400ish reference price in their heads. Pricing meaningfully below that band risks signaling "less premium" to exactly the buyers being targeted first; pricing well above it needs to be justified by visible materials/craft difference (relevant to persona 5 too).
+
+4. **Rummy-native and India-based buyers are a real second-wave market, not a launch-day one — plan the commerce/logistics accordingly.** The rummy-playing population is enormous, and India's recent ban on real-money online rummy (Aug 2025) may push some appetite toward offline/social physical games — a tailwind worth monitoring but not yet provable. Don't build India-specific fulfillment, currency, or duty-handling for the Founding Edition; do keep the "Rummy-style runs" messaging in the rules/landing copy so this persona finds an on-ramp once the brand is ready to serve them properly (likely via a distributor or India-priced SKU later, not DTC-from-US at US pricing).
+
+5. **The mahjong-revival trend is a limited-time tailwind — the brand should move while search/event growth is still accelerating.** Eventbrite mahjong listings up 179% (nationally) and 867% (Houston) year-over-year, Yelp naming it a top 2026 trend, search growth in the thousands of percent — this is a hot, press-covered moment (Smithsonian, Washington Post, Axios, Harper's Bazaar have all covered it in 2025). **Recommendation:** prioritize earned press and creator outreach now, while "mahjong" itself is newsworthy, rather than waiting for full production specs to be locked — a "first look" or founder story pitch to lifestyle press could ride the existing wave.
+
+---
+
+## Sources consulted
+
+- Pew Research Center, [Indian Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot](https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/indian-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/) (2024)
+- New India Abroad, [Indian Americans now 2nd largest Asian group in US: Pew](https://www.newindiaabroad.com/english/features/indian-americans-now-2nd-largest-asian-group-in-us-pew)
+- NPR, [Texas-Based Mahjong Company Faces Backlash For Cultural Appropriation](https://www.npr.org/2021/01/17/957779101/texas-based-mahjong-company-faces-backlash-for-cultural-appropriation) (2021)
+- The Mahjong Line, [Mahjong Tiles collection pricing](https://themahjongline.com/collections/mahjong-tiles)
+- Axios Houston, [The traditional mahjong game becomes trendy in Houston](https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2025/07/18/new-houston-audience-goes-all-in-on-mahjong) (2025)
+- Harper's Bazaar India, [Here's why all the cool kids are playing mahjong now](https://www.harpersbazaar.in/culture/story/heres-why-all-the-cool-kids-are-playing-mahjong-now-1241184-2025-07-08) (2025)
+- Washington Post, [On Saturday, millennials play mah-jongg](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/07/24/mah-jongg-dc/) (2025)
+- Outlook India, [Diwali Gifting Report 2025: What India Is Really Buying For The Festival Of Lights](https://www.outlookindia.com/xhub/featured-insights/diwali-gifting-report-2025-what-india-is-really-buying-for-the-festival-of-lights) (2025)
+- TapWell, [16 Diwali Shopping and Gifting Statistics of India](https://tapwell.in/diwali-shopping-and-gifting-statistics/)
+- LinkedIn/Sagar Chugh, [Diwali gifting a 30 billion dollar market](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/diwali-gifting-30-billion-market-sagar-chugh-pzsaf)
+- IMARC Group, [India Board Games Market Size, Share, Trends Report](https://www.imarcgroup.com/india-board-games-market)
+- Business Standard, [The great board game comeback: How India is rolling the dice again](https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/game-on-india-board-game-culture-market-growth-2025-125102700144_1.html) (2025)
+- GrabOn, [13 Best Rummy Apps & Websites In India (2025)](https://www.grabon.in/indulge/games/best-rummy-sites-apps/)
+- DataInsightsMarket, [Rummy Card Game Strategic Insights: Analysis 2026 and Forecasts 2034](https://www.datainsightsmarket.com/reports/rummy-card-game-1967428)
+- Hypebeast, [Luxury's Take on Mahjong: 9 Sets for Your Next Game Night](https://hypebeast.com/2026/3/luxury-mahjong-9-sets-next-game-night-hermes-louis-vuitton-rimowa) (2026)
+- Pataaree Studios, [Wedding Gift Etiquette Guide for Indian Americans](https://pataaree.com/blogs/articles/wedding-gift-etiquette-guide)
+- BoxUp Luxury Gifting, [13 Luxury Housewarming Gift Ideas for Griha Pravesh](https://www.boxupgifting.com/blogs/all/13-luxury-housewarming-gift-ideas-for-griha-pravesh)
+- Peepul Tree, [20 Best Housewarming Gift Ideas in India 2026](https://www.peepultree.world/blog/housewarming-gift-ideas)
+
+Internal context reviewed: `/Users/charlie/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Projects/maharahjong/rules/gameplay-rules.md`, `/Users/charlie/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Projects/maharahjong/web/landing/index.html`
diff --git a/web/landing/shopify-page.liquid b/web/landing/shopify-page.liquid
index f994696..5a8bd03 100644
--- a/web/landing/shopify-page.liquid
+++ b/web/landing/shopify-page.liquid
@@ -320,6 +320,23 @@ body { overflow-x: clip; }
     </div>
   </section>
 
+  <!-- SIGNUP SUCCESS FEEDBACK: Shopify redirects to /?customer_posted=true
+       after a successful customer form post; show confirmation + hide forms. -->
+  <script>
+  (function () {
+    if (!new URLSearchParams(location.search).has('customer_posted')) return;
+    document.querySelectorAll('.mrj form').forEach(function (f) {
+      var d = document.createElement('div');
+      d.className = 'mrj-success';
+      d.textContent = "Welcome — you're on the Founding Edition list. We'll be in touch.";
+      f.parentNode.insertBefore(d, f);
+      f.style.display = 'none';
+    });
+    var h = document.querySelector('.mrj-hero');
+    if (h) h.scrollIntoView({ block: 'start' });
+  })();
+  </script>
+
   <!-- FOOTER -->
   <footer class="mrj-footer">
     <div class="wrap">