magnetic go boards
This page is in discussion format and needs a WME
uxs: I'm thinking of buying some kind of portable go board. Is there a consensus on what kind of board is easiest for carrying around, while you're still able to play a decent game on it ? Would a foldable board be best ? Or a magnetic one ? Or even something made in leather that you can roll up ?
BobMcGuigan: Magnetic sets are probably the most portable, but they are smaller than regulation size and it is somewhat awkward to play and remove stones on a crowded board. I think they are most usefull for travel situations like playing on a train or plane. The ultimate in portability for full sized sets is the "roll-up" or "fold-up" leather or vinyl board. These require a hard flat surface underneath so you can't easily use them on a park bench or on the ground. That leaves folding or slotted boards. Both of these work well. The mechanics of carrying them around are easily solved with an appropriate tote bag of some sort or, if money is not a big issue, you can buy the go carrying case from Samarkand.
Hiker: I have had vinyl roll-up board for many years. I have been quite unsatisfied with it. (Though it was a gift, so I shouldn't complain too much). I kept it rolled up for about a month. Ever since, I cannot get the board to lie flat. I have kept it flattened under heavy books for months on end but this has not solved the problem. If I roll it up even for a few hours, it still remains curled when unrolled. I recommend any alternative to these flexible boards.
Velobici: Each choice is a compromise versus a table board and stones.
A slotted board or a folding board provides a full size rigid playing surface and can be used with full size stones. The president of the Baltimore Go Club uses his slotted board every club meeting. The board and stones are protected by a carry case that can be obtained from
Samarkand. There are two downsides to this choice. The size of the board and stones combination. This is a piece of that will not fit under your feet in a airplane. It will fit in the overhead bins, however. The stones can slide around on the board, so use in a moving vehicle or at sea is not reliable. Nonetheless, for frequent, serious use when the size and weight is not an issue, this is the best traveling solution.
Vinyl and leather roll up boards can be full size and used with full size stones. They are much less bulky packages, but still will not fit under your feet on a plane. The stones can be placed in tube like containers placed end to end, forming the shape of a single long tube, and the board rolled around the two tubes containing the stones. The stones and the board playing surface are protected. The big drawback is the lack of a rigid surface. Once again playing in a moving vehicle or at sea is difficult.
Magnetic sets offer the ability to play while in motion. That is their one advantage. The stones need to be placed and removed rather deliberately, which one feel like a beginner all over again. Magnetic sets come in a wide variety of sizes. The playing surface is on the outside of the box that contains the stones. This is not protected and needs to be placed inside a cover of some sort.
Images of the Myung-In
MB-100 magnetic set that I purchased at the 2005 US Go Congress are online.
- board
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http://www.bresler.org/Go/IMG_0265.JPG
- board, stones and drawers
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http://www.bresler.org/Go/IMG_0266.JPG
- box front
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http://www.bresler.org/Go/IMG_0262.JPG
- box back
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http://www.bresler.org/Go/IMG_0263.JPG
- box side
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http://www.bresler.org/Go/IMG_0264.JPG
axd: After searching for a while, I found a pocket-size magnetic go set (Marchand) that fits in a big pocket: the board folds in three pieces (the inner surfaces are magnetic), and the stones are very small, flat half-magnetic discs that are kept on two separate magnetic sheets. If you consider buying one, check that the folds do not coincide with the lines, because stones might not stick enough there, making the set rather worthless (but maybe you can live with it; I wouldn't like to use it in that moving vehicle). My set (Hartung Spiele, Berlin, MG 100) shows that the makers did not know everything about go: especially the fact that the squares should actually be slightly rectangular for the optical correction; this would also have helped in avoiding the folds as there would be more spacing between the horizontal lines for the folds.
Migeru: I wonder if this is the same as my first-ever go set, which has accompanied me on most of my travels ever since I bought it in 1992. Mine doesn't have any brand names, and it says "fabrique a Taiwan" (I bought it in Paris). I have never had any trouble having the pieces attach to the folds of the board.
I also own a very nice Korean magnetic set - I must have bought it from Yutopian. The stones are flat plastic cyliders about 1cm in diametre with a magnet inside. The board folds in half and has 4 small drawers, for go and chess pieces (there is a chess board on the reverse). The drawers are designed so that they can't be opened when facing down, minimizing the risk of spilling the pieces. The board is small enough to fit in a backpack, and the pieces are large enough to be handled "properly".
teklex: Has anyone used or seen one of those Wood Expressions travel go boards? I saw one on sale from the recent
Smithsonian/Sackler museum exhibition on Asian Games, and was wondering if it was worth purchasing. I do like the whole "briefcase go board" look...
MrShin: I'd like to note that that board is NOT magnetic. I've dealt with wood expressions before (in fact, I bought my first board from them). Nice board, but tiny. Captures are horrible to pick up; a section has to get rearranged afterwards. They look great though, but I feel they cost too much ($40 for mine and it's about 12"x12")
Velobici: It looks nice and I would expect that it works just fine. There are several considerations for a travel board:
- must be large enough to use
- must be light enough to take along
- must close with the board inside (so that the board is protected and does not get scratched frequently)
- must have magnets strong enough to hold position even is shaken or tilted
- nice to have the magnetic pieces fully enclose the magnet so that only plastic touches the board
- nice to have the pieces be rounded in profile so that you can pick them off the surface more easily
- nice if its cheap enough that losing it is not a "big issue".
A board that meets these criteria (NOT RECOMMENDED see MarkD's report below), for me at least, is item number 5196984666 on
eBay. Looks exactly the same as the one I bought at the 2005 US Go Congress.
- Phelan: Found several auctions with the same board with this
ebay search, since the other one had ended.
Note: based upon MarkD's report, this item on eBay is NOT similar to what I bought at the 2005 US Go Congress.
Shaydwyrm: I wonder if one could design a magnetic go board that could fold up with pieces still on the board? The idea would be to have a system whereby the players could leave a position on the board, close it, and open it later to resume with the position undisturbed.
MarkD: Velobici, is this the same board?
Velobici: No, definately not. The pieces for my board are contained in two drawers that slide out. The slides have detents to hold the drawers in place (so that they dont open by themselves). The plastic body is black as are the drawers. The body is hinged in the middle. A steel go board is glued to the top of the body, so that when the body is closed (folded), the board is folded over on itself, protecting it from scratches.
blubb: I own a nice little magnetic folding board set, but although being smaller, it's definitely heavier than a cheap set of chinese ceramic stones with a fabric board. The latter is also more convenient to use, provided a table underneath.
teklex: I emailed the Wood Expressions people, and they provided the following information:
- It isn't made of one specific type of wood
- Diameter of the stones are: 9/16"
- Dimensions of the playing board: 11 7/8" x 13 1/4"
That being said, it is not magnetic, so I'm not sure my post was relevant to this page. Perhaps I should have posted a new page called travel boards...
I had a really bad magnetic board from China - warped surface, magnets falling out of the stones, etc. I won't make that mistake again. I did see a really nice set just like this one made out of wood and leather at the Jade Market in Hong Kong, so I may go pick one up the next time I'm there. It was only about US$20, which is of course negotiable in HK. Thanks for everyone's input!
- eng60340: consider getting a 13x13 magnetic board. it's smaller and lighter.
- Velobici: WOW! $20 in Hong Kong. $43 plus $14 shipping on eBay. Someone is doing rather well :)
MarkD: Thank you Velobici, I guess I will order the Ebay item.
The disappointing part of the eBay item is the shipping fee. At $12.98 it is nearly the same as the price of the item itself ($15.98)
MaxL?: I've had a Wood Expressions board (though branded differently) for about 6 months and find it an excellent travel board. The pieces are not magnetic but for a small sized "stone" they have a nice feel. The centre line is beginning to wear slightly as it's exposed when the board is carried, but other than that it's well made, the clasps are firm and it's both light and strong (mine's been dropped a few times). I also find it a good board for the cafe games I enjoy - it's large enough to play a full game without the board getting to crowded but small enough to fit a cafe table with room for coffee/tea etc.
MarkD: My magnetic go set from Korea arrived today (the eBay article mentioned above). The price with shipping was about $28. There were about 160 black and just 125 white stones in the box.
Pros:
- Good price
- Small and easy to transport
Cons:
- The stones are very bad. The magnets are too weak, just tilting the board by 30 degrees is enough to move most of the stones.
- In my set I have found 24 stones without magnets in it!
- Missing stones
- The board is ok, but I had to glue the surface to the box because it was loose...may that happend during shipping.
- You can't leave the stones on the board and close the box
- You need a rubber band to keep the box closed, there is no lock
Conclusion: The set is OK for the price, but maybe you should look elsewhere to get a good magnetic set. With just 125 white stones long games (>250 moves) are impossible. Overall disappointing.
Velobici: I am very sorry that this board ended up being so disappointing. Clearly it is very different from what I bought at the 2005 US Go Congress.
MarkD: I guess I will buy another one and give this as a present to a friend. If I have some time, I will make some pictures of the board and the stones.
shawnseaus: Velobici, perhaps I missed it, but I can't seem to find anywhere in this thread the make/model of the one you purchased at the Congress. Was there any manufacture information with it? Or how about posting a picture or two? :-) Thx.
George Caplan Velobici, you were not at the 2005 Go Congress
Velobici: Unfortunately, I was not at the 2005 Go Congress. I have plans to be at the 2006 Go Congress. I'll try to post pictures and other characteristic information regarding the board that I purchased.
ChiyoDad: The goban which I bought from Yutopian looks identical to that which MarkD had purchased. It cost me $34.60 out the door with shipping and California sales tax. I did a short
write-up on it in my blog and also wrote about
an inexpensive innovation.
The differences between his set and the Yutopian set are:
- The magnets seem stronger (able to hold their position at a 40-degree tilt)
- All the 160 stones for each color have internal magnets. Have had to snap a few stones shut but no other problems.
- The stones are not so small that you cannot handle them properly (sandwiched between your index and middle finger) if you so wish. It gets trickier if you want to use a 3-finger hold.
- No problem with the board losing adherence to the box
I suspect that some components for both MarkD's and my board may have come from the same manufacturer but were assembled to different standards of quality. The images and his descriptions generally match my goban (save for what had been noted above). The assembler of my board was Myung-In but it was probably older stock because box looked just a tad aged. It matches model MB-180 which measure 29x28.6cms.
Overall, I'm satisfied with the Yutopian set for practice and casual matches.
I lined the drawers with black felt (with an adhesive backing) to improve its aesthetic appeal and to muffle the rattle of the stones. You can find this inexpensive material in craft stores.