I remember reading somewhere not too long ago that someone made a cloth pillow board with velcro stones. I think there might have been a pouch inside the pillow to store the stones.
even without the pillow (which could be too bulky for travel, though some might like to have a lap pillow), a flat cloth board could be a nice alternative to vinal or leather.
it could be used on non-flat or irregular surfaces, and could hold its shape well (lay out flat reasonablly well after being stored folded or rolled)
Seems like an interesting alternative, even if it was handmade. Do you remember where you read it?
This was mentioned by someone on rec.games.go in September 2005. (Go to groups.google.com and search in rec.games.go for "velcro".)
The person had made a pillow with velcro stones and was interested in selling them on eBay. In the end the original one sold, but not for enough money to convince him to make more. There are pictures still up on his website, though:
http://home.comcast.net/~moonphantom/ebay/pillow1.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~moonphantom/ebay/pillow2.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~moonphantom/ebay/pillow3.jpg
Nice, but the pillow is a bit bulky. I'd prefer a reasonably thin cloth board plus a set of plastic stones. It doesn't let you play on the move so easily, but whenever there's a table you're fine.
Thanks for the pictures, teahouse. It really looks quite nice, although a bit bulky. I added your reply to the main page, after editing it a bit. Hope that is alright with you.