Hi all,

I'm a new Go player buying my first goban and trying to decide between these two moderately low-priced shin kaya options:

1) Shin kaya veneer from Go Game Guru

2) Shin kaya (multiple pieces) - from Yellow Mountain Imports

The veneer board will end up costing me about $20 more after shipping to my location, but I'm wondering whether it's actually better than the non-veneer board. That being said, the non-veneer board is made up of 2-4 separate pieces joined together. I'm worried that there will be distracting lines on the top or sides of the board.

Also, the description for the Yellow Mountain board says that it's "Japanese standard size" but the dimensions listed are 10 mm larger than the one from Go Game Guru, which I thought was standard size.

Has anyone seen or used either of these boards or similar ones? Any advice?

Sidenote: I'm almost decided on these double-convex yunzi stones along with the bowls, straps, and carrying case. If anyone has any comments on these stones, I'd appreciate it too. In particular, I'm curious if the stones will fit fine on either of the boards above - I think they will, since Go Game Guru sells stones that are 1 mm larger in diameter (a standard 22 mm rather than the 21 mm double-convex yunzi stones from Yellow Mountain) to go with their board.

Personally I like gogameguru and would get a shin kaya board and glass stones from them. David at gogameguru will be happy to answer any specific questions on his equipment, I'm sure.

Thanks for the reply, oren!

If I could afford a solid shin kaya board, that would definitely be the route I'd go (or better yet real kaya if I had money burning a hole in my pocket). But there don't seem to be any available for under $200, which is just about the top end of my price range for all the equipment combined.

Between the veneer board and the board with multiples pieces joined together, which one do you think is a better tradeoff?

Why do suggest glass stones in particular? I was originally planning on the glass stones from Go Game Guru's bento box for the price mostly, despite the fact that they seem to be a lot smaller than standard. But the stones from Yellow Mountain Import also come with bowls and a carrying case, which look pretty good.

Another recent thread on $200 limit for new equipment.

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Thanks for the link, msgreg. There's a lot of good information in that thread.

Hi Josh, I highly recommend the 10 mm ING stones.

If the board is properly made, you will not see any "lines"


From the pictures it looks like one has wider edges than the other. The grid will be of the same size.

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Honestly, in terms of quality, I would be strongly inclined to go with the multi-piece board rather than the veneer. Multi-piece construction is quite standard for thinner (read: not floor) boards, as you can balance the grain to help prevent warping, which can occur even with a quartersawn (masame) single piece board of significant thickness. Generally when multi-piece boards are made, each piece runs the length of the board along the grain, and a good manufacturer will match up the grain to some degree so as not to have a sudden contrast.

Regarding stones, for inexpensive ones, as Edlee suggested, Ing stones are actually pretty nice. They're decently thick, they don't shatter, and are pleasantly weighted. At least in the US, they're pretty standard at tournaments. I have a set of double-convex yunzi myself, and rather like them. However, if you carry them around a lot, I have seen people who do that get a lot of little chips, etc. in the stones from them banging into each other in the car. Glass is the other kind of standard cheap-ish stone, and while they at least used to be quite common, manufacturing quality can vary greatly between brands.

As someone new to the game, you have ask yourself: am I looking for inexpensive equipment that I can use and abuse while I "try out" this new activity, or do you feel that this will become a lifelong hobby that is worth investing up front? Thinking on this further, you should be aware that most go players have two tiers of purchases: one level is the "beater equipment" of lower cost, easy to transport stuff that we lug around when playing in go-clubs, coffee houses, and at a friend's home, while the second tier is more "vanity equipment" which is costly in terms of money and/or searching, and resides in a place of honor in our homes, to be brought out only when playing over games or when friends come calling--these don't get to travel much. Thus, I would suggest going the "beater" route first to see if go becomes a lifelong passion, and then pursue the "vanity" side later as you succumb to the collector's bug!

As for "beater" suggestions, I personally have a 3/4" bamboo board from YMI that has weathered many a trek over the years with nary a scratch--these things are hardy! I coupled the board with jade-colored single convex Yunzi stones which is very pleasing to the eye as the combo softens the contrast a bit (I think single-convex stones are ideal for reviewing games and for teaching games because you can easily mark variations by inverting the 'temporary' stones, but that is another thread!). You can find a bamboo board on eBay for under $59, and a board, stones, and bowls set for about $94 (YMI: http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Bamboo-Go-Game-Board-Single-Convex-Stones-Set-/331112737372?pt=Games_US&hash=item4d17db6a5c#ht_4149wt_1025.

However, taking a page from an earlier suggestion, probably the most cost-efficient "beater" set would be an ING board paired with ING stones in plastic bowls, available in the US from Yutopian. The ING stones and plastic bowls are only $25 (https://www.yutopian.com/yutop/cat?product=ST030&category=sb) and the 3/4" cypress ING board would be $22 (https://www.yutopian.com/yutop/cat?product=TC030&category=T), so you could be kitted out for under $50 (plus s/h).

At this point I always mention that I have no affiliation with either YMI or Yutopian other than as a satisfied customer!

Now, if you have determined that you want some "vanity" in your life I would urge you to look for offerings on eBay (or some other auction site) rather than paying retail--it does take time, but patience pays off in the end! For example, currently there is a listing for a Korean-made 2-1/4" Kaya table go board with a starting bid of only $99 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Vintage-Unused-THICK-Japanese-GO-GAME-BOARD-GOBAN-KAYA-WOOD-FLAT-BOX-/271384259704?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f2fc32c78#ht_204wt_1263) which is less than half the price of a similar board at Yutopian. Of course, practice "buyer beware" at any auction site, as you can only take the word of the seller that this is "true" Kaya as opposed to some other yellow grained wood such as Shin-Kaya or Hiba.

Good luck in your purchases, and welcome to the world of go!!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up going with the set from YMI. (Board plus double-convex yunzi stones, bowls, and carrying case. I also picked up a carrying case for the board to make it easier to transport now and then.)

I have the multi piece shin kaya(Alaskan white spruce). It is nice, I had to look to see if it was the multi-piece, because the straight grain masks the glue joint very well, so I don't think that is an issue. I think what made me to go that route is that I read somewhere that some people in the Far East prefer shin kaya to local woods for its bright color, durability and sound, I haven't smelled the spruce, but if you roughed it up it would smell just fine too.

Do you know someone who is skilled with a wood plane? After they demonstrate their skills at maintaining the iron's edge and using the plane, ask this person to plane the rear surface in paper-thin slices. This removes the sealing finish and slices open wood cells.

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I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.