Consider this a brief survey.

Floor board (with legs) versus table-top board (sans legs)!

What is your preference? Why? To you, in what ways are the two types of boards meaningfully different in use?

I am curious what everyone thinks. Feel free to share pictures.

Would you rather play on the floor or at a table?

Strangely enough, I enjoy both. I have a really cheap floor board (lacquered rosewood, gasp! One step up from plastic!) with detachable legs that I use in both ways. When the legs are attached, I like that it doesn't take up valuable table space. When the legs are detached, I like that I can lay out a go book next to it on a table (to set up problems or replay a game).

I own and use table-top boards. I do not have a floor board. Why? At my age, even using a cushion, I cannot sit on the floor for very long without leg and back pains. But I have had (and preferred) a table-top board (high quality Hyuga kaya) for more than 40 years, since I was an age when sitting on the floor was no problem. Other reasons I prefer a table-top board have to do with ease of storing and moving it from place to place, and ease of playing games out of a book. Historically floor boards seem to be a Japanese thing, Koreans and Chinese mostly use table-top boards I think, so there is no implication that floor boards are more "authentic" go equipment than table-top boards. Even in Japan table-top boards are used in most go salons and in amateur and some pro tournament settings as well.

The one blessing in having bad knees is that it saves me from the temptation of spending money I can't afford on an expensive floor goban! Table for me.

I share the knee problem but lack your common sense. So I have the nice (but not too expensive) floor board gathering dust in the corner while the table boards rule.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

Floor boards can be uncomfortable to use for many people. I think there was one title challenger match in which Cho Hunhyun played lying down against his pupil Lee Changho (who was on his knees) while complaining of pain.

That's the sinister thing about common sense: It's not so common.

I'm a fan of floor boards. There a touch of elegance about them that I find attractive.

I have floor goban and table goban, but I mostly play on KGS cgoban

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http://tchan001.wordpress.com
A blog on Asian go books, go sightings, and interesting tidbits
Go is such a beautiful game.

Nice.

I have a table board that is currently gathering dust in my room, and I'm a little to frugal (cheap) to buy a floor board.

I have a friend with a floor board, so when I play him we always play at his place. I like the aesthetics of a floor board, but I've always had a tendency more towards the Japanese tradition over the Chinese and Korean (studied a bit of Japanese in college, various other reasons, etc...).

And I have to admit that my legs do start hurting after a while (sometimes I don't notice until the game is over, though! Here's to intensity in games!).

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KGS: schultz [?].

A floor goban seems to me more aesthetic and speaks to the beauty of the game, while a table board seems more practical. Unless you live in the Orient, most people would prefer playing tabletop than on the floor (discomfort, tradition, etc.)

Get a table board first. Tables are everywhere. Appropriate space for a floor board, not to mention opponents willing to sit like that, are not.

Many years ago, when I was in Japan, I needed a go set and was in a go board shop. I asked the proprietor what I should do now if I thought I might buy a good floor board in the future, and he suggested buying a katsura table board, it was relatively cheap (around $50 at the time) and if I did eventually buy the floor board the table board would still be useful because of its portability. So I bought a katsura table board. I never did buy a floor board, for reasons that have already been posted, but I did buy a fine kaya table board. It was an upgrade in equipment and also allowed me to have two games going if I was hosting some go friends.

Something like this would be cool: A table board + small table. Combine them and it becomes a floor board. Best of both worlds?

Sorry for the large image size.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a floor go board put on a low table to play?

My knees can’t take sitting on the floor and I have heard that the floor go boards sound different
due to the inverted pyramid carved on the back (which a normal table go board does not have).. hence my question.


Thanks in advance
Oscas

I love floor boards for the authentic feel and uniqueness they offer, but keep a couple table boards around for simple practicality and travel.



The Pyramid is more to help the wood breath than for sound...though I admit I don't understand the carpentry specifics behind it.

I am from Europe. I am used to sitting at a table. I am also used to play go at a table and a table board. Almost every go player I know plays at a table. Floor gobans are not very common in Europe.
But I do have a floor goban. It is not the best wood or quality, but still very nice to see and to play. I like having the idea that I could, if I want, use a floor goban. But it is seldomly used.

For what it is worth, I think floor boards are not commonly used in Korea and China. Even in Japan the use of floor boards has been abandoned in some pro tournaments. Thirty five or more years ago the broadcast NHK TV tournament games were played on a nice kaya floor board. For some time now those games have been played on a table top board.

Not so fast. According to my Youtube studies the switch was made between the 44th and the 45th NHK Cup, 1997 and 1998 respectively. It's only twenty years ago. When we were young.

Cheers,
Vesa