Hi,

So as I noted in my introduction, I am relatively new to Go. I have been playing on KGS (once or twice a week.. about all I can manage right now without completely ignoring my wife and son). I have started thinking about getting a go set and I am trying to find a decently playable set at a good price. I know about the YMI magnetic, roll up set that has some advantages (storage being a major one!), but browsing Amazon, I also came across this one: http://www.amazon.com/Board-Glass-Stone ... 10&sr=1-26

I was just curious if anyone has any experience with this set?

As much as I would like to drop a couple hundred on stones, bowls and a goban, I just don't see that happening in the near future (maybe if I can get the wife into the game...).

Thanks for your opinions,
Bill

I recently made a purchase from here: http://www.zengoban.com

You could get a much better quality board and stones for near the same price. Unfortunately, he only offers single-convex stones. Personally, though, I prefer the single-convex to the more traditional double-convex.

Sure, that set will definitely work.

Here's another one you might want to check out for about $7 more at Shodan Imports

This also comes with single-convex yunzi stones. If you want bi-convex stones, you could pick up the board for $35, and get the stones for pretty cheap here at Yutopian
Yutopian also has some board options.

Neither the board on Amazon nor the bamboo boards will last forever, but they should both work out for you.

Maybe it is just the picture, but does it look like the board is sagging between the "legs"?

I think you would be better off with a standard table board without the little legs. I think that could be a problem in the future.

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I'm thinking...

Just started playing Go a few months ago. I just bought the bamboo board from Amazon through the YMI store. Here is what my set looks like. http://imgur.com/a/LpCdj

I'm happy with the set and I can say the bamboo set is pretty nice, but it's heavy. If you're not looking for a set to take with you places I can say getting any of the bamboo boards is a good idea. The main reason I go this board over any of the others was because it has a 13x13 board on the other side.

For 9x9 games I just use a sheet of paper that I printed out. I think I got from board game geek: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/1 ... -bw9x9-pdf It's pretty easy to just remember that you're a jump in from the star points for 9x9 size on a 19x19 board, but when playing with people who have never played I find using the piece of paper to be easier for them.

To the OP, I would stay away from bamboo, unless you really dig the way it looks or something. Some people like the dark wood of bamboo - many do not. But the main issue with these boards is cracking and splitting. You will get members on here telling you that they have had their bamboo boards forever and a day and not had any problems, but I've seen too many post online that they have had to deal with this problem. You can get a beautiful shin kaya (Spruce) board for a very reasonable price at Yellow Mountain Imports, Shodan Imports 1.25" shin kaya board is bit more expensive. Shin kaya is a near ideal material for go boards and quite similar to kaya.

A link to SI page that describes the various woods a little bit (it's interesting that they don't even list bamboo even though they do sell bamboo boards apparently).

http://shodanimports.com/index.php?main_page=page_4#genuine-kaya

Edit: Jordus gives good advice here.

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Where've you been? Zatoichi could slice the board in half, put it back together again and rearrange the position so fast that no-one even knew he'd drawn his sword - and he was blind. ~ John Fairbairn

Any set in the $40-50 range is going to have quality issues. If you want to spend twice that, I'm all for it. Heck, my set is probably worth about 15 times that. If you just want a useful set in the $50 range, any of those will get you by.

FYI, the shin kaya board from YMI was decent enough, but it was very yellow and plastic-like.

Then you can probably easily link us to ten or so of those "too many posts" that you have seen about this alleged issue?

I've had a Chinese bamboo board for quite a while now, and it's been heavily used. No "splintering" or any other issues with it. The darker colour is a matter of preference (I obviously do prefer it over the too yellow colour, which I find rather unappealing and it doesn't at all fit with my furniture), but bamboo boards tend to be cheaper (can't necessarily say that about mine) and are much friendlier to the environment.

Also, the OP is looking for a budget set. He can get a bamboo board set with stones and bowls for about $50 (in the US, plus shipping, it's more expensive in Europe). A shin kaya board alone costs more than that and is in essence just a slab of glorified wood.

There are also some other inexpensive materials, like beech and birch. Those are quite common at least in Europe.

I guess in the end these things are quite subjective. Personally I feel that spruce with its tight unobtrusive grain patterns and light color is miles above the other options at that price range. I have the YMI shin kaya board and I don't find it "very yellow" at all and I really can't begin to comprehend what you mean by plastic like - it is the most genuine looking go board I've seen being offered for the money. Spruce is know to have less oils then other woods used to make go boards and because of this characteristic it is a given that the color will fade some with age. This has been my experience with the board I have. Perhaps thats why they are a bit vibrant new...but I did not think it "too much" even out of the box. Though you are not the first person I've heard describe the board as being on the yellow side, I think you are the first I've seen to indicate it as a negative feature.

Maybe the majority of go players don't have a lot of money to shell out for equipment, and even those who are fortunate enough to upgrade to a nicer board and set of stones will likely keep their first set for travel, trips to the club and park ect. So it would probably be a good idea to get something they won't mind living with in the long term either way.

For me, though I think other sets would have been plenty serviceable, I am VERY pleased with the set I ended up with. If I do end up upgrading (for me its more a matter of earning it then whether or not I have the money) I'll most probably end up going with a thicker shin kaya board (the 2.25" ones Shodan Imports has on offer are lovely looking). Spruce rocks the rocks!

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Where've you been? Zatoichi could slice the board in half, put it back together again and rearrange the position so fast that no-one even knew he'd drawn his sword - and he was blind. ~ John Fairbairn

It's not necessarily a matter of money. For what I paid for my (imported) bamboo board I could have gotten a shin kaya one too (and not the cheapest), but as I said above, I don't fancy the colour they typically have (Judicata shares this impression), so I went for something that I do like and that fits with my furniture. I'm the same way with stones. I went with agate stones over shell/slate for mostly aesthetic reasons. They still cost a bundle, though less than what I would have paid for s/s stones of the same thickness.

Bamboo, beech and birch boards (I think I have seen some made of chestnut too) aren't a subpar alternative that people somehow have to make arrangements with so that they can handle living with them. They're are usually, though not always, less expensive -- but price is just one aspect. Not everyone shares the same taste, and not everyone must have a board as seen in Hikaru no Go.

Yeah I don't think I've seen that many (to me several 4-6 is too many) and no, really not inclined to spend the time running around digging up all the ones I've seen. If you are questioning that I've have seen them I am all right with that. I mean c'mon man, I'm not quoting scientific jargon here I'm just telling you about some reviews I've run across over time. If you really want to see one all you have to do is go to YMI's page for the bamboo board they are currently offering and there is one right there in the customer reviews.

Perhaps the OP would be better served by the options you mentioned here, they are certainly viable.

Obviously our views on spruce are vastly different. I agree to disagree.

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Where've you been? Zatoichi could slice the board in half, put it back together again and rearrange the position so fast that no-one even knew he'd drawn his sword - and he was blind. ~ John Fairbairn

I think I just objected to the impression that your post seemed to give: that bamboo boards typically fall apart, splinter and are generally a bad choice, and that a significant number of people share that experience. It struck me as an over-generalization and clashes with my own experience and observations.

Over the years I have seen posts from players that had made negative experiences with various wood/board types, but none really stood out as more problematic than others. I think it's just a matter of preference and, to a degree, of the climate you live in. Some wood/board types don't work equally well in very hot or very wet climates, or where the weather is fairly extreme depending on the season.

But yes, it's all a matter of preference -- no disagreement there!

I like spruce, and I like shin-kaya boards. I bought my primary board from Shodan Imports and I'm extremely happy with it. It is entirely possible the boards we received from YMI are from a different source. Though color is notoriously difficult to display accurately through a camera and unknown computer monitor, I'll try to post some pictures comparing the two boards when I get home. The YMI board is good for the price, but it is an unnatural yellow, and covered in some kind of thick plastic-like coat.

But complaining about the YMI board wasn't my point (again, I still recommend it). I have a bamboo board too, and think it a perfect and pretty nice-looking board for a beginner.

Thanks everyone for their replys so far. Perhaps it might help you give me better feedback if I give you some of my preferences. Roughly in order of preference.

1. Japanese, Chinese, Korean or some other accepted national standard. More specifically I don't want a 12 inch board which will be hard to play stones on.

2. Stones should have a reasonable weight to them, and be bi-convex. Not that I have enough experience to really discriminate between them, there is something that appeals to me about bi-convex stones over the single convex stones. Material doesn't matter, as long as it is reasonably durable (i.e., even the Ing stones might be ok if they are heavy enough).

3. Durability. Again, while $50 may not be much to spend on a Go set, I don't want to have to spend it again in a year just because the board cracked or the stones broke apart.

4. I need some sort of bowls. Both for storing the stones and during play.

5. Color of the board. I think a board color which maximizes the contrast between the stones and the board would be ideal. There is nothing I have seen about shin kaya or bamboo that suggests either are too dark or too light.

6. I would kind of like the board to be real wood.

Hope that helps you folks. And thanks again for the help .

--
Bill

I think all of the suggestions so far meet these requirements, except you'll need to select bi-convex stones. All of the boards at Yellow Mountain Imports and Shodan Imports are standard sizes (except magnetic sets). All of the boards and stones should be of reasonable durability--I just can't opine on the one from Amazon.

If ~$50 is your budget, I'd go with the a set like this one offered by Shodan Imports. You could contact them and see about swapping the single-convex yunzi stones for bi-convex ones, and by how much that raises the price. YMI probably has similar offers.

Other materials will increase the price. (Although glass stones may be cheaper than yunzis.)

Although my set came with plastic stones (nonetheless rather nice) and very nice wooden bowls, I'm pretty sure that my board is the same as the one illustrated, and mine has 2 deficiencies: the board is a bit wobbly (I fixed this with some felt under the feet) and the black painted lines tend to chip and peel. You should go for a better board.

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Patience, grasshopper.

The further description of your YMI board here indicates to me that we did indeed get different boards. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the SI board. I'll probably end up with one from them eventually, if I can keep after my tsumego

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Where've you been? Zatoichi could slice the board in half, put it back together again and rearrange the position so fast that no-one even knew he'd drawn his sword - and he was blind. ~ John Fairbairn

I had a friend over who plays go and we played a few dozen games on my board and he pointed out some small cracks in between a couple slats and when I looked today on the other side there is a crack between the seams of one of the bamboo slats. I'm not overly surprised as I live in an extremely dry climate, but a bit disappointed they're already appearing after only having the board for a few weeks. Fairly certain this just means that the bamboo was not dried properly during the manufacturing process. None of the cracks are very large or noticeable I'll have to wait see how bad they get.

Interesting. I neglected to mention that my board is slotted, which is perhaps an important fact that may explain the difference (or they switched suppliers, or the supplier changed materials, etc.). Sorry, I was too occupied yesterday to deal with pictures, but I'll still post them for posterity.