Life In 19x19

I have three go boards. Whenever I've seen a go board for sale, I have some inclination to use it.

But the fact is, there are two ways that I play go: online or at a go club - where there are already go boards.

As such, my go board usually collects dust. If I study, I either read go books or go software.

So when should I actually use any of my three go boards?

Kirby wrote:...
So when should I actually use any of my three go boards?

You should use one to analyze your games against MW so that you can beat him.

Kirby wrote:...
So when should I actually use any of my three go boards?

I use it in order to follow pro-games from a kifu in a book or journal. The occasions, where I actually play on my own goban at home are very rare, though...

When I study I like to use my board, both to replay pro games as well as to look at interesting positions I find in books. Also, there are those rare occasions when my daughter has absolutely nothing better to do, and she challenges me to a game. You'll have to wait a bit for that though. Lastly, EdLee suggested using it when playing slow games online. So far this hasn't worked for me, but maybe it could work for you.

I use my go equipment at home quite a bit. Almost the only time I play is with friends at home. That activity is much more fun than playing on line or even in a club setting. I can use my high class equipment, we can both enjoy it, and, even though we take the game seriously, it becomes more of a shared experience than a fight. It must be said that I'm not a competitive player any more, I no longer play in tournaments, for example. I also find that using a board and stones to study works better than just reading a book or looking at a computer screen. I don't know why but I see moves better when there are real stones on a real board. Even if you never play at home, I do believe that using a board and stones to study pro games (or your own or other amateurs') games is helpful in tournaments or club games because you become accustomed to the slight irregularity in the arrangement of the stones. This is useful because sometimes it is hard to see whether stones are connected when they are a little sloppily played.

If your Go club players are not careless with the equipment they play on, then bring your goban and stones with you (assuming you have a nice 2-sun table goban to bring in the first place).

I have 8 complete sets, I think (I can only recall 5 off the top of my head at the moment)

A couple at work, and another couple at home that I use with any regularity. The rest at home do collect dust for the most part (heck, I can't even remember where I left them).

Nothing I have is very fancy. Some hand-made and others hand-me-downs, etc. And I've given away 2 or 3 (maybe that's where those others are)

My two main boards are 2.25" Japanese shinkaya, and I use both of them regularly.
One stays home, sitting on the floor, on top of another very worn and old (80+ years?) 4.25" board; with Kuroki stones.
The other one is for non-home use: every Wednesday evening 6 - 10 pm at Coffee Bean,
and all other events (like at a university club, Friday afternoon 3 - 5 pm); with 10mm ING stones.

I think this is a sort of unusual situation because you have such a nice local club, right? I have 3 sets (two crappy, one extremely crappy), one of which lives in the coffee shop permanently*, one of which lives in the trunk of my car, and the last of which occasionally sees use at home when I want to play out games or think over difficult tsumego.

* (Seriously, if someone stole it they'd be doing me a favor.)

I'm stronger on a real board for some reason, so whenever I can play on mine, I do. It's also good for playing out pro games; it's just not the same clicking through the games online.

Thanks for all of the responses so far. There are two quotes that I was hoping to get elaboration on:

gowan wrote:...I also find that using a board and stones to study works better than just reading a book or looking at a computer screen.

Shaddy wrote:...It's also good for playing out pro games; it's just not the same clicking through the games online.

These quotes seem to suggest that studying can be better using a real go board than using computers or books.

Gowan gives some elaboration already:

gowan wrote: ... I see moves better when there are real stones on a real board.
...you become accustomed to the slight irregularity in the arrangement of the stones...

Are there any other reasons?

I haven't touched my boards more than twice in the last five years.

Kirby wrote: Are there any other reasons?

Maybe this was implicit in what Gowan said, but I like it because in an .sgf I have a tendency to click through/explore variations by making branches in the .sgf, but on the board I explore the variations mentally.

It takes some intention when you're putting stones on a real board. You have to see the move on the game record, find the spot on the board, and put the stone there. I don't know about you, but for me, that physical act makes me think about it at least a little, and it's more memorable.

These quotes seem to suggest that studying can be better using a real go board than using computers or books.

Some theorists of learning say that we react differently to virtual things and real things we can touch. Our level of attention would be lower with virtual things such as what we see in pictures or screens.
I don't know why, but it certainly feels this way for me. I bought a board early because I found it too annoying to have to study on a computer.