Shin Kaya 2-Inch Reversible 19x19 / 13x13 Go Game Board (Goban)
Inspiring thick traditional go board. Enjoy a beautiful game of go with this Japanese standard size Go game board made out of shin kaya wood.
- Reversible Go Board (Goban): 19x19 playing field on one side for standard gameplay and 13x13 on the other for shorter games
- Shin Kaya Go Board: Shin Kaya is valued for the resonating sound it creates when the stone hits the wood, its soft touch, beautiful grain patterns, color, shine, and even fragrance; Our shin kaya comes from Tibetan spruce wood of the Yunnan province in southern China
- Japanese Standard Size: The board measures 18.15 x 17 x 1.97 inches (46.1 x 43.2 x 5 centimeters) with Japanese standard size grids of 21.5 x 23 millimeters
- The Way to Go: Included is Karl Baker's beginner classic booklet explaining the essential rules and strategies of Go.
Item YN-TS001-A
UPC 894887001188
Customer Reviews
I was very disappointed in the quality of this board. It seems like the wood grain is just a cheap laminate put over some kind of particle board. This may not be the case, I don't know for sure and I am not going to put a hole in it to find out, but it certainly looks and feels like it is the case, so it may as well be. For more than $80 I expected much, much better. You can see pixelation on the printing of the star points. It looks as though the wood grain is printed on it along with the grid. Just over all way below the quality I was expecting. The pictures here make it look much better than it is in reality.
I was almost immediately worried with this board as soon as I picked up the box it was in. It is very light for a 2" board. The board looks very little like the one in the picture and is made of a large grained pine of some kind and not the tight grained kaya looking wood in the photo. The board came with a few dents in it out of the box (the packaging was good and I do not believe these happened in transit) and feels soft to the touch so I expect it will be getting many many more dents in it. The grid appears to be a bit fuzzy, my guess is that this is a result of the soft wood or lazy manufacturing (or both), but the finish does appear to be pretty nice. The softness of the wood also means that stones do not make a very satisfying sound when played.
If you thought $83 for a 2" board seemed cheap that is because it is. This board will play, but I'm worried about its durability. If you are looking at this board in hopes of getting yourself a really nice board, I'd move on. If you want something that works and looks ok for cheap you could do worse.
The board is beautiful, it almost looks like it's a single piece board and not multiple pieces. I like the color of the finish, the grain is pleasant and earthy, and the grid just looks so clean and solid. Stones softly click onto the surface. My only complaint, and this is probably less the fault of YMI than it is of the shipping service, is that it arrived with a small sort of gouge in the bottom and one corner dented. Otherwise a good experience.