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Equipment Review: Dirt Cheap Goban

Dirt Cheap Goban

Description: “Are you looking for an affordable Go board? You’ve found it! The Dirt Cheap Go Board is a full size 19x19 Go board at an incredible price!” - GoGameGuru

Product Details

Title, Dirt Cheap Goban
Product, Goban (Go Board)
Material, MDF Laminate
Dimensions, 18.5 x 17.3 x 0.2 inches (47 x 43.9 x 0.5 cm)
Weight, 1.9 lbs / 0.9 kg
Vendor, GoGameGuru

Synopsis

What’s the best aspect about this product?

  • Light-weight and super affordable!
    What is the weakest aspect of this product?

  • Upon close inspection, the lines are not as clean as you’ll see on more expensive boards; but it still does the job well!
    Is it durable?

  • After handling it, I see no reason why it won’t hold up to normal usage. However, if somewhere were to try and karate chop this board, I’m pretty sure it’d break. xD
    Bottom Line

  1. A great go board for someone on a budget!
  2. And in the event you know how to play Chinese chess, there’s a board of that on the back as well!
  3. Definitely recommended over paper and/or plastic boards that exist out there!

My Review

Here’s the front of the board at a slanted angle. It’s a nice yellow color to give it a semi-shin-kaya feel. (I prefer the yellow color over brown since it shows more contrast when stones are placed on the board; but that’s just a personal preference.)

And here below, you can see that there’s a Chinese chess board on the back!

Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that the lines are not perfectly straight the way you’ll see on higher quality boards. However, I wouldn’t let this be a deterrent from purchasing the board if it’s being used for casual play.

Here are a couple of shots with the board in action with my size 36 glass stones. As you can see, the lines are not so obvious from a player’s perspective.

Bottom line: I highly recommend this board for people who are looking to purchase boards for their club or for tournaments. This board would also function well as a casual study/playing board. However, I would definitely not recommend this as a primary goban for anyone who is looking for that classic air and sound you get from true wooden boards. So remember, the key thing to remember is that this is a board that focuses on affordability and practicality.

Where Can I Buy It?

  • GoGameGuru - $12.99 (shipping and handling not included)

Last Updated on January 25th, 2014