geek
The Hotness
Games|People|Company
Dominion - Stash Promo Card
Runewars
Dominion: Alchemy
Thunderstone
Dominion
Dungeon Lords
Alexander the Great
Agricola
Twilight Struggle
Murder at the Four Deuces
Stronghold
The Republic of Rome
Race for the Galaxy
Small World
Arkham Horror
Founding Fathers
Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Vapor's Gambit
Battlestar Galactica
Chaos in the Old World
Le Havre
Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game
Mystery Express
Puerto Rico
Endeavor
Power Grid
Vasco da Gama
Warhammer: Invasion
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Space Hulk (3rd Edition)
Pandemic
Hansa Teutonica
Carson City
Campaign Manager 2008
War of the Ring
Livingstone
Cosmic Encounter
Stone Age
Le Havre: Le Grand Hameau
Tobago
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Incursion Expansion
Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition
Summoner Wars
War of the Ring Collector's Edition
Macao
Carcassonne
Dominion: Prosperity
Neuland
Steam
Rules | Subscriptions | Bookmarks | Search | Account | Moderators
Recommend
1
9 Posts
New Thread | Printer Friendly | Subscribe  sub options | Bookmark
Your Tags: Add tags
Popular Tags: [View All]
Sean Roberts
United States
Lead
South Dakota
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron08
mbmbmbmbmb
I'm turning 40 this week and I've asked my wife for a nice backgammon set. I'm curious about what types of sets other players prefer? Wood? Leather? What sizes? What types of stones?

I love stone checkers and a beautiful wood boards, yet I'm also intrigued by the swanky leather/suede boards that dominate the covers of my 1970's era backgammon books.

Thoughts?
Jerad M
United States
Somerville
Massachusetts
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron09
mbmbmb
I think this depends a lot on what you want to do with the board.

If you plan on playing in tournaments or taking the board somewhere to play competitively, you'll probably want a pretty big board (~28 inches wide) and you'll want a cork surface, mainly because it quiets down the dice and allows for easy checker sliding.

If you plan on playing mainly at home with friends, I'd personally go for a medium sized board (less than 28 inches, for sure) and just get whatever surface appeals to you more. Leather is quiet, looks great, and those boards typically come with nice, heavy checkers. On the other hand, the leather can wear weirdly and the stitching on the points can come loose. Wood has it's issues as well: it's loud and the dice can wear it down eventually, giving it dings and dents.
David B
United States

Oregon
flag msg tools
While you are waiting to get your new backgammon set, you can play a fun game of backgammon by downloading one of these great backgammon games:

http://bestbackgammon.com

or play on-line with a friend.
Ray Ager
United Kingdom

flag msg tools
Hi,

I agree the type of board depends on how you want to play. I would just add that, in contrast to the quiet boards of the "Western Competition" circuit, the wooden boards used in the Middle East make a great noise!

One feature is that players usually play fast and furiously and SLAM the pieces on the board.

The choice is yours :-)

Have fun.

Rager
Sean Roberts
United States
Lead
South Dakota
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron08
mbmbmbmbmb
Rager wrote:
I would just add that, in contrast to the quiet boards of the "Western Competition" circuit, the wooden boards used in the Middle East make a great noise!

One feature is that players usually play fast and furiously and SLAM the pieces on the board.



Its a tough call... the wood boards are really beautiful. Are the checkers in these middle eastern typically stone or wood? A pet peeve of mine is wooden checkers that slide all over the board at the slightest jostle.
Chris Schenck
United States
Dayton
Ohio
flag msg tools
Avatar
patron070809
mbmbmbmbmb
Go for one of these:

Jeff Binning
United States
Rollinsville
Colorado
flag msg tools
050607080910
mbmbmbmbmb
I personally like a medium to large size leather board.

The single most important thing for me is the size of the pieces in relation to the size of the points. I've seen many boards that have pieces too small for the points, so they're constantly being pushed out of alignment. Notice the picture of the large board in the post prior to mine. Those pieces fit fully into each section as they rest on their points. If the pieces don't do that, it will be fiddly and annoying.
Ray Ager
United Kingdom

flag msg tools
Quote:
A pet peeve of mine is wooden checkers that slide all over the board at the slightest jostle.


It's true that some boards are like this. Always best to see and try any board if you can.

Regards,

Rager
Mike
United States
Maple Valley
Washington
flag msg tools
Avatar
mbmbmbmbmb
Oh my word! Nobody has wished you a happy birthday yet?! Maybe it's just because I turn 40 this year too, but seriously: belated Happy Birthday!

---

I have a large briefcase with cloth backing and fake-leather points and some clacky checkers. This was a thrift store find. But I still like it a lot.

As noted above, appropriate sized checkers is important. And while cork is probably good, one problem with a harder wood playing surface (which I've played on too) is that often the dice come out and slide rather than roll. I like my dice to have a nice randomizing bounce around before they finally settle.
Front Page | Welcome | Contact | Privacy Policy | DMCA | Advertise | Support BGG | Feeds RSS
BoardGameGeek and the BoardGameGeek logo are trademarks of BoardGameGeek, LLC.