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boards
Posted By: phil simborg In Response To: boards (Igor)
Date: Thursday, 13 February 2014, at 5:57 p.m.
In answer to your question of which board I prefer:
Every board I own, I love, and they are all great to play on. I love the clicking sound of the dice when they hit the side of a wooden board, such as a Taki board or FM Board. I love the quality of the board and the leather in my Gammoner Board and Brazilian and Zavoral board. The Gammoner Board I have is the largest size, and some don't like the reaching, and I didn't like it at first, but now I love lifting those heavy 2" checkers and the feel of the game and the ease of seeing everything so clearly.
Of the wooden boards, as much as I love Taki as a person, the quality of his boards and the maintenance required if you travel and use it a lot make it far inferior to the FM Board, which is more solid, better joints, and a playing surface you can clean. And the FM board is less expensive. But the beauty of a Taki board and the skill he puts into it are terrific, if you are careful when traveling to make sure it doesn't get banged around at all.
I have had several Zavoral boards, and for the money, you can't beat the quality if you like a leather board. If money is not a major issue, the Gammoner boards from Germany are amazing...such skill goes into every detail and playing on it is pure pleasure.
My handmade, custom all-leather board that Tim Schroeder made for me is easily the most beautiful board, on the outside, I have ever owned and possibly ever seen, and the custom one a few friends of mine and I had made for Bill Bartholomay's birthday, that depicted the Atlanta Braves logo on the outside and carried the theme on to the playing surface, is a great work of art. Bill won't take the board out of his house and displays it like a trophy. Some people hate rolling on a leather surface because the dice spin, but I think that adds some suspense and excitement to the game, and with a baffle box that's not a problem.
That raises another point. I love the baffle box, so I prefer boards that have enough width on the ends to support the baffle box without having the box stick over on to the playing surface--Taki boards and FM boards are great in this respect.
Now, if you want a nice board and not spend over $500 for it, for the money, I really think the Wycliffe boards sold on GammonVillage are excellent. There's a lot to be said for the Chrisloid board when you are considering the price.
As for my Brazilian board, I have a real fondness for that simply because I won it in a chouette (in Detroit) and it has brought me much luck. It is quite similar to a Zavoral board, but I'll take the Zavoral board every time. The board Bob made for Scott Casty with a black, aligator-leather exterior, and classic green and black and red interior colors is one of the most beautiful boards to play on I've ever seen, and I have recommended a duplicate of that board to many people.
It all boils down to personal preference.
[Now, so no one accuses me of hiding personal interests, I do want to say that I am very good friends with both Bob Z and Taki; that Wycliffe paid me to produce a set of rules to go in all their boards; and that both FM Boards and Gammoner Boards have paid me to help promote their boards in the U.S. I am also most appreciative to Chrisloid for supporting the USBGF and helping supply boards for sale and promotional purposes there. Okay? So disclosure should, I hope, stop some of my obvious and traditional critics and enemies from getting on my ass about my expressing my honest opinions.]
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