Brybelly Go Set All Natural Bamboo Wood Go Board | Bowls and 361 Bakelite Stones | 2-Player - Classic Chinese Strategy Board Game | Measures 19 x 19in Top Side or 13 x 13in Under Side Beginner's Board

I've been wanting a Go set for many years but could never decide on which one to start with. This set is great! Every bit of the set is beautiful. The board is reversible with both 19x19 and the 13x13 grid. Even though it is made from bamboo, there is some weight to it. The bamboo bowls are equally beautiful and look great sitting next to the board. It's nice, for the price, that you get these bowls to store your stones instead of some genetic plastic bowls. The stones, while not double concave, are still nice and make a pleasing "clack" sound when placed upon the board. All in all, I was extremely happy with this purchase and would consider it again for a gift.

EDITED with 5 stars to reflect E-Brands' having contacted me and sent new bowls, which are perfect. Original review below: Product is good, except: 1. There was a strange "oily" substance, ONLY on the black pieces, and ONLY on their back (i.e., flat) sides. I had to thoroughly wash the whole lot before using them. 2. The bowls are not great. The sizes of BOTH the bowls and the lids are uneven, so that one among the two lids, significantly larger than the other, only actually fits into one of the two bowls, whereas the smaller among the lids is so much smaller that it slides around loosely even over the second bowl (which, recall, is smaller than the first). Further, the shades of wood are slightly different, and worse yet, in such a way that the colors match the _opposite_ way that the sizes do (so that the lighter lid only fits into the darker bowl). Other than these issues, the set is nice. I received the full number of stones, and got a 13x13 board on the back.

I read about this game while reading a mystery novel. I had never heard about "GO" as a game. I decided to check into it. I bought the board so that I would have one available when a friend was coming to town so that we could learn the game together. Low and behold he already knew how to play. He basically beat the socks off me. Now, I have a board and am looking for challengers. The board is heavy construction and perfectly grooved. It is the standard size board, not the smaller 9' beginners board. The two cups that hold your tiles are perfect, they are well designed and made, they are a solid heavy wood and match the board perfectly. This is a great gift for yourself or for someone you know that loves the game of Chess and wants to learn another very competitive mind/analytical game.

This is a decent enough GO set and about as close as you can get to a professional set for the price. The stones are bakelite and feel satisfyingly good when played even though just one side is convex - but I think that gives them a little more stability. They are not perfect and I can see a seam mark from the mold on most of them but it's pretty minor. The polished bamboo bowls are strikingly beautiful and are art objects in themselves. They show a beautiful grain. The board is plain (as it should be) but very strong and well made and the lines are embossed. It has the full-sized professional 19x19 inch grid on one one side and a 13x13 inch beginner's (or quick play) grid on the other and this is a real bonus. Overall, this is a very fine board with beautiful bowls and any GO player would be very happy to use them. It's one of the better sets available.

Great quality, thick and heavy and the pieces are nice too. Even the baskets are nice. The only issue is it’s hard to transport but sitting at home it makes a great game and nice decor.

Product is beautiful. It's a major shame but one of the lids has a piece of it chipped off otherwise it would be excellent

Great price, good quality, very thick and heavy, I like it!

I ordered this Go set and will review it. Note that I own other Go sets, and recently reviewed the YMI bamboo 2 inch board, so I will use that for some comparison. This set is not by Yellow Mountain Imports, but instead from a company I have not heard of before. BryBelly. The importer is in Indianapolis, Indiana, per the sticker on the box. The bamboo board weighs about 3 pounds. It looks nice and does not have any dings, scratches or blemishes. The lines are etched into the board and then painted, this is different than the YMI bamboo board where the lines are painted only. I prefer etching then painting for long term wear, and the lines give the stones a slight ability to stay in place in the etches. Even the star points are etched. There is a 13x13 etched grid on the opposite side. I placed the board on a flat granite countertop and the board rests perfectly, no wobble, no warpage. The set came packaged as seen in the photos, and had an outer Amazon shipping box that I did not photograph. It was well packaged. The stones are nice, they are Bakelite, which seems different slightly than my melamine (plastic) stone sets. Bakelite is a tad less shiny and has a touch better consistency in size. The size and thickness of the stones seems identical to my YMI melamine stones. I prefer semi-convex for stability during club play and for teaching (flip stones to play off a base pattern). The Seigen style bowls are well fashioned, but there is no carrying bag for the bowls. I placed this board next to my 2” YMI bamboo board, and they look similar. I think the YMI board is a touch lighter in color, but that may change over time. The finish is smoother on the YMI board, but the size of the board seems identical. The Yellow Mountain Imports board is with a more refined look, less varnish on the finish, just more elegant. That said, it's 15 pounds (see my review of that board if you are considering it). This an awesome set to bring to Go club, which is where I intend to use it. If a person does not have a Go carrying bag for the stones (I do), then they may want to purchase a bag separately. I will update if the board de-laminates, fails, cracks, etc Happy for the purchase. Addendum: Nov 7: I have owned the board for approx 12 days and it’s warping and cracking. There are distinct cracks along the bamboo lines, and the board now wobbles slightly on fiat surface. I'll add a photo. I’m thinking the bamboo was too green when this board was made. I’m going to watch it for another week, then must fish or cut bait on return. Very sad. Note: my YMI bamboo board is not cracking at all in owning it for three months. Hmm. My shin kaya boards have no issues either (but spruce is a soft wood, though). Addendum: November 11. Fail. Cracks are wide now, there are at least four, maybe more. The crack in the photo is worsening, which is distracting to play on as it’s in the middle of the squares. I did not photograph the longest crack, which is at least 13 squares long and thin. I feel like one of the etched lines is getting wider now, too, but I can't be certain that its cracking there. Absolutely avoid this product. Note: my YMI 2 inch bamboo board is stored in precisely the same room, right next to this one, not a single problem at all. This baby is going back to Amazon, and I’m glad I saved the box. I mentioned this experience to a gentleman in my Go Club, he bought this same set 14 months ago,, exactly the same cracking experience, says he couldn’t return it so it’s in his basement game room now. I would not suggest anyone buy this Brybelly set.

Very quick delivery. This is a very sturdy go board. The bakelite pieces and the bamboo bowls are very handsome and feel great when played with.

El tablero está muy bien hecho y las fichas también. Solamente hay 2 cosas que me parecieron malas: 1 El producto viene en una caja de cartón muy básica y por el precio hubiera esperado una caja que se viera bien para tenerlo en cualquier lugar guardado. 2 Los tazones están muy bien hechos, únicamente las tapas no tienen forma cóncava, así que no puedes poner demasiadas fichas (ganadas del oponente) para llevar un control al final de las partidas. Fuera de eso, el producto muy bien hecho, va a ser un juego que estoy seguro durará muchos años.

nice set for the price. like the wood

All are good

The item arrived a lot early then expected which was nice. The board is really nice and the fact that you can flip over the board for a 13-13 board to teach a beginer how to play is nice. I was a little disapointed that the stones were plastic and not real stones but I guess it's expecting too much at that price to have real stones with the board.