Life In 19x19

Hello,

I am new at Go and looking for equipment. Books, and a basic board + stones. My budget isn't very large: 100 USD. Can anyone recommend a combination of starter books + board? At the moment I play against the computer, but there's three of us in the office who're getting serious, so a board seems the next logical step.

Thanks for your time.. and cheers!

(nunb)

Welcome at go and have many nice games.

The main problem will be the transport costs. Where do you live and is there a Go shop nearby see http://senseis.xmp.net/?BuyingEquipment ... rthAmerica if there is one nearby.

try to persuade your fellow players to all equipment together.

Other options are to contact the AmericanGoAssociation or have a look at IgoLocal for players nearby.

I have bad experiences with buying a go game in a normal games shop (small stones are not good for playing go)

An idea I hear often is to ask for Go equipment at a local oriental (Chinese Japanese Korean) shop. (ask for Weiqi, Igo or Baduk or bring some picture with you)

Some ideas (all in US$):

try asian market if you live in a big city (i know for sure All korean market have them).
usually they have set of stones and a board for $30.
although it is not a professional equipment it is good enough for your start.

Magicwand wrote:try asian market if you live in a big city (i know for sure All korean market have them).
usually they have set of stones and a board for $30.
although it is not a professional equipment it is good enough for your start.

Agree with this. I picked up a decent set to keep around work for $30 and better than what you'll find on web sites here.

Hi, I've been looking, and would like some more specific advice..

I can source a cheap set from here Singaporean inexpensive set http://www.weiqi.org.sg/Products.aspx

(but the ymimports ebay "anti-bacterial" stones are cheaper http://cgi.ebay.com/Antibacterial-Double-Convex-Go-Game-Stones-Set-/310283345060)

My question is, can anyone vouch for the "feel" of this set? How do korean glass stones perform? I used to have a home-made goban, and a set of stones sold via Janice Kim back in about 2006, and I thought they were glass, a kind of roughened feel and heavy ceramic weight..

If the stones don't feel good, I'd rather get uber-cheap plastic.

any thoughts? thanks for all the suggestions so far!

-- nandan

Hi nandan,

nunb wrote:a set of stones sold via Janice Kim back in about 2006, and I thought they were glass

I also started with Korean glass stones (7~8 mm) from samarkand back in the early 2000's.
They work just fine as a starter set. There is a learning and growth curve to Go equipment,
much like many other things. Enjoy your adventure.

Hi Numb

I thought you where living in the USA but now i see you live in india.

I found the following contact details

- Indian Go association
https://intergofed.org/index.php/member ... india.html
(sorry only an contact email address)

-West Bengal Go Club. India
http://senseis.xmp.net/?WestBengalGoClubIndia

- there are 2 goplayers in Puna who are on IgoLocal

willemien wrote:...
- there are 2 goplayers in Puna who are on IgoLocal

Thanks willemien! One of the players is me, and I've contacted the other to see if we can set up a game. At the moment, the portable go set from yellow mountain imports seems the best choice for me.

EdLee wrote:Hi nandan,

nunb wrote:a set of stones sold via Janice Kim back in about 2006, and I thought they were glass

I also started with Korean glass stones (7~8 mm) from samarkand back in the early 2000's.
They work just fine as a starter set. There is a learning and growth curve to Go equipment,
much like many other things. Enjoy your adventure.

Aha, Samarkand was the name, I remember now. The YMImports stuff looks amazing, and I think I am going with a portable set from them. Thanks for the input!

Congrats on the new set, nunb! I think you'll enjoy it. It's well made and convenient. Also, YMI has one of the best reputations for customer service - they've never let me down.

Magicwand wrote:try asian market if you live in a big city (i know for sure All korean market have them).
usually they have set of stones and a board for $30.
although it is not a professional equipment it is good enough for your start.

Ya we have an Asian market back where I live, and my friend bought all 4 of his nice boards from them $15 a set, but unfortunately we can't go anymore because they do not keep boards in the front because they are there to sell to patriots of Korea who live in america, and they tend to want us Americans away from their store. It is the first time I have heard of patriots of south Korea despising Americans. I have a few american friends that live in south Korea, and they say the patriots love them there. LOL