High end backgammon boards

Lou

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Jul 12, 2002, 2:08:14 PM7/12/02

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Hi, I'm new to rec.games.backgammon. I played backgammon casually for
several years, and now I'm starting to get more seriously into it. While
shopping online for a board, I came across models made by Dal Negro, David
Naylor, Svilo, etc. While they looked very nice, I was intrigued to see
pictures of famous backgammon players testing boards (such as the image of
Paul Magriel trying the board on Svilo's Web site). What is it that these
people are looking for when they try higher end boards? Thanks.

Michael Crane

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Jul 13, 2002, 4:05:30 AM7/13/02

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Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame plays on a David Naylor board :-)

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Lou

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Jul 13, 2002, 9:01:36 AM7/13/02

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Maybe I wasn't clear. What are the key attributes of a high end backgammon
board? I at first thought it was just a matter of luxurious materials, but
then I saw stuff about people playing on the boards, as if some boards
"play" better than others. Can someone clear this up for me?

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Ric

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Jul 13, 2002, 10:10:43 AM7/13/02

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Yeah, but can he act?

Ric

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Martti

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Jul 13, 2002, 2:15:21 PM7/13/02

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"Ric" <nos...@nospam.net> wrote in message
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> Yeah, but can he act?
>
> Ric
>

But a guy dressed in pastel t-shirts, an off-white sport coat, and
playing on a David Naylor board would have some cache'. (At least if
it was the 80's)

Patti Beadles

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Jul 13, 2002, 2:21:12 PM7/13/02

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Why would one board play better than another? I can think of a
few possibilities:

- The way the checkers move on the felt
- The way the checkers fit on the points
- Whether or not checkers stay on the bar
- Whether the table is deep enough that dice aren't always
bouncing off the board

There are probably others-- that's just off the top of my head.

-Patti
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Patti Beadles |
pat...@gammon.com | All religions are equally
http://www.gammon.com/ | ludicrous, and should be ridiculed
or just yell, "Hey, Patti!" | as often as possible. C. Bond

Adam Stocks

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Jul 13, 2002, 5:07:46 PM7/13/02

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At the British Open, Bob Palmley, who has just retired from handmaking some
of the finest boards around, explained to me that his starting point to
building a bespoke board is his client's exact choice of checkers. From
this, he is able to build the board around the checkers, so that the 'fit'
is perfect. The player will want a set of checkers which have a suitable
weight/size ratio (personal preference), and the playing surface with the
right amount of 'bounce', together with the right friction characteristics
for sliding purposes. A top board maker will also have a wide range of
colour schemes to choose from, very important, but not usually available on
lower end boards. Bob's and other top boards hold their value well, too,
often selling for hundreds of dollars years later. Didn't help, me though -
I lost to Bob in round 1 :-)

Adam

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