The Marble Go Board

Eric Lavigne, AGA 8 kyu
June 22, 2004

Sifting through the bowl. Feeling the cool glass enveloping my hand. Lightly grasping a stone between two fingers. Listening to the click of glass on wood as the stone finds its place. I appreciate the feeling of placing stones on a real board, yet this is not the traditional go board that many of you are imagining. It is a marble board.

Designed much like a chinese checkers board, the marble go board has 361 indentations to hold the marbles in place. While a traditional table board is disturbed by a dropped stone or a careless elbow, the marbles on this board stay in place as the board is tilted at a 45 degree angle. Such incredible stability is ideal for playing outdoors or in a car. As an added bonus, 37 blue marbles split the board into four 9x9 playing fields, ideal for simultaneous teaching games with new players.

With a new twist on traditional aesthetic qualities, combined with the practicality that I have come to expect from modern equipment, the marble go board is unmatched. Created with my own hands when I first learned to play, it is a symbol of my love and dedication for this game.