Yellow Mountain Imports Medium Magnetic 19x19 Go Game Set Board, 11-Inch with Single Convex Plastic Go Stones - Folding, Portable & Travel-Size Set

I've always been fascinated by the game of go but I never had anyone to play it with. Two of my grandsons are now old enough for board games but I didn't want to spend a lot on something they might not like, so I chose this travel set. I really like that the plastic stones are magnetic (i checked and they don't fall off if the board gets jostled!) and come in their own sturdy little containers that fit inside the folded board. Wonderful set!

Nice little go set for learning. You probably couldn't do much better for the price, but there are a few signs of cheap. My surface had a few marks out of the box, the sticker isn't -perfectly- aligned. Some of the stones took a little work to get apart, some of the magnets need to pushed back into the slots (where they stayed great once in place), some have fiddly bits of plastic hanging off, but overall nice.Others have said it, but thank goodness for the nice firm snap of the board to hold the stones (the containers themselves don't snap shut, so if the board opened, it'd be chaos). Little slots inside to hold the containers into place so they don't bounce around. The magnets aren't strong enough to make it tough to move them, but stay in place really well when the board is jostled around.Only possible gripe for me is that I wish there was some padding to hold the board in place a little better on surfaces (but you could just throw some moleskin or something on it to the same effect). Also, a little booklet jammed in there with instructions on how to count, the rules, maybe handicap methods, that sort of thing, would bump up the value of this board for me. It's nothing too hard to learn, but I didn't realize I don't remember how to count a physical board until I finished my first game!If you need a nice set, good sound, real stones, any of that, spring for a good set. I just need one to have one, and one I won't feel bad about forgetting in someone elses car or a hotel, so this works great for me.EDIT DEC 2018: bumping this up to 5 stars. This set has bounced around the backset of my car, been crushed under books, put through some crap and still lived. I constantly find stones in my laundry and on the ground and still never run out. I still wish I would have bought a real set, and would still say a person should probably buy a real set as their first set, but I'd be lying if I said this set isn't perfect for what it is.

There are no instructions included, but the board itself is fine. The stones are rather small and hard to pick up when surrounded by other stones, so for tabletop play it's not optimal. For travel it would be great, as the stones stick magnetically to the board even upside-down, and are stored well within the folded board. Another minor flaw is that some of the stone caps are not perfectly inlaid with the magnet, so the stone appears lopsided on the board. This is a purely visual flaw and does not affect the magnetic sticking.If I knew I were going to play this game often, I would like to play on a larger, nicer board. For just testing the waters though, this one is good and reasonably priced.

Really liked the board so far. It folds in half and has these two tubs that hold the go pieces. We use the lids to collect enemy captures. The stones are magnetic, so they stick to the board really well. The problem lies in taking pieces off the board, my hands are pretty big so i mess up positions sometimes while removing stones that are captured. Besides that, since the board is magnetic it can sometimes track dirt or rocks that are magnetic and it kind of keeps itself dirty. Though I could probably do better on that part myself. Besides that, I really like it and fully recommend it to anyone who enjoys a really fun board game. Provided you have someone to play with. Another thing, if you're a beginner and want to do more speedy games because a full board game takes me and my friend like an hour, get a smaller board like a 9x9 or 12x12 board size. The full-size board which is standard 19x19 (this one) isn't as noob friendly, but it does provide the full scope of the game. Cheers and good games.

short summary: nice travel go board, nice look, has plastic stone bowls inside, the foldable board seal is ok.It is a good travel board, roughly a novel width size and fits in a backpack or a bag, and maybe even a jacket pocket if it has large pockets. The foldable board has a magnetic seal that seems adequate, but it's not too strong, so I would still be careful when carrying.There are two stone bowls inside with small inset grooves so they don't move around while travel.Of course, the stones are tiny because this is a tiny set, but they have a nice matte and rough surface making them look a bit like jungstone, so they their look doesn't scream 'plastic'. I like the look.The stones have magnets, but they are quite weak, so you can't really leave a game half-finished, fold it up and expect the stones to stay on, it's not a put-them-on-and-leave-them type of board. But the magnets can 100% hold the stones stationary through a car or train ride.pros: quite portable, nice looking, nothing moves during travelcons: the foldable board magnets are ok, stone magnets are weak, so be careful when carrying in hand