I bought one without knowing or searching for a review - Mine is completely black, really cheap material and indeed really loud - in addition, some magnets were not glued properly and got out of their sockets so I needed to glue them back...really noisy but good looking I must say and also I had no problem playing on it (played like 7 point games last time on it without dice blocked or jumping out, so the design is good, but the material lacks quality)
Good to see you posting reviews again! I got the Backgammon Learning Centre baffle box based on one of your previous reviews and have been very happy with it. However, I think there's gap in the market for a premium baffle box made with better quality materials. I'm sure it will happen. I recently purchased one of the new ZMF clocks featured in the Chicago Open, which provide a solution for doubling cube placement for those of us who prefer to use a baffle box.
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I enjoy your content. You mentioned that you wouldn't pay $5000 for a Geoffrey Parker but I'm guessing your board collection exceeds that value. Do you prefer having a selection of different boards or would you exchange them for a GP?
Thank you! Good point, I would rather have a selection of boards rather than a Jeffrey Parker, sometimes I want to hear the sound of wood and other times I want a quiet board. I also like using different colored checkers and sometimes if playing outdoors I want a board that is easy to clean or one that I don't mind getting dirty. Sometimes if I am on a losing streak I like to change boards.
Thinking about the Backgammon learning center baffle box. I wonder if it would be worth it to unscrew and remove all the rods and add heat shrink tubing to each.
If they were all like the ones on black's 5 point in the close up view, it'd probably be okay. I think a big part of the problem is the variation between the checkers: it almost looks like playing with four different colors. You can tell them apart if you think about it, but that's the thing. You want it to be instantly obvious and not something you have to think about.
I really liked your review. I would like to buy a baffle box and following your review I am hesitating between the Backgammon learning center and the katgammon R2. Which one is the strongest and who rolls the dice the best, Thank you in advance for your response and congratulations for your videos.
The one fron Backgammon Learning Center is definitely the strongest, but also a bit louder than the R2. On occasion you may get some dice jump out from the R2, this never happens with the Learning Center one unless someone throws the dice violently into it. Another thing to keep in mind is the base of the baffles, some bases fit better depending on the board, the Lesrning Center one has a flat base. I have since gotten 2 more baffles and will do an updated review soon.
@@vinr6867 The page for the product seems to say that they fixed that issue this year: “3rd Gen Edition Improvements (2023 Release)… The 3rd generation dice tower improves the folding mechanism so that the tower can’t buckle and maintains a robust shape. It also improves the friction of the ramps. Is it perfected? Yes, it's perfected!” Are you up for giving it a shot?
Now that you have had this board for awhile, what do you think? Specifically, how is it holding up, any further thoughts on the nickel plated checkers vs acrylic, any 'wish they had done this' items? I'm in the process of ordering a tournament board/set and torn between this one from Wycliff Bros and the Crisloid Tournament attache. What has me going back and forth are the checkers? Nickel plated Vs Acrylic. Any thoughts would be appreciated . Thanks
I ended up selling this board to a person in our club. The person who bought it ended up buying acrylic checkers from GammonVillage because the nickel plated checkers are cumbersome to handle and don't slide as well as the acrylic ones. Definitely get the acrylic checkers! The board is holding up well, just don't leave it inside your car on a hot day. I also sold the Crisloid Attache board, the cork tends to chip with little use. Also the color on the points tends to scratch very easily as well.
I was fortunate enough to be able to afford either, and after reading all reviews I ordered a Gammoner. The shorter reach, slightly thicker surface, lighter weight being made of reral leathher convinced me to go with the Gammoner. Both look great, and I am sure either would be fantastic. My Gammoner is due in a couple of weeks. You do have to wait about 8 monthhs.
I can't say anything about the Gammoner boards. Don't own one nor have I played on one. However I do own an FTH board. Mine is custom made. I requested the field and points color be as close to the Neptune color combination as possible. I have a set of Bakelite checkers that I sent in to have the board built around the checkers. My checkers are in a 3X5 layout. Just like the Crisloid boards have. Personally with the price that I spent on a custom board. I would recommend FTH over Gammoner. My FTH custom board has been posted on Facebook. You will know it when you see it. Red and Butterscotch Bakelite checkers on a Neptune color scheme. Its an amazing look. Has that 8 Ball UK pool look to it. Huge thumbs 👍 for FTH.
Hi, i am Fazil, builder of FTH Boards :-) i can make boards with size between 52 cm and 64 cm. ;-). I make my playing fields from high-quality merino wool felt. The more often you play with this playingfield , the better the playingfield becomes. If it fluffs, simply shave it off with a beard razor and vacuum it up. Greetings from Germany
You make fantasric boards Fazil! I emailed you about making a smaller board for 37mm bakelite checkers, John Pirner emailed me a price of $800, but I told him i didnt need cups. Never heard from him again.
I have a Hector Saxe board that the playing surface started pilling. I just figured there wasn’t anything I could do about unless I sent the board back to get changed. I took a mach3 razor 🪒 to it and carefully shaved the raised excess. Looks brand new now. Just thought I’d throw in that tip.
Great comparison and thanks for posting this! I've been curious on the comparisons between the two. I'd imagine both would be a joy to play on. Which do you find yourself reaching for more?
Lately I'm playing on this new Gammoner, it is lightweight and really like the color combo. I don't want to Choutte with the Gammoner as to reduce the wear and tear. For a chouette I tendt to go with the FTH.
I don’t like those big boards for long heads up sessions. After hours of reaching it gets old. Both are nicely built tho. The old leather Gammoner boards that say “built in West Germany” are the best playing boards ever imo.
I've only ever played on a full sized board once before (FTH), but I agree, the reach was more than I was expecting. One day I'll play on a Gammoner! 😀
@@blunderblots I have a couple friends in Germany who have the old Gammoner boards. While they aren’t much to look at. Wow do they play nice. One in particular is a “Queen” size with 50mm checkers which is super rare. The checkers don’t clog up the smaller play field like one might think. It’s just amazing. I’ll be in Chicago in May! Look forward to meeting everyone! Cheers
@@ericpetersen8155 I bet! That wool surface sure is something special (the older boards were wool too, right?). I really like the idea of a "smaller" board with big checkers! Likewise, I'm looking forward to meeting everyone as well! 😀
@@blunderblots the wool on the original Gammoner boards I’ve played on (all 3 in Germany) isn’t as fuzzy or felt like as the FTH with merano wool or Freistadtler (I own one and it’s very similar to FTH). However the 3 old boards I’ve played on have a zillion hours of use and that might account for the lack of fuzz-it might have wore off and is just smoother. In any case all these German boards are fantastic.
One thing I'd note: While there's a "chipping effect" on the trays and bar of the FM board (that you don't get with the more solid Taki board), there is a bit of a trade-off as well. The surface on the FM seems to hold up better than the surface of the Taki board. I love my Taki board, but he spray-paints the points on and they tend to "smudge" a bit over time. I think the Taki is definitely more solidly made, has better hingework, and has better latches, but the FM wins in the surface department. I had heard this about Taki boards prior to buying one and got a dark gray playing surface to mitigate the smudge effect. This has helped considerably; if I had light playing field, it would be very noticeable.
hello I am working on a sound library (dice, cups, etc) for XG GNUBG and so I plan to share this library with the community once it's finished. and I was wondering if I could use some parts of the audio from your videos to make the library richer Beforehand thank you very much
It actually varies on the place/setting I'm playing in. My favorite is the 23" Zaza but don't take that everywhere, I only take if I know the venue is carpeted and will only be playing heads up. If it's a chouette type of setting then I like the FTH boards, they are also on the lighter side so I take the FTH boards to ABT tournaments. If it's a causal setting, party type atmosphere I'll take the Art Gammon board since I don't mind it getting roughed up. Second favorite non traveling board would be the FM Mete board.
