Choosing a Backgammon Set: Wood, Size and Feel

A backgammon set is an unusual object to buy. It is furniture, in a small way, because it will sit on a shelf or a side table and be looked at. It is a tool, because you will handle it every time you play. And it is a companion, because a good board tends to stay in a household for a very long time. Choosing one well is less about finding the best board than about finding the right one for the way you play.

This guide walks through the Manopoulos backgammon range as El Laguito Cigars carries it, in the order that the decisions usually fall: where you will play, what you want to look at, and how you want it to feel.

Start with where you will play

Size is the first question, and it is really a question about place. A board that lives on the dining table can be generous. A board that goes to the cottage, on the boat or into a weekend bag has to earn its space.

The Manopoulos replica boards, in Walnut, Wenge and Oak-Walnut, come in four sizes:

• 48 × 26 cm, the full home board, with room for large hands and a comfortable game.
• 38 × 20 cm, a little more compact, still a proper table board.
• 30 × 17 cm, a size that fits a bag without much fuss.
• 20 × 12 cm, the smallest, for travel and the smallest of bags.

The Mahogany replica is offered in the 48 × 26 cm size. On the two larger sizes, the set includes a pair of dice cups; the two smaller sizes come without them. That matters more than it sounds. Shaking the dice in a cup and rolling them onto the board is part of the rhythm of the game, and many players miss it when it is gone.

If you already know the board will travel more than it stays home, look at the suede roll-up set. It is a full backgammon field printed on soft suede that rolls around its own tube. Open, it measures 30 × 46 cm; rolled, it is 8 cm across. The checkers and dice live inside the roll, and the whole set ties closed for the bag or the boat. It comes in nine field colours, each with contrasting points.

Choose the wood you want to look at

Once the size is settled, the question becomes one of taste. Each replica board pairs a case in replica veneer with a playing field in a matching palette, and each has its own mood.

• Walnut: walnut with black and oak points. Warm, brown and quietly traditional, the board most people picture when they think of a Greek tavli set.
• Wenge: wenge with walnut and oak points. Dark, close to black, with a graphic, modern look.
• Oak-Walnut: oak with black and walnut points. The brightest of the four, open and easy to read.
• Mahogany: mahogany with black and oak points. A deep, reddish warmth suited to a study or a library.

Think about the room as much as the board. A dark board on a dark wooden table can disappear; a pale one on a white kitchen counter can look washed out. Contrast between board and surface helps the pattern stand out, and it also helps in low evening light, when the points need to be read at a glance.

Remember too that these are wood. Manopoulos is clear that natural wood cannot be free of imperfections: grain runs unevenly and shades vary from board to board. The Walnut board you receive will be recognisably the model you chose, but it will not be a clone of the photograph. That is part of its character.

Feel: checkers, dice and the case

The third decision is tactile, and it is the one people most often overlook. You touch the checkers on every move. Their weight, their surface and the sound they make as they slide and stack are a large part of what makes a board pleasant to play.

The replica boards come with 30 wooden checkers, which have a soft, dry sound and a natural feel in the hand. The limited editions and the suede roll-up set use mother-of-pearl acrylic checkers, which catch the light and have a smoother, slightly cooler touch. Neither is better. They are simply different, and players tend to have a strong preference once they have tried both.

Then there is the case. The replica boards fold closed on brass-finish hinges and a clasp, so the pieces travel inside the board. The playing field is printed and sealed, which gives a smooth, durable surface that stands up to years of rolling dice. The case is veneered, cut and finished by hand in the Manopoulos workshop in Thebes. When you open and close it, you should hear a clean meeting of the two halves.

When a board is more than a game

Some buyers are not looking for an everyday board at all. They want a piece that deserves a place in the room when nobody is playing. For them, the Manopoulos limited editions are the natural choice. Both are built on a 48 × 30 cm case with side racks for the checkers, and both include 30 mother-of-pearl acrylic checkers, two dice and two dice cups.

The natural burl edition brings together wenge, mahogany and walnut with pearl elements. The walnut tree trunk edition uses the natural edge of a walnut trunk as its face, with a thermo-treated oak playing field; no two are the same. Both are inlaid veneer work, produced in small numbers. They have their own story later in this journal.

A short checklist

• Where will it live? Home table, go large. Bag or boat, go small or go suede.
• Do you want dice cups? Choose 48 × 26 cm or 38 × 20 cm.
• Which wood suits the room? Walnut, Wenge, Oak-Walnut or Mahogany.
• Wood or pearl-look checkers? Replica boards for wood; limited editions and suede for mother-of-pearl acrylic.
• Is it a gift? A board is one of the few presents that gets used for decades.

From Thebes to your table

El Laguito Cigars carries the Manopoulos backgammon range, from the replica boards in all their sizes to the suede roll-up set and the limited editions, and ships from Mississauga with delivery anywhere in Canada. Every piece leaves the Manopoulos workshop in its original packaging and carries the Manopoulos mark.

Whichever board you choose, the test is simple. Pick the one you will want to open on an ordinary evening, not just the one that looks good closed. A backgammon set earns its keep in use, one game at a time.