Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this board more for the colors of the pips than anything else. Burgandy, black... how cool is that, right? Well, the burgandy of the pips is darker than the burgandy of the outer shell, markers on the board, and the cups! The pips are also a little light in weight, I almost thought they were made of wood with some kind of coating on them??? Or maybe they are a hollow, molded plastic? I mean, they are heavier than say... checkers, but I've played with boards where the pips have a little more weight to them. The black ones are also more on the gray side than anything, and it looks like they were packaged soon after painting because a few were a little stuck together!! But, they pulled apart easily without damaging the paint or altering the coating... Having said that, this was a decent set for the price... I was more concerned with the quality of the board... meaning, if the felt was intact and all the triangles sewn down properly... and, if the latches closed like they were supposed to..., and that part is great. However, if you are looking for an "expensive" type, looking board, this one is not it... remember, you get what you pay for! So, the price is decent for what it is, especially when you consider the size.
I am a middle 40's woman who grew up playing backgammon. In fact, all my friends did as well. It amazed me to find that my children didn't know how to play. As soon as we got this board home, we opened it and started playing. The kids caught on after one or two games. Then game play becomes all about strategy. I even taught them acey-deucy, which is an old favorite of mine. We play a lot of board games with each other and this is a great addtition to that tradition.
Educationally, this board teaches you how to think. You have to think about where you are going, what you want to accomplish, and how you are going to get there without someone bumping you off. Anyone who can count can play, but unlike traditional games in which you roll the dice and move one piece what you roll, you can choose to move one piece one face value of one of the dice, and another piece the other face value of the second dice. Also, if any of the spaces are blocked, you cannot move that piece... both individual values need to be a free space in order to move a pip there or past it if you intend to use both face values of the dice to move one piece. So, you really have to look at where your pips are and how you can move them around and stay covered up. It's all in the strategy. Adding a game element like acey-deucy increases the difficulty and drama of the game. My daughter, miss smarty-pants who wins EVERY game we play, even gave up one game! To me, strategy thinking prepares children for critical thinking and how to navigate situations that come up in life. So this, I feel, is good educational value.
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A great starter set with executive flair!Features a 15" board with chips, dice, cups, and a doubling cube.A terrific set for an unbeatable price.
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