Shobu | Board Game | Ages 8+ | 2 Players | 15 to 30 Minutes Playing Time

The very first Shobu games came to us from the dimly remembered world of, er, 2019 and it’s a gem of a game. It looks as though it should be ancient. It’s not. If you are expecting Go-like lacquer work and uniform playing pieces then you’re in for a shock. Apart from the use of brown wood stain, the four playing boards come straight from the CNC router - the machining marks still visible in the shallow grooves - and are not oiled or varnished. The playing stones vary in size and in the case of the white ones, also in colour. The short cotton rope is untreated. Yes it’s a very Arts and Crafts, honesty-in-materials approach which may or may not float your ethically-sourced coracle.Injection moulded plastic and laminated card have their advantages too of course, especially when someone knocks over their preferred beverage…Most Go sets force you to buy the board with the full 19 x 19 grid resulting in more of a trial of human patience and bladder than intellect (why is it called “go” when it drags on for hours?). The 9 x 9 Go board is a far better match to the name. (Yes I know it’s considered the “beginners” board, but I prefer to call it the “more of the same isn’t as fascinating as you seem to think” board).Likewise Shobu does not outstay its welcome. Games typically last around 30 minutes; shorter if you focus on one board rather than balance your efforts across all four (btw you’ll probably be the one who loses but hey, it’s over!). The two-step player move is easy to learn and as intriguing as you want it to be. Replacement polished pebbles 2-3cm in size are easy to source if you want to adjust colours.The game is expensive due to lower volumes and transportation costs (it’s a heavy box of pebbles made in China) and when compared to mobile games, yes, the price is high.But if you feel in need of a digital detox, have fond memories of board games and neither time nor patience for long-winded rules and gameplay, then Shobu is worth considering / further research.Recommended.

Is a Christmas gift. Reviews suggest it's a fun game to play.

The game itself is enjoyable, but expensive for the actual materials. Higher quality board would be nice.

I've only played a few times but I love how so much complexity grows from such a simple game. I felt like I was playing a version of 4D chess that I recall from the original Star Trek. I don't know how it will develop over time but it feels like a timeless game that could be played with infinite variation. Maybe there a a few simple tricks that guarantee success. I look forward to finding out.

I own a lot of abstract board games & Shobu is one of the best I have played. It is also very different, (in a good way), to any of my other abstract games.What really sets this game apart is the way that each turn involves two moves, one "passive" on one of your two home boards & then one "aggressive" move on either of the two opposite colour boards. Only the aggressive move can shunt stones, which is what makes things very interesting.You need to try & think about offence & defence at the same time. Particular attention needs to be paid to not getting the pieces on your home board blocked, meaning that very few passive moves are available to you & thus greatly reducing your scope for aggressive moves.However, what really lets this game down, particularly given its price, are the "polished river stones" that are the playing pieces. I didn't expect the stones to be perfect, or exactly the same size, but the ones in my set come in vastly different sizes which I find distracting in game play. A lot of the stones actually look like they have been swept up off my driveway! The black stones are particularly bad & I think a couple of mine were made from charcoal, as they leave a trail of dust behind that leaves black marks on the boards, which I have had to remove with a pencil eraser. I did actually wash both the white & black stones before first use & I also replaced their storage bags, after I saw how much stone dust was in the original bags.Luckily for me I own a 9x9 Go set & a set of glass stones for a full sized Go board. Therefore, I have quite a few spare Go stones, which I have used to replace the original "polished river stones". I have pictured these in my last photo & I think that they look much better. They are also much nicer to play with, being much more tactile.

This is a really lovely game - a lot to keep an eye on so can take a while to get used to but really fun and beautifully designed. Unfortunately some of our boards weren't what we were expecting but we contacted the sellers who were incredibly helpful in sorting this issue for us. Really, really impressed with such helpful and friendly customer service.

Simple rules, easy to learn, then tons of complexity! Quality boards and stones. Definitely recommend!

One of the deepest abstract two player games out there