S6.3 - The History of Ancient Go Boards & Giving Back to the Go Community | Go / Baduk / Weiqi

This episode is from All Things Go, a podcast about the board game Go, also known as Baduk in Korea and Weiqi in China.

Episode Summary

In this episode, we explore what historic Go boards can tell us about the development of the game across East Asia. The conversation looks at unusual board designs, including historic star and flower points and the mysterious 8th-century Sandalwood Goban, while also discussing the research process behind uncovering these stories and the motivation to contribute that work back to the Go community.

Resources

• The Origins of the Sandalwood Goban — a deep dive into one of the oldest surviving wooden Go boards, its craftsmanship, and the debate over its origins.
• Some Historic Star Point Designs — examples of Korean flower points, Chinese designs, Sunjang Go boards, and other historical variations.
• Classical Board Games Review — the broader collection of historical board-game research.
• Shōsōin Treasure House – Sandalwood Goban — the official Japanese collection page for the historic board referenced in the research.

Full transcript, related episodes, and additional resources:

https://allthingsgogame.com

Join the All Things Go Discord community:

https://discord.gg/uf3jgEAA4J

Theme music by UNIVERSFIELD & background music by PodcastAC

Show your support here

Email: AllThingsGoGame@gmail.com

Episode Sponsors

BadukPop - Learn the rules of the ancient Chinese board game Go - also known as Baduk (바둑) or Weiqi (圍棋) - with a fun, interactive tutorial. Sharpen your Go skills with daily random Go problems (Tsumego) at your choice of difficulty level. Play games online or with a variety of AI opponents, each with its own unique playing style and strength.

SmartGo One - Your complete app for the game of Go. Learn to play, practice against the computer, study master games, solve problems, and read Go books. Free to download.