869 Backgammon / ‘Erhan Board’ *UNBOXING*

[@mobiusklein9140]

These boards are VERY popular in the UK, the price of these beauties is compelling.

[@jjmckenna]

I have heard that Erhan boards are popular in the UK, and I find that interesting. The price is favorable, especially with the customization options. Cheers!

[@craigguthrie3400]

I remember when I got my box from Erhan. I took pictures and let it sit around for a full day to let it tease me. Many times I said, There’s my dream in that box! 😁

[@jjmckenna]

Craig, you must appreciate a good build-up of anticipation. I had this box sitting around for a few days, waiting for one of my kids to help me with the video. Worth the wait! Cheers.

[@craigguthrie3400]

I still have my entire FB Messenger thread with Erhan and his wife from Feb 2016 to March 2018. Yes, I took my time and he was so patient with me. It was so important for him that I would be happy with my dream board. He was so kind and we kinda got to know one another over all that time. There was a lot of fun collaboration back and forth. I shared with him about my mother being in Houston during Hurricane Harvey in 2018. I sent him pictures and he was very much interested. I wished him a Happy Birthday on his birthday; he thanked me and I never heard from him again. So sad. I loved him. Ozlem speaks English quite well; at the time, she taught English in school. Wonderful family.

[@petermittak7960]

Another great board and great video! I also considered earlier to buy an Erhan board, but I finally got a Wycliffe Brothers set - maybe another time I will go for an Erhan board, I especially like the customization possibility. Anyway, your board is nice and really extraordinary, this antique and wood-like field is very unique. Great combination! Thank you for the video. I particularly enjoy that you always say a lot of interesting background information on the board and on the maker. I hope that you will continue your series! 👍

[@jjmckenna]

Péter: Thank you very much for the kind words, and the ongoing support! I really like getting to know these boutique board makers and sharing information about them with people who may be interested in acquiring a certain board. Glad you like your Wycliffe board, they’re very nice. I DO have more boards in process, so more videos to follow! 🎥💨✨🎲🎲👌🏼

[@StephenCinAZ]

I heard that rhythmic clacking sound at around 5:10 and thought to myself, "Oh, he must have a cat that loudly scratches around the litterbox just like mine does." Sure enough, there's the furry noisemaker walking past at 6:12. XD

[@jjmckenna]

Stephen, You have a very good ear! That would be Jasmine, my older of two cats. She was having at her scratching pad at the 5:10 mark, and heading out the back door shortly thereafter. She’s a sweetie, and thanks to your comment, she now thinks she’s famous! 🎈 She meows at the 10:02 mark, too!

[@DrFly-ek4sx]

This board has a very unique playing area! I really like the 'wood effect' on the points, that is something I really have not seen before.

[@jjmckenna]

It was a design that I saw among some other Erhan boards, slightly different colors, but I love the points! I decided to go with a dark blue exterior and Özlem, Erhan’s widow, helped me with the blue points. A really cool company and they make a nice board!

[@XerxesGammon200]

Nice t-shirt dude ✌

[@jjmckenna]

Xerxes - Always glad when people appreciate my collection of t-shirts! They represent a pretty important part of me. Cheers!

[@paperweight57]

Yet another wonderful review!

[@jjmckenna]

Thanks so much! Appreciate the support.

[@barbramckenna4926]

Great video and music!

[@jjmckenna]

Thanks, mom!

[@backgammonbrat9584]

The board doesn’t lie flat on the table?

[@jjmckenna]

There was a noticeable issue upon opening the board, but leaving the board open overnight solved the problem. I don’t believe it is a common occurrence. Good eye, and thanks for the question!

[@chriswalker810]

@@jjmckenna I noticed that as well. Seems like the Leatherette might have needed to be broken in to relax. I am digging what FMGAMMON is doing with surface change outs. I know that this is an 869 Backgammon set review but FM seems to not rest on their laurels. There new Talat Premium board is nice but €1,200 makes it way out of my budget. Loving the concept they have came up with.

[@jjmckenna]

@@chriswalker810 Keep you eyes peeled! I have a Talat Premium waiting to be unboxed and reviewed, but I’ve been crazy busy with work. Hoping to get to it any day now, and I’m really excited about playing on it!

[@tommilton6775]

Another excellent video! You do a great job! How do you think the 869 compares to the FTH as far as "budget" custom boards? Any other contenders for "best" in that category?

[@jjmckenna]

Tom, Thanks for your comment and question. I’m not sure I would consider FTH a ‘budget’ custom board maker, but I would say that I prefer the FTH playing surface, which is a lovely merino wool, to many other boards out there for similar prices. If I was in the market for a board right now, I’d probably go with the slightly smaller FTH board (my full-size board is LONG), designed with the colors I want, as well as the round dice cups, which I think are preferable to the oval cups I received. 869 boards are likely more customizable, but the playing surface isn’t as nice as the FTH boards. Hope this helps! Thanks for the kind words, cheers! 🙌🏼✨🎲🎲‼️

[@patrickbertrand6366]

Wow another great Video with a nice looking Board! Justin your collection of Boards must be amazing! 😀👍 By the way, what do you personally think of the luxury Geoffry Parker Boards, are they worth the money in comparision with other Boards? Greetings & have a good time! 😁👍 Patrick

[@jjmckenna]

Patrick, glad you enjoy my board collection! I do enjoy playing on them. Regarding ultra-premium boards like Geoffrey Parker, costing thousands of dollars, I really don’t believe that they are worth that, if you’re a serious backgammon player. Perhaps if you feel it necessary to have the most expensive of everything, it would be important. But, that’s not something that would ever be important to me. I think your Earth board is a great example of an excellent board at a reasonable price. Enjoy it!

[@patrickbertrand6366]

@@jjmckenna I think so too 😀👍 I wouldn't feel comfortable with high expensive materials. The Earth Board is really a good deal, I like the wooden frame and the colors, it has the spirit of Nature! 😁 I saw Geoffrey Parker also sell an Alligator Monopoly Game for 700.000 £, must be a special feeling to play with it 😅😅

[@Shmyrk]

Are they still in business? Website doesn’t seem to be working. Another beautiful vid

[@jjmckenna]

Datman - Yes, they are still in business. If you are on Facebook, you can look them up under 869 Modern Backgammon. I suggest messaging either Özlem or Alp Doğrusöz directly; they are mother and son and are keeping the legacy of the company founder, Erhan Doğrusöz, alive and well. Cheers!

[@Shmyrk]

@@jjmckenna thank you!

[@s.p.thornton1686]

Always fun videos., Justin. Glad to see the board flattened out after relaxing...Whew! Is that a custom cover from Gammoner on your PM board?

[@jjmckenna]

That’s a custom cover made for the Gammoner by my mom! She also made one for an Aussie that bought number 21 of 22 of the same PM board! It’s both beautiful and very functional. Thanks for noticing! Yes, glad the Erhan board flattened out. It’s fun to play on; very quiet and stylish.

[@s.p.thornton1686]

@@jjmckenna Very Nice. Great fabric choice to accent the board. Any plans on a P40 addition to your very nice collection.

[@jjmckenna]

@@s.p.thornton1686 - I get a lot of questions about the P-40, but when I tried to negotiate with them about acquiring a board, they weren’t interested. I’ve concluded, after falling in love with the FM boards, that I would not like the metallic ‘clickety-clack’ of the P-40 board. That said, if they sent me one to review, I’d give it a fair shake of the dice cups, lol.

[@johnk.1103]

I couldn't help but notice that there is a 'skip' during your checker play section. Guessing there was a blunder? Doesn't matter - nice review, nice board. The question is, how many more boards can you review before saying "Enough!" Just kidding. Keep going until you've reviewed every major brand!

[@jjmckenna]

John, I was hoping no one would notice that, but of course, if anyone was going to, it would be you! You guessed right - Big Blunder. I have a couple more boards in the works, and then, yes, I may have to take a break and improve my game! Cheers and thanks for watching. 🎈

[@paperweight57]

Is it just me, or does it seem like the board doesn't quite open all the way...?

[@jjmckenna]

No, you noticed that unfortunate, but very temporary, issue. I left the board open overnight and problem solved. Still, hope that doesn’t detract from this cool company and their very cool boards! ✨🎲🎲🎈

[@paperweight57]

That's a relief!

[@rogerboucher1913]

I suppose that it’s intended to be tighter at production because they know it will extant with time and stay flat but not loose.

[@HalfDecentBackgammon]

Great review. Any chance you're doing a Gunduz board soon? haha

[@jjmckenna]

I think I need to ration my consumption of backgammon boards, but I’m open to the idea! Cheers!

[@johnk.1103]

I think this is an excellent idea! Those boards by Gunduz are really nice, and I hear they are quite reasonably priced!

[@amberpeet1922]

Hi Justin! New to your channel and love your collection! For a beginner buyer of backgammon boards what do you recommend as a first purchase? Keep up the great content.

[@jjmckenna]

Hi, Amber! Great question and thanks for the kind words. If you want something large, and not too expensive, I would suggest the 21-inch boards from Wycliffe Bros. with acrylic checkers. Comes in some really cool color combinations and is less than $300. It’s the little brother to the 23-inch Wycliffe board I unbox in one of my videos. If you’re really in need of a bargain, there is a really nice tournament size board on Amazon that goes for around $120. It’s made by Middleton Games. I’ve given that board as a gift on more than one occasion! Cheers!

[@amberpeet1922]

@@jjmckenna Thanks for the advice Justin! I've gone ahead and purchased a 21-inch Wycliffe Brothers board in the brown and mustard colours. Very jealous of your incredible collection, would love to have such an array of boards like yourself one day. Again, thanks for the response!

[@jjmckenna]

@@amberpeet1922 - That’s a great choice and I know you’ll love playing on that board! Congratulations! ✨🎲🎲✨

[@brianviholt9434]

Why is the board tipping?

[@jjmckenna]

That's a good question, because it shouldn't do that right out of the box. After leaving it open overnight, the issue cleared up, but it's not ideal to see that first thing. Thanks for the question, cheers!

[@bethevoice-rawreviews902]

Nice board. Simple, aesthetically pleasing, solid, great price, and a board that will last a lifetime. You need to incorporate prize money into the gaming, your son won't be so vociferous with his audience impressions when he is losing dollars. Ha ha haha.

[@jjmckenna]

This is a very nice, customized board for a very fair price. That’s why they are loved by many backgammon professionals around the world, including BG Giant Mochy. That’s a good idea about prize money to induce my son into playing with me in my next video, coming soon! 🎥✨🎲🎲

[@bethevoice-rawreviews902]

@@jjmckenna Looking forward to the big money game :)

[@hectorrangel1580]

Nice pizza jeje. Cheers Justin.

[@jjmckenna]

Jeje, the points DO look a little like pizza, don’t they! Yummy!

[@hectorrangel1580]

@@jjmckenna Yes, and the bag that carries the Backgammon too.

[@jjmckenna]

@@hectorrangel1580 Right! Looks like a pizza bag, I didn't get that at first. Now I see it!

[@hectorrangel1580]

Today a friend brought me something that I ordered and made to measure. I ordered some 3mm acrylic plates cut to size to be sanded down so they don't damage the original surface of the 24-inch Wycliffe Backgammon. I came up with that to be able to play with the Moldova tiles without worrying about how other people treat the tiles and me too, I will also buy some permanent two-color markers to make the acrylic stripes. When I get home I will continue sanding the other half. So I can play with the metal chips, and by removing the plates I will play with the original ones. Greetings Justin McKeena.

[@jjmckenna]

@@hectorrangel1580 - Thank you for this interesting description of your alternate checkers, Héctor. Very interesting!

[@craigduffy1899]

can you do a review of your mums x-22 cover? LOL

[@jjmckenna]

Not a bad idea, but then she’d be inundated with requests. Hmm.

[@johnk.1103]

Just noticed the small pile of backgammon books you have stacked near your board, at the end of the musical 'interlude.' I think I see Robertie's 501 BG Problems, Michy's Opening Concepts, Magriel's Backgammon, and that's about it. How much do you find yourself actually reading backgammon books? Frankly, I prefer to play and analyze, rather than read, but that's just me. Cube On!

[@jjmckenna]

John - Good eye, I think you named all the books that I can see on video with the naked eye. I can't recall which books I had there, but one of them may be a chess book my kids got me for Xmas 2020!

[@Matrixstandby]

Surface no

[@jjmckenna]

It is rather unorthodox, I admit!