The standard way of making travel board game sets is to use magnets. This is a daft idea, for two reasons:

1. Magnets are heavy; for instance, I have a "travel" Go/shogi set which weighs a ridiculous 800g, only 80g less than my full-size set.
2. For gameplay, it's rarely enough to keep the pieces on the board: you also need to keep them at the same point ( Read more... )

Every time I read about a new development in the weird and wonderful world of materials science, I wonder if I've gone into the wrong field. Here are a few new products that have caught my eye recently:

Sugru - a bit like modelling clay, only it cures into a flexible silicone overnight. Make your stuff waterproof, or more ergonomic, or funky and ( Read more... )