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Let me just say right off the bat that I am a huge fan of the things my Dad has made in the past. Whether it’s the addition he built for his house or the bunk bed he made for me in college he has always put in solid work.

So when my girlfriend and I received a homemade bean bag toss game for Christmas we were ecstatic. Not just because it was something we had requested but because it was homemade and we knew we were in for a quality product.

This last weekend we were finally able to test out our new bean bag toss game and let me be the first to say that while it is a quality product you might want to wait until he has worked on new iterations of his model before paying money.

I’m not saying this is a bad product. This is a very good product, but there are some small things that while some people, myself included, may just shake off and let go. They can amount to some frustration to people who do not have the patience that my girlfriend and I have.

Let’s start with how it looks. It looks great. The stained wood makes for a nice finished look that is much better than what you could find in a store. It was also customized with logos of our favorite sports teams. From the looks of it they seemed to be simple stickers, but when they were put onto the wood with the finish they looked like they were printed on with lasers or something.

The one problem though was the Green Bay Packer helmet that was on the bottom of the one board that didn’t seem to want to stay down. When it didn’t stay down it revealed the unstained wood. We would press it back down, but with the cold weather and the constant hitting of beanbags it snapped in half. Now for us that is not a big deal but for some it might be.

Along with the boards looking good they were also very lightweight. Now this is something that can be a little troubling when dealing with bean bag toss games. Seeing as these were to be portable from game to game we needed to have something lightweight. These did not disappoint, they were easy to transport and not only that came with a heavy duty strap that kept the boards together and when put on correctly made a handle so that carrying was made even easier.

When it came to set up things got a little complicated but it was very ingenious. The legs to give the boards their regulation slant were kept in by a pin and bolt system. You remove the pin and the bolt and the leg comes out. It then goes directly above where it was housed and fits snuggly into place. You than simply put the bolt through the wood, put in the pin and you are ¼ of the way complete.

One problem we did find was that one leg did not fit as snuggly as hoped. But with a simple piece of sandpaper this can be remedied. Another small issue we had was taking the bolts out. Some were a little sticky to get out. Not only that we didn’t want to pry too hard. We feared we would throw off any calibration. Not to mention the legs were very lightweight and were not that thick, so we didn’t want to risk snapping them in half. We also had an instance where the leg came out but the bolt was stuck. A quick tip to anyone with a similar problem is to take the leg you just took off and use it as a hammer and lightly tap the bolt until it comes out far enough to pull out.

Now let’s get down to game play. There is a lot of spring in these boards. This might have to do with the lightweight nature. But with bounciness came the problem of having to adjust the boards after rounds were complete. It is a small problem, but one that I feel that needs to be called out. Now we were playing in a parking lot so maybe this will be different if we play on a softer surface. We will have to see as we have not tested that theory out yet.

Finally BEANBAGS WERE NOT INCLUDED. The beanbags were given as a separate gift so you will need to get your own. We found that the licensed Green Bay Packers beanbags were just a little too big to fit inside the boards when we were done, so we are still using the box the beanbags came in.

Overall, this is a quality product that I would recommend to anyone. Sure it’s an ordinary bean bag toss game but it’s a homemade bean bag toss game so that alone means the base score needs to start at a 7. The decal falling off and the springiness of the boards while not huge problems, keep me from giving this a perfect 10 rating.

Overall Grade 9/10.