Backgammon Chouettes

Chouettes

Cube proxy

From:   Ilia Guzei
Date:   13 June 2003
Subject:   Local chouette rule question
Forum:   GammOnLine

In Madison we play consulting chouette but consulting begins only after a cube has been turned. Situation: During a chouette player A of the team goes to the bar and leaves player B of the team in charge of his cube. Captain and Box are going at it and at some point player B doubles the Box as himself and player A by giving the Box two 2-cubes. The Box drops B's cube but takes A's cube since he thinks it's a borderline take/pass and he wants to exclude player B from future discussions. Question: Since player B is in charge of player A's cube that was taken, can B still consult? Or does he remain there just to make a cube decision (until player A returns to the table anyway) when and if the Box redoubles player A? Ilia

JP White writes:

Player B is only in charge of Player A's cube. Since Player B is 'out of the game' he cannot comment or consult. But if the box recubes A and A still isn't around B can act as the proxy and make the cube decision for him (however in this situation if I were B I'd yell for A to come back quick).

Mary Hickey writes:

Add Ohio to the chouette venues where a person acting as a cube proxy cannot consult. If it were otherwise, consider the unforeseen consequences that could arise, and you'll see what a can of worms it might become if they could! It's also considered perfectly OK for the Box to drop the present player and take the absent one (the situation you describe) in order to prevent whoever else is in the game from having someone to consult with. If the cube gets large, the proxy usually makes some attempt to locate the absent player, whether or not the proxy is still in the game. It's also OK in most of our chouettes for the proxy to beaver his own cube but just take for the absent player (though not the reverse). This means we have a subtle difference in what the leaving player might say as he appoints the proxy: "Handle my cube" doesn't mean exactly the same thing as "I do what you do."

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