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Forum Archive :
Miscellaneous
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I remember the late 70s when fern bars were in and backgammon was
everywhere.
Last week I couldn't find a single backgammon book in the Borders
bookstore and I began to wonder: What has happened to backgammon's
popularity?
It's not just my limited view, is it?
It seems backgammon is lost in the general public's mind and maybe in
the eyes of former devotees.
Where has the popularity gone? Is the game not action packed enough?
Is there "more fun" gambling out there in its place? Was it just a
fad?
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Michael Sullivan writes:
The popularity has waned some, but if anything it's coming back. It's a
deep strategy game, the kind of game which has never been very popular
on a wide scale. Like chess, checkers, bridge or poker, most people
know the basic rules, a lot of people play a little, but in most times,
relatively few people play a lot and get good at any of these games.
The 70s were probably somewhat unusual in that BG became a fad. But it
was never "just" a fad. A lot of people who don't normally play such
games much, played backgammon in the 70s, just as a lot of the same kind
of people played bridge in the 40s-70s. But there are plenty of people
who still play. Get an account on FIBS, Dailygammon, Itsyourturn,
Gamesgrid, etc. and you'll see thousands of people who play regularly
over the net. In person tournaments are many fewer than 30 years ago,
but there's still a circuit around, and a number of folks who make their
living as professional backgammon players and teachers.
Actually, *serious* backgammon has undergone a major renaissance because
of the interesting AI work that's been done in the last 20 years or so.
The overall standard of play has improved tremendously with the
widespread availability of strong AI backgammon nets. If a typical
advanced modern player (say someone in the top quintile of ratings on
one of the servers, or who regularly competes in open events) could time
warp back into 1970, they would be playing on a level with the top pros
of the time. World class players of today are far ahead of anyone who
was playing in the 1970s (including, in a lot of cases, themselves :))
Michael
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Miscellaneous
- Backgammon computers (Graham Bayne+, Mar 2005)
- Backgammon in famous paintings (Dan Scoones, Mar 2000)
- Backgammon versus poker (Peter Hallberg, June 2006)
- Backgammon's popularity (Anon+, Sept 2003)
- Board orientation (Daniel Murphy, Mar 1999)
- Calculation versus instinct (Kit Woolsey, Jan 1998)
- Checker play versus cube play (Gregg Cattanach, Oct 2004)
- Checker play versus cube play (David Montgomery, Jan 1998)
![[Recommended reading]](pics/Star2.gif)
- Copying positions from books (Stick+, Nov 2005)
- Famous people who play (Carem Wiklicm+, Dec 2002)
- Free lesson (Donald Kahn, Apr 1999)
- General tips (Hank Youngerman, Aug 1998)
- Giants of Backgammon list (Raccoon+, Mar 2006)
![[GammOnLine forum]](pics/GammOnLine.gif)
- Handicapping (Kees van den Doel+, Aug 2003)
- Handicapping (flash, Aug 1998)
- Handicapping--Pass or pick a roll (Michael J. Zehr, Dec 1997)
- Handicapping--Rerolling 5-4 (Mary Hickey, Feb 2004)
- How bots rate you (Phil Simborg, Mar 2010)
- Initiatives by local clubs (Raccoon, Mar 2006)
- Is online gambling legal in the U.S.? (Chuck Bower+, June 2006)
- Maximizing earnings (Stanley E. Richards+, Oct 2005)
- Money management (Carly Robson+, Jan 2009)
- Money management (Gnoh Mon+, July 2004)
- Money management (Adam Stocks, Jan 2003)
- Money management and the Kelly Criterion (Stuart Thomson+, June 1999)
![[Long message]](pics/Long.gif)
- Notation (Dean Gay, Feb 2000)
- Notation (Kit Woolsey, July 1995)
- Position cards (Francois Hochede, Jan 2004)
- Posted diagrams are scrunched up (Dale+, Sept 2000)
- Top women players (Tami+, Nov 2006)
- Typesetting backgammon (Jason Lee+, Apr 2006)
- What is Zbot? (Douglas Zare+, Dec 2003)
- What is backgammon? (David C. Oshel, Aug 1997)
- Why do people play for money? (Hank Youngerman+, Sept 2005)
- World Champions (John Bazigos, June 1994)
- rec.games.backgammon mini-FAQ (Daniel Murphy, Mar 1998)
From GammOnLine
Long message
Recommended reading
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