Backgammon Chouettes

Chouettes

Dream chouette

From:   Phil Simborg
Address:   psimborg@sbcglobal.net
Date:   12 September 2009
Subject:   The chouette of my dreams
Forum:   BGonline.org Forums

In the chouette of my dreams, here are the rules I would love to see: No settlements until the cube is at 4 or higher--Why hold up the game and waste a lot of time making a settlement that would be very little different than if the game were just played out every time? For higher cubes, settlements are good because they keep both parties for extremely large losses, and that is healthier for the life of the chouette and the happiness of the individuals involved. Mandatory extras--If you drop a cube and someone else takes, you must give an extra and they must take it. If you are saying a position is a drop, you should put your money where your mouth is, and if you are saying it's a take, if you want to play the game, you had better be willing to bet on it. Equal action on the cube--It really is nasty to consistently pick on the weaker player and give gifts to the stronger players and force them to sit most of the games on the sidelines. No consulting--Depending on the players, consulting chouettes can be worse than listening to people blabbing on and on in doubles matches. With no consulting you cut down on tedious arguments and ego-positioning and bravado and hurt feelings, but you also get in a lot more games in the course of the session. Retaining the box should not just be about beating the Captain, but also winning points. Equal stakes for all--I have played in chous where some players are at different stakes than others, and it simply should not be allowed. With or without consulting, it simply leads to hard feelings, the artificial creation of a hierarchy, and more difficult scoring. This also applied to players starting the cube at different levels or automatics. Winner treats--If you are at a cafe or restaurant and one or more players have won a considerable amount of money (say, over $500), they should at least buy a round of drinks or maybe more for everyone there. Penalty for leaving--You set a time when the game will end, and if you leave earlier and you are up, you pay 10% of whatever you are up to the person who is the biggest loser on the sheet. If you know, in advance, that you must leave at a given time, then announce that time when you sit down, and you can leave at that time without penalty ... but you must leave at that time.

Stick writes:

> No settlements until the cube is at 4 or higher--Why hold up the game and > waste a lot of time making a settlement that would be very little > different than if the game were just played out every time? For higher > cubes, settlements are good because they keep both parties for extremely > large losses, and that is healthier for the life of the chouette and the > happiness of the individuals involved Agreed. > Mandatory extras--If you drop a cube and someone else takes, you must > give an extra and they must take it. If you are saying a position is a > drop, you should put your money where your mouth is, and if you are > saying it's a take, if you want to play the game, you had better be > willing to bet on it. It gets too slippery when you, esp. by your rules, aren't allowing any consulting or the player in question isn't listening to your suggestions anyway. It doesn't matter if in theory the position is a take if the donkey playing it out is going to possibly turn it into an uberpass and frustrate the hell out of you in the process. There are times when even though I think or know it's a take and perhaps the player in question might play it out well enough to still be a take, I could also see the game going in another direction and them donkifying the hell out of it and pissing me off in the process. I take the short road home, make the theoretical small error and keep my blood pressure down. > No consulting--Depending on the players, consulting chouettes can be > worse than listening to people blabbing on and on in doubles matches. > With no consulting you cut down on tedious arguments and ego-positioning > and bravado and hurt feelings, but you also get in a lot more games in > the course of the session. This is fine with me personally but may have a negative impact for certain players. To each chou his own in this respect I think. I never listen to what anyone says anyway, so works out dandy for me. > Retaining the box should not just be about beating the Captain, but also > winning points. I again say to each his own here too. As long as I know the rules upfront and we stick to them I have no quarrel. > Equal stakes for all--I have played in chous where some players are at > different stakes than others, and it simply should not be allowed. With > or without consulting, it simply leads to hard feelings, the artificial > creation of a hierarchy, and more difficult scoring. This also applied to > players starting the cube at different levels or automatics. Too strict esp. if you aren't in a town like Chicago where you have an endless supply of available players. In Columbus we can rustle up, if we're lucky, 5 people for a chouette. Myself, Mary, Chris ... then two other people. Typically the other people would prefer to play for less money but that shouldn't limit us from playing for higher stakes and we certainly want to include them otherwise it isn't much of a chou. I don't think we've ever had 'hard feelings' over this. If you can't score when 3 ppl are playing for 10s and the other 2 are playing for 5s then maybe you're participating in the wrong game. I agree that it'd be a clusterfuck if we did the ass like stuff you guys do in Chicago, playing for 2s or 5s or 10s or 20s or wtfe. Automatics are fine with me also. > Winner treats--If you are at a cafe or restaurant and one or more players > have won a considerable amount of money (say, over $500), they should at > least buy a round of drinks or maybe more for everyone there. You do what you want with your money, I'll do what I want with mine. This concept is wrong in so many ways I'm not even going to launch into it because it will advance my onset of carpel tunnel at an even faster rate than I do on a normal basis. > Penalty for leaving--You set a time when the game will end, and if you leave earlier and you are up, you pay 10% of whatever you are up to the person who is the biggest loser on the sheet. If you know, in advance, that you must leave at a given time, then announce that time when you sit down, and you can leave at that time without penalty...but you must leave at that time. I will stick with my original eloquent statement of, "uh what?". Stick

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