Old game presented in a new way:

Playing online Backgammon

Backgammon after facelift

A game with two dice, light and dark coloured tokens and a playing schedule with different ninepins painted on it – This old game is called Backgammon. In recent years there has been a big change for this old game: Nowadays it is possible to play Backgammon on the Internet. Although most games are probably still played socially between individuals at home or in cafes and bars. The game is also popular enough to support Backgammon clubs and tournaments which often carry large sums of trophy money. Not surprisingly online Backgammon also offers players the opportunity to play in the context of leagues, championships and tournaments which makes it obvious that also really old games underwent a big development simultaneously with the appearance of the Internet. 

New phenomena with the development of online Backgammon

As we have already pointed out, the game itself is not something new but the possibility of playing Backgammon online opened up absolutely new side effects – we talk about gambling and betting. In a ‘social’ game of backgammon the most common form of betting on a game is to make each point won worth a certain amount, rather than just betting on who’ll eventually be deemed to win the game. Backgammon has many variations and rules, which when applied, can be used to provide a wide variety of betting opportunities during a game. An online Backgammon tournament will have an entry fee that has to be paid. This fee goes on, to form the majority of the ‘pot’ to be won. Whilst we are probably just a few years away from the major international Backgammon playing titles being decided by ‘online’ games; online Backgammon websites have reacted quickly in order to enable bets to be placed on the outcome of these major Backgammon tournaments. They also appreciate the value of some shrewd marketing and you’ll already find them sponsoring some of these major international Backgammon tournaments. Looking at poker we find a big online poker scene and this development emerges also in the online Backgammon scene.

Chance is not enough for this game

If we take the comparison with roulette it comes clear that only chance is not the only way of winning backgammon, skills are more important. The way of a roulette ball can not be influenced, but the tokens have to be moved the right way. Whether you’re playing online Backgammon or ‘face-to-face’ with someone else, the outcome of the game is a combination of both chance (based on the roll of the dice) and skill (how well you move your counters according to the roll of the dice). Whereas in Roulette you can not influence the outcome of the ‘winning’ number; in Backgammon you can. Even if your roll of the dice gives you a poor number to work with - through your skill you can still play a good move. It is similar in Poker, a good player can make something good, or at least make a good play out of a bad hand. So, whilst anyone can start to play Backgammon, they can not expect to compete successfully immediately against more experienced players. You will find that online Backgammon websites will invite you to chose a level of play for your game; probably something like novice, intermediate or experienced. So you can select the right level of difficulty and it is sometimes easier to learn and get really experienced in this game when starting at a lower level than playing immediately against experienced players.

The question of sociality

It is obvious that online Backgammon is not as social as real life Backgammon. This phenomenon can be found in almost all online activities. Providers of online Backgammon games are aware of the need to retain a social aspect to their online games. You’ll find that the success with which they are able to do this varies; giving you the opportunity to register with an online Backgammon website that best matches your requirements/expectations in online sociability. Most online Backgammon games are played in a Java environment, enabling players to ’hear’ the dice being rolled and providing ‘chat’ facilities to other players in the game. In an online Backgammon game the ‘dice-roll’ is actually a random number generator. A good compromise would be playing via webcam because the two players see each other; they can communicate although they are in two different countries.