Valerie Putman: Backgammon
Backgammon is a sentimental favorite of mine—in fact, I list it as one of my top 10 favorite games. Growing up, I played lots of Backgammon with Mom, especially when I was home from school, sick for the day. Now that classes are over for the summer, I’m back in NJ for a couple of weeks—helping Mom go through Dad’s stuff, keeping her company, and then Memorial Day weekend we’ll be having a memorial horseback ride for Dad at the stables where he cleared most of the trails and volunteered as a handyman on the weekends for the last 25 years. (The people at the stables are my parents’ equivalent of a gaming family.) While I’m home, Mom has pulled the Backgammon set back out for regular use.
I had to go over the rules again with Mom—she probably hasn’t played since the last time I was home sick from school. I, on the other hand, play a game or two nearly every day on my computer. A friend introduced me to a Backgammon game with a decent AI called Jellyfish. If you want to give it a try, you can download it here. The software introduced me to the doubling cube, something Mom and I had never used. When I have a lot of grading to do at school (like I do this weekend—final grades are due Tuesday), I reward myself with games of Jellyfish (grade 5 papers, play a game, grade 5 papers, play a game…).
I know several friends who play against other players online. I’ve played backgammon on BSW, but the implementation isn’t very user friendly. Or maybe I’m spoiled by Jellyfish—I’m not sure which. On Jellyfish I can: move a piece with a single click, take back a move before the AI rolls the dice, have the game autofinish if the outcome is certain, and change the skill level and bearing off preferences of the AI. Does anyone else play Backgammon online at a site where they really like the interface?
Well, Mom and I are off to the gym.
I’d rather be gaming,
Valerie Putman
Posted by Valerie Putman on May 17, 2009 at 01:00 AM in Columnists, Valerie Putman / 1138
Comments:
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All that time on BSW and never once looked at Backgammon. I’m usually wasting my time playing some dopey deck-building card game. :-) Posted by Peter Stein on May 17, 2009 at 04:10 PM | #
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DailyGammon (http://www.dailygammon.com) is pretty good - it’s strictly playing against other folks, but the implementation is pretty solid (it “predicts” what they will do, so you can play several moves at once). I enjoy it quite a bit. Posted by Tim Isakson on May 17, 2009 at 10:02 PM | #
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If you are looking for a good backgammon game, download one of them at: You can even play a game with your mother. Posted by David Byrum on May 19, 2009 at 12:07 PM | #
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