Buyer's guide for backgammon sets now online!
montygram
kinds of sets are on the market, how to tell the difference between
different grades of quality, etc. If you have a chance to look, let me
know if you have suggestions or if there is an error. Thanks. Here is
the link:
ct
boards at Backgammon Shop - http://www.bgshop.com. You should remember
that many backgammon organisations have differing requirements for
minimum AND maximum sizes of boards allowed in tournament play. As a
general guideline any board that has checkers between 1 1/2 - 2 inches
(38 - 50 mm) should be acceptable. Take a look at the excellent
Italian made Hilton board, which has inlaid points and costs $305.
There are also cheaper boards with printed points starting from as
little as $46.
There is also plenty of information about the differences between
precision dice, semi-precision dice and standard dice. There is a wide
selection of checkers (including a checker chart and details of how to
measure your board before buying new checkers). Shakers and doubling
cubes and an even wider selection of backgammon books (over 90 titles)
is available, as is the most popular backgammon software - Snowie and
JellyFish.
For those thinking about making their own board, you will also find
other accessories like handles and locks. There are also scoreboards,
scorecards, position cards and other "bits and bobs".
Backgammon Shop ship worldwide from the UK. They relocated to England
in 2005 after having operated in Denmark from 1989 - 2004. The
initial Backgammon Shop website - www.bgshop.dk, went online already in
1997, thus becoming the first place on the Internet to sell backgammon
equipment.
Gregg Cattanach
The almost universally used 'tournament size' checkers are 1-3/4", not
1-1/2" as your page says. There also will be a few using 2" checkers.
1-1/2" are pretty rare and most people would consider that size a 'travel
set'.
--
Gregg C.
Michael Crane
I have been notified by David that he is not making any boards at the moment
or for the foreseeable future, and that any boards for sale under the David
Naylor name or logo have not been made by him. This includes boards sold on
his former web site. David is offline for the time being and any emails
addressed to him do not go to him personally nor does he reply to them; any
replies you might get are from a third party without David's knowledge or
permission. If anyone needs to contact David via email they should use
d...@backgammon-biba.co,uk and I will see that he gets them. Emails to any
other address will not be read or replied to by David.
As far as David and I can ascertain the only board for sale known to have
been made by him is in the Biba Shop. Any future boards made by David Naylor
will be featured on the Biba web site - any other locations must be treated
with caution.
Michael Crane
Biba Dorector
ct
The US, does not comprise the universe. Backgammon is played throughout
the world.
What I gave was a guideline, and of course anyone considering buying a
board for use in a tournament should check with the organiser - better
safe than sorry!
Unfortunately the UNITED STATES BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT
RULES & PROCEDURES do not state which size of board or checkers are
allowed. As far as I am aware these are the rules used for the American
Backgammon Tour (ABT) - and these rules are used by the majority (if
not all) the major US backgammon tournaments -
http://www.chicagopoint.com/usrules.html
Neither does the World Backgammon Association -
http://www.world-backgammon-association.com/Rules.htm, the only thing
that is mentioned is "A player can request, any time, to play with
dice, cups, and a board which are approved by the tournament
director."
The WORLDWIDE BACKGAMMON FEDERATION TOURNAMENT UNIFIED RULES AND
PROCEDURES are also equally lacking with any reference to size of
checker or board - http://www.wbfonline.com/wbfrules/wbfrules.html
For example, for the last 30 years, the official tournament boards at
the World Championships in Monte Carlo use 40mm. (a tad under 1 6/10
inches) checkers. Although in the finals the sponsor board used 2-inch
checkers.
In Denmark the tournament rules allow a minimum size of 33mm. (1 3/10
inches).
In the UK, size seems to be an important factor, I have never seen so
many boards with 2" checkers, and both BIBA and Gammonitis (the two
organising bodies in the UK) allow these.
I personally prefer 1 3/4 inch (like you), and feel that people with
short arms would definitely not like having to stretch as much as would
be required on a board using 2" checkers.
In addition, many local tournaments are played in bars; here space
limitations may indicate that "smaller is better".
Chris
Michael Crane
restrict sizes if the playing rooms/space is limited:
3.1 Equipment Either player may demand that both use when available and
approved by the Director, precision dice (over any others), and/or lipped
cups or baffle boxes, 21" tournament sized boards. After the start of a
match, equipment can only be changed by the Director. If playing space is
restricted, boards greater than 21" will not be allowed in the main playing
room.
Michael
"ct" <c...@bgshop.com> wrote in message
news:1140019117.5...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Gregg Cattanach
> Hi Greg,
>
> The US, does not comprise the universe. Backgammon is played
> throughout the world.
>
You are correct. I'm just going from what I've observed; in my experience
the 1-1/2" checkers are extremely rare, and the 1-3/4" are ubiquitous.
--
Gregg C.
Gregg Cattanach
> Chris, although I do allow various board sizes I do reserve the right
> to restrict sizes if the playing rooms/space is limited:
>
> 3.1 Equipment Either player may demand that both use when available
> and approved by the Director, precision dice (over any others),
> and/or lipped cups or baffle boxes, 21" tournament sized boards.
> After the start of a match, equipment can only be changed by the
> Director. If playing space is restricted, boards greater than 21"
> will not be allowed in the main playing room.
>
I've never understood exactly what is being measured when a board dimension
like '21"' is referenced. If the checkers are 1-3/4", then the two playing
areas are 21" wide, but that doesn't include the bar and the areas beyond
the playing surface where checkers/cups are usually stored. A board like
that would be substantially wider than 21".
What does 21" mean, exactly?
--
Gregg C.
Michael Crane
Michael
"Gregg Cattanach" <rl31...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:mpIIf.367$yP7...@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
gammon...@yahoo.com
important than the height? Unless I am totally confused...
ct
What Michael Crane meant was width and breadth when folded out.
The width is 21 inches, the distance between the two players. Breadth
of 26 inches is the measurement from left to right.
Fortunately for players in the UK, most major tournaments are played at
hotel venues, and space does not seem to be an issue, as much as it
would be in a bar/pub/café.
In Denmark, many important tournaments: the former Carlsberg Backgammon
Cup (now 7-11 Cup), the National League for Teams, and even some
regional tournaments are played in bars, hence the need for smaller
boards.
When it comes down to it the tournament director has discretionary
powers to override whatever rules exist, and reach an amendable
solution for all parties involved; players, spectators and guests that
are not participating in the tournament (perhaps just guests in the
local bar) - "consideration for others" should be the operative
philosophy.
Who would insist that young children or physically challenge players,
who sometimes play in tournaments, play on a board where they cannot
reach ALL their checkers/dice, without having to constantly overstretch
or even stand up for an entire match (it is very tiring)?
I use a board that measures 23 inches in width with 1 3/4 inch
checkers, and have several times agreed to play on boards that are
considerably smaller because my opponents have had problems with reach.
Chris
Raccoon
Michael Crane wrote:
> Re David Naylor Boards:
>
> I have been notified by David that he is not making any boards at the moment
> or for the foreseeable future, and that any boards for sale under the David
> Naylor name or logo have not been made by him. This includes boards sold on
> his former web site. David is offline for the time being and any emails
> addressed to him do not go to him personally nor does he reply to them; any
> replies you might get are from a third party without David's knowledge or
> permission. If anyone needs to contact David via email they should use
> d...@backgammon-biba.co,uk and I will see that he gets them. Emails to any
> other address will not be read or replied to by David.
Who is making and selling the boards advertised at the David Naylor
website?
Michael Crane
Michael
"Raccoon" <racg...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1140033202.4...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
montygram
sets with checkers about 1.5 inches across are a bit bigger than the
standard chess set for tournaments (width), and sets with 1.75 inch
checkers are much bigger. Sets with 1.75 inch checkers are very rare
on eBay, for example, and in old pictures of Jacoby, et al. playing,
the sets appear to be closer to the 1.5 inch size. I find the 1.5
inchers to be just right, and would not bring a 1.75 incher to a
tournament. If an opponent insisted on the 1.75, I would not protest.
The difference is not that great. The big problem is playing on sets
where there are white checkers on white points - that is really
annoying, and the older bakelite/catalin sets use a "butterscotch"
color rather than white, and there is no problem with that combination.
It is very rare to see such sets for sale with 1.75 inch checkers.
However, if you don't mind spending hundreds of dollars, there are sets
where the checkers and points have excellent contrast. Does anyone
know why they use red on red and white on white (or green, or blue)? I
can understand dark red points with bright red checkers, but most of
the cork board sets have red on red that have similar characteristics
(and the new ones have the white on white too). The one set I have
listed to sell with the 1 7/16 inch checkers has what I consider to be
the minimum contrast (for a "serious" player). Any less contrast and
it would be annoying to me. The new sets that are priced reasonably
don't have this contrast, and I'm curious a bout how this began. Is it
just the fact that the US company that was selling most of the "pro"
sets decided on this design (you know who I'm talking about)?