If you had no television, no computer, no hi-fi, no books...But in the corner there was one of those multi-board games which allowed you to play Draughts (Checkers), Chess or Backgammon (Reverse inside).

What would you play with a friend ?

Would you go for the strategic game of Chess ?

Would you go for the gambling game of Backgammon ?

Or just plain old Checkers ?

Personally, You can't beat a good old game of Backgammon !! Just love the throw of the dice and the look of someone's face when you take their peice of the board and lock them out !! LOL

Backgammon for me! They used to have bars in Las Vegas with Backgammon tables. Do they have backgammon in any of the pubs your way?

do you dream of digits, like 6 1 and 3 1
they're a great set of numbers,
followed by 6 5, twice please, and it's all over red rover!

Backgammonfor me

I taught my eldest son, Daniel, to play chess when hw was five, I haven't won a game against him since he was eleven. I can win a game of backgammon against him however.

I love to play chess. I never really got the hang of backgammon. I'm not even all that great at chess, but I do love the challenge.
I play checkers with my nieces all the time. They love to play that as much as I did when I was a youngster.

About 10 years ago, when I was working a 4 pm - midnoght shift, I used to always go to a coffee shop near my house and play backgammon for hours.
I played this routine for about a year.
80-90% of the world, don;t appreciate backgammon, because they have never played with the doubling cube.
I was learning the game at a nickle a point, playing with hardcore rollers, who played 5 dollars a point once a week at another club.
I learned so much, for so cheap.

I have heard that pogo.com is a popular place to play online.
I am thinking of getting an account there tonight.
I'd love to play sometime with anyone from funtrivia..

Backgammon...I don't play much now but I used to play all the time before I moved out on my own. I've never learned to play with the doubling cube though.

Chess. The most beautiful game in the world. No element of luck involved, as with the rolling of dice. No athletic talent required. No age factor. Transcends the language barrier. Universal rules. Even the element of the time clock makes it an even playing ground. Many beautiful masterpieces have been preserved and continue to be created. Those of us that study and appreciate it are in on a secret that the rest are unfortunately missing. A single game can be played thru the mail and take years to complete, or can be played online and be completed in less than a minute. If only I were not "justawful" at it. LOL!

Chess. I agree with Justawful. I play over 1,000 games a year on Yahoo.com/games and hardly ever get tired of the challenge.

I would greatly have to agree with you on this account. I too play thousands of games a year. Never before have I gotten tired of a mentally challenging game such as chess. I doubt there will ever be a time where I shall grow tired of that game. Heck, I have even entered in competitions for this game of skill and knowledge of the game.

There was a wonderful online game of backgammon that came with Windows ME, which linked you with players from all over the world in beginner, medium and expert categories. Sadly when I went to XP it was no longer available and I got back to doing some work around the house.

If it is games that you want to play..like chess, checkers, cribbage, hearts or pretty much anything there is a terrific free site called pogo.com

The chess board set up is very nice, just like in tournament matches.

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Agnes (JTJ)

I've never played backgammon.

I used to be a Checker-head, but Chess has grown on me.

I play chess all the time - check out Its Your Turn.Com if you want to play a great version of postal chess. Its three days minimum for a move, so its easy to have many games going at the same time. It seems like a lot of Yahoo-players have deserted that site for Its your turn. Meanwhile, I just posted a quiz about one of the world champions - play it and let me know what you think

As I enjoy war pc games I prefer to play chess myself.Even if the game progresses down to a simple war of attrition instead of a fairly swift defeat of the opponent I still enjoy it.To win the game in less than a dozen moves and see the look on your opponents face as they try to work out where they went wrong is very satisfying,though to plan ahead and see that plan come together despite the obsticles thrown in your way is also enjoyable.Hehe,chess is war!

Hard to believe it's been over 2 years since I posted in this thread. My attitude about online chess in that time has evolved. I still continue to play at many online chess sites and at "over the board" chess clubs, but I am sadly getting discouraged with online play. I've discovered a depressing trend with online players to use a "program" to make their moves for them. In my own chess club, online, and at discussion forums this trend has been discussed at length. Even though it's often easy for the experienced player to recognize the "cheaters", it still makes it discouraging to play online. Personally I've become a top "speed" player for the simple reason that if I can play an opponent at a 1 minute time control (that's 1 minute for each player to complete the entire game) it doesn't give them the opportunity to use their "program". I've found that they can easily transpose the moves to their "program" in a 2 minute game, but can't yet do it effectively in a 1 minute game. Very discouraging.
At first, the advent of online chess was such a wonderful achievement to those of us that wanted to play frequently but found it hard to find opponents. Now though, with so much foul language at the sites, so many poor losers and poor winners, and so much use of "programs" to actually make the moves, it has evolved that OTB (over the board) chess has once again emerged as the most enjoyable way to play.

Sorry for my rant.

Oh gosh, I can't choose. I love playing Backgammon. But yet, chess is really cool. I think I would play Backgammon because my whole family knows how to play, and I just know how to play Chess. So I think I would go with Backgammon. I started playing last year, I have gotten pretty good at it. Sometimes I play online. Hehe Just to practice though because my family is really good at it. We hold our own championships. Pretty exciting huh? We usually do that when there is nothing on the TV. Which is a lot of the time. So I guess I have a lot of time on my hands.

Thought I'd share something I once posted at another site. It's really long and boring but if you've got some time you may find it interesting ........ or not. Anyway, here it is, I called it "The Royal Game".


Alright! Alright! Alright! I know what you're going to say. .... "It's a dull subject." .... " Just the thought of chess makes me sleepy." ..... "Watching chess is like watching paint dry." ..... "Holy crap justawful, can't you come up with something better than this?"

Yes, I agree with all the aforementioned. Just indulge me a moment though and read on. Perhaps I can change a mind or two out there. After all, there wouldn't be as many practitioners if the sport didn't have some redeeming characteristics. Would there? I don't know. You be the judge.

So much has been written about chess that it's a daunting task to even begin to find something new. I'm only going to tell you the things that I personally have seen, heard or read about that I thought would be interesting to the "non-chessplaying" public. Here, for the first time in print, are some of the reasons I like The Royal Game so much.

Did you know that, unlike most sports, no one can agree on just where or when chess was invented? A common hypothesis is that it was invented somewhere in India centuries ago, but by whom is unknown. They say it was quite a different game than what we play today, but the basics were the same. That's what they say, but nobody really knows. It's a board game yes, simple to learn but so exceedingly difficult to master that men have been driven insane by it. Did you know, and this is going to be hard to believe, but did you know that there are far more possible positions in a game of chess than there are seconds that have elapsed since the beginning of the universe? Makes me want to give up already. Yes, experts have discerned that the number of seconds that have elapsed since the beginning of the universe is the number ten followed by 18 zeros. Of course that number changes while I'm writing this, but you get the idea. The number of possible chess positions however is a ten followed by 40 zeros. ....... Believe it or not, that's what they say.

I like the game. I'm a competitive guy you know. Most guys are. Gals too if they will admit it. I'm a fairness freak. I like an even playing field. God knows there are too few endeavors out there that are totally fair to all. In team sports you're at the mercy of your teammates. In card games you're at the mercy of random selection. In dice games you're at the mercy of the roll of the dice. In athletic competition someone else is either bigger, stronger, faster or whatever. There just doesn't seem to be any sport out there that is completely even for both players. In chess you succeed or fail only on the strength or your own initiative or ability. I like that. Do you have to be brilliant to play chess well? Certainly not. Many strong chess masters have proven that. Even the advent of the chess clock has taken away any advantage someone might gain by thinking longer.

Now how about some of the more colorful and tragic figures that have become legends in the sport? Some of their stories make fascinating reading. Back in the mid nineteenth century there was a young man from New Orleans that was unquestionably the strongest chess player in the world. Unfortunately back then, chess, as a serious endeavor, was frowned upon by most of society. Paul Morphy gained fame and a reputation all over the world for his brilliant, simplistic and beautiful play. Morphy crafted games that were recorded and still shine today as true works of art upon a chessboard. He stopped playing chess while still a young man and settled down to try to earn a living. In his interviews he always stated that he never wanted to be known as a chess player. Today the world remembers him only as a chess player.

Then there was another American that lived around the turn of the century, Harry Pillsbury. Most non-chessplayers won't recognize the name, but in his time he was one of the strongest chess and checker players in the world. His memory was phenomenal. He perfected the art of playing chess blindfolded. He would play as many as 21 players at one time while blindfolded. As an exhibition he would have a scientist write down a list of 30 or more highly technical words or phrases, and he would study the list for a few minutes. After studying the list he would sit at a table with his back to the boards and play ten different games of chess, ten different games of checkers, and recite all the words and phrases he had just memorized, both forward and backward. All of this while playing a game of whist. Pillsbury died of syphilis in 1906 at the age of 34.

All Americans equate chess with the legendary Bobby Fischer. Fischer has led a bizarre life to say the least. A child chess prodigy, he was arguably the strongest player in the world even at the age of 15. At 14 years of age he easily won the United States chess championship. Until he competed for the world championship in 1972 though, he was so unknown and unappreciated in his own country that he lived in virtual poverty in a slum in Brooklyn. At 14 years of age, already the US chess champ, he appeared on the TV show "What's My Line" and baffled the contestants who had no idea who he was. After Fischer's easy victory in Iceland to win the world championship he announced to the world that he would be the most accessible world champ ever. He stated he would defend his title against any and all challengers. In reality, he disappeared from chess, became a recluse, forfeited his title, and didn't play another game for twenty years.

I've always been fascinated by an obscure Pakistani serf who burst upon the chess scene in the early 20th century. His name was Mir Sultan Khan. Illiterate, and with no chess training, he lived in servitude to his British "master". His "master" took him to England in the 1930's where Khan immediately captured the British championship and held it for 3 years. He even once defeated a former world chess champion, J.R. Capablanca, in an exhibition. Khan disappeared from chess when his master returned him to Pakistan, thus ending one of the most amazing stories in chess.

More recently, we chess fanatics in the US are mourning the passage of the man we call "The Dean of American Chess", George Koltanowski. George had such an amazing memory that it was said that he could remember every move he had made in every chess game he had played in his life. Even into his 80's George would put on exhibitions that he called "The Knight's Tour". The knight has the most unusual move of all the pieces. What he would do in his exhibition is have the audience, one at a time, give him a name or a place. Each name would be written on a square of a blank chessboard until all 64 squares were filled. George would then take a solitary knight and place it on a square of the audiences' choosing. Then, while blindfolded, he would proceed to have the knight make it's unusual move until it had traversed every single square of the board. All this while announcing the name on each square the knight touched. An amazing exhibition. George once played chess against 57 players at once while blindfolded. He won 50 of the games without once seeing a single board. We miss him.

My personal favorite was a Cuban player that I believe was the greatest "natural" talent that ever lived. J.R. Capablanca taught himself the game of chess while watching his father play. With no formal training he was such a natural that he won the world championship in the 1920's. As a player myself, I look over his games and they are, to me, more than just games. They are works of art. Beautiful works of art. A simple methodology that combines grace and strength and a flow of thoughtfulness and foresight that will stand as a testament to the beauty that chess can be. His works will withstand the test of time and will be an inspiration to chess players for generations to come. Ah yes, but I'm getting whimsical.

Nowadays we've gotten rigid and mechanical. The advent of the computer has changed things. Give it enough facts and figures and the computer will out-think anyone. At least that's what we believe. It took decades for a computer to be designed that could beat a world champion at chess, but it did happen. I attended an interview that Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, gave shortly after losing a match to the super computer Deep Blue. At the interview Garry apologized to his chess playing audience for losing to a machine. It disheartened him but it didn't destroy him. Garry is a classy guy. We responded, to a man, that he had no need to apologize, the world had changed, but maybe not for the better. I once watched Garry play an exhibition before a large audience of chess masters and enthusiasts. In the simultaneous exhibition Garry played 3 world class masters as well as a 10 year old kid that just that day had won the right to face him by winning a tournament of his age group. Surrounded by his opponents, Garry confidently strided to the tables of each of the masters and instantly made his move in his inimitable intimidating fashion. With the youngster however, Garry would pause before the board, analyze the position, place his elbows on the table and look long and deeply at the board before making his move. It was a classy style that wasn't lost on us.

All chess players have their own agenda. Many despise losing so badly that they go into fits of depression. Many come up with complicated and bizarre excuses that defy reality. Some just go berserk. There have even been instances of murders after losing a game of chess. Whatever the agenda, a game of chess can be a very personal experience. Bobby Fischer used to be asked why he pushed himself so hard to win. His response was "I like to see em squirm." He definitely had an agenda. Losing at chess can be akin to doubting your reason for being. If you can't take losing, chess is something to stay away from. Others like myself, although rare, just play because it's fun. I always liked the quote by American master David Levy. He said "I would rather lose a good game of chess than win a bad one." How true. I remember the first time I watched two masters play a game of speed chess at 1 minute each. When I say one minute, I mean each player has one minute to complete his entire game. The board was a whir of hands moving, pieces falling, clock slapping and the like. The observer is hard pressed to even follow the action at such speed, usually faster than one move every second. I fell so in love with speed chess that it's now the game I prefer. Talk about an adrenaline rush. There's nothing like it. Well ....... almost nothing like it. Lol.

An obscure Hungarian scientist once had a theory about human learning that he vowed to put to the test. He hypothesized that anyone can master any subject if properly indoctrinated. To prove his theory he decided to teach his young daughters chess, to the exclusion of almost anything else. With vigorous training, all three of his daughters became strong masters at a very young age, and two of them became grandmasters. The middle daughter, Judith Polgar, became one of the strongest players in the world and at one time possibly had a shot at the world championship. She still may as she is still at the top of her game. Whether he was right or wrong, he definitely made his point.

I've always marveled at the outlook on chess in the US. It's almost completely overlooked, and it's appreciated by so few. I think it's such a great teaching tool for youngsters. It teaches the value of study, planning, forethought, strategy, and above all, humility. In this modern computer age, when knowledge is gained so easily and whatever you want you simply purchase, chess brings the human psyche back to reality. What a lesson.

There's a joke among those of us that play that says "He who makes the next to last mistake wins the game". It's rather funny in that it certainly seems that way, but, as in life, in chess it's usually far more complicated than that. A game? Yes it's a game for some and no, it's far more than that for others. The game is a beautiful stage for some to play on, and I always hunger to take my turn. It transcends time, gender. race, age and language. We're all even in it's eyes.

Now, you may be wondering just where your humble author fits into this. Let me assure you, I came by my nickname legitimately. I always say my life in chess has three phases. 1. Preparing to be clobbered, 2. Recovering from being clobbered, and 3. ............ Being clobbered. Ok, even a justawful player like myself can have his moments. Every once in awhile I too can paint a fairly pretty picture on the chessboard, even though it may only be a "paint by numbers". I still have a few triumphs in my "checkered" past. There was the time I once drew with a player that had once drawn with the world champion. The fact that the world champ was playing 20 other people at the time shouldn't enter into it. Oh and yes, I did once have one of my games published. The fact that it was a losing effort shouldn't matter should it? I'm sure I can come up with a good excuse for losing that one. Just give me a minute.

We're a strange breed for sure, those of us that are hooked. We lay in bed and ponder chess positions. We look at a table cloth and picture bishops and rooks. We agonize over tough losses and glorify over beautiful wins. Our spouses talk to us and wonder where we are when we nod because our mind is contemplating the latest variation of the Sicilian Defense. Whether I have or whether I haven't convinced you that chess is more than just a game, more than just watching paint dry or grass grow, you'll never convince me that it's dull. A legendary chess master once paid chess the ultimate compliment when he said "Chess, like music, like beauty, like love, has the power to make men happy." How true.

Ah chess. The Royal Game.

Friends, thanks for listening.

Used to play Chess a few years ago, and have begun to play it again, against my computer. It makes you think! Could be a addiction!

Chess for me! I have never played Backgammon. Would like to play though. Are online versions available?