After dinner today, Jeff and I played two rounds of backgammon. He trounced me the first time (he didn’t gammon me, but it was close). The second game was more exciting.
My second or third roll was double-sixes, so I took the opportunity to move my two blots out of Jeff’s inner board. This turned out to be a good move, since it set me up for a running game and prevented Jeff from getting up a good side prime.
Anyway, about halfway through the game I managed to put two of Jeff’s pieces on the bar and cover all six points on my inner board so that he couldn’t get in. Of course, once I started taking off pieces, I was sunk. I left a vulnerable blot on the 6 point, and then of course he rolled a 6. (Only one 6, so he could only move one of his pieces off the bar.) It just so happened that the only open point on his inner board was the 6, so we were playing a game of who-rolls-six-first. It was such an absurd situation, we both just had to laugh. I would not have been surprised if the tables had turned completely and he had won the game.
Eventually he rolled another six before I did, I think, but I hit him a few more times on my trip around the board, and his dice rolls were so bad that he was not able to get his last piece out of my inner board before I won.
Even though I backgammoned Jeff today, and even though I usually win when we play (does it have anything to do with the fact that I knitted the board we play on?), I would like to point out that he backgammoned me a few days ago.
nichole says:
That board is excellent! What a cool idea. Do you just roll it up when you're done?