The New York Times columnist and a recreational backgammon player Stephen J. Dubner was trying to answer a reader quandary about the unexpectedly low popularity of the backgammon game in the States, and also dragged no. 1 backgammon giant and former world champion Masayuki Mochizuki to the discussion.
Why, then, the backgammon game isn’t more popular in the States and what would make it more popular?
Backgammon is not that unpopular, states Mr. Dubner; there are countless of websites dedicated to the game, and the ongoing 101-point backgammon matches he plays publicly with James Altucher are not being ignored by the surrounding crowd. Still, backgammon remains a relatively marginal game, especially comparing to poker or chess.
Backgammon is commonly played without the doubling cube and with no actual stakes, what takes away most of the strategy and the suspension and turns it into a simple, unexciting race game.
Comparing to chess again, backgammon has limited number of possible moves, but greater number of optimal moves.
Mochy, on the other hand, claims that backgammon is less popular because it is hardly being promoted. Backgammon have survived for several millenniums despite its faults (including the ghost of fashionably dressed backgammon players from the 1970s it brings in minds), and even without the doubling cube. However, these days backgammon has plenty of other activities to compete with on the human attention and sparse time, what can also explain why Dungeons & Dragons and bridge are not more popular.
Playing backgammon with the doubling cube would make the game more interesting, he agrees. Also playing sets of 5-7 points backgammon matches, as acceptable in backgammon tournaments, would be more interesting as well as a better skill judge than stretching the challenge into a 101-point game.
