Play65 is welcoming the new year and the special 11/1/2011 date with another $15,000 backgammon tournament, with $4,000 1st prize. The tournament will take place at 21:00. Entry fees are $200 ($185+ $15) and they can be earned at the daily satellites, sit and gos or the exclusive VIP freeroll on 8 January at 18:00 GMT or be exchanged for 50,000 VIP Shop Points.
It is also an opportunity to congratulate last month’s $15,000 backgammon tournament winner Reanfles, who earned $4000 in one evening of playing backgammon.
We would also like to remind you that the Play65/EBGT season is about to begin and let you know that you can follow the tournaments dates and location and track our online backgammon satellites schedule.
Play65/EBGT Season 2011 is about to begin. Play65 will host exclusive online qualifiers for each of the perstigious backgammon tour’s stops, plus additional satellites for the €25,000 Grand Finale.
The first Play65/EBGT satellite is scheduled to 12 February at 18:30 GMT. The winner will get free entry to the WBA 10th Anniversary/ISTAVDER 3rd Anniversary Tournament, and the finalists – Play65 VIP Club membership for a month.
Next Play65/EBGT events include the European Pro & Doubles Backgammon Championships in April, Play65/EBGT/ABT Golden Gate Open in May, Portuguese Backgammon Open in June, Georgian Backgammon Open in August, Mallorca Backgammon Challenge in October, Paris Open in October and Cyprus Open in December. Another tournament is expected to take place in September in a yet undecided location. Entry fees and terms will be announced soon.
Play65/EBGT Grand Finale
The Play65/EBGT season will be closed on 5-7 December 2011 with the 24-players, €25,000 Grand Finale in Lefkosa, Cyprus, where the winner will take $15,000. The dates, entry fees and additional details regarding the Grand Finale satellites will be announced soon. What can already be announced is that, for the first time in online backgammon, online qualifiers will gain WBA Masterpoints and will be ranked amongst their offline colleagues at the WBA point race.
The backgammon board is made of full carbon and the checkers are composed of 24 carat gilded and silvered stainless glass and is available for only $25,250. Just hurry up, because it comes in a limited edition of only 99 sets.
Play65 is offering a special promotion for Christmas and the holiday season – 50% bonus on a $50-150 deposit with the bonus code: XMAS50. Play65 Christmas bonus is valid from now until February 1st 2011 and it can be released in 5 steps after accumulating the required number of stars. So, to get $50 bonus on your $100 deposit, you will get $10 on each step after accumulating 500 stars.
For handmade backgammon gifts you can choose between the portable floral fabric backgammon set seen above ($4 in the US or $6 elsewhere), and a round backgammon board with the old world map in the background ($20/$50, checkers are included).
Fans of Lost or those who missed the TV drama that rumored to draw backgammon back into the center of attention, might appreciate the complete collection on Blu-ray with a senet game set (backgammon game’s Ancient Egyptian ancestor that was mentioned by the Jacob character in the television series) and other relics.
If interested in different backgammon game variations or inspirations, a vintage set of the Parcheesi, a board game similar to backgammon influenced by the ancient Indian Parchisi, is available for sale on ebay for just $14.90.
Like backgammon, Parcheesi is played with a pair of dice and the players strive to move their (four) pieces home (in that case, to the center of the board); as in backgammon, there are doublets, hits and blockades.
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.
The 15K backgammon tournament has started out on 10/10/2010 is now becoming a monthly tradition. It returns on 12/12/2010 with a guaranteed $15,000 prize pool, $4,000 first prize, 11-point final and 16 winners. Entry fees are $200 (185+15), and they can be earned at the daily satellites (everyday at 19:00 and 21:00) or the special VIP free-roll (for VIP Silver and Gold members) on December 9 at 18:00. VIP Club members can purchase entry to the glorious 15K event using their (50,000) Shop Points.
Play65 Meribel promotion has ended last Sunday. Two players – Götz Hildsberg of Germany aka klarsicht8 & Serge Dahan of France aka nanisimon – had won entries to the Masters Flight of the upcoming backgammon tournament at the French Alps, four nights (each) in a luxury hotel and entries to the Highest Little Tournament in The World. Four more players - candy_88, claus_e, mjw672 & guinea_pig – had won Gold VIP statuses for a month, what gives them 2.5-point factor on every $1 real money game played, a personal account manager and other benefits.
The Meribel Backgammon Tournament is going to take place between 8th and 12th of December and will include a 3-days, 9-11 points main event, 2739 metres, 3-points tournament, gang tournament, SpeedGammon tournament, additional side events and zero registration fees and rakes. Thus, the prizes include 100% of the participants’ entry fees in various distribution calculations, and even the winners of the free warm-up tournaments will go home with at least a bottle of champagne. On top of Play65 qualifiers, Meribel tournament 2010 will be attended by Falafel, Mochy (who will be hosting a backgammon problem-solving discussion on Saturday evening), Bob Wachtel and other backgammon champions.
Play65 gives away two full prize packages to the 2nd Meribel Backgammon Tournament, to be held on 8-12 December in the French Alps’ ski resort. The prize packages include €500 entry to the Meribel Masters Flight Meribel (where 100% of the fees return to the players as prizes), 4 nights luxury hotel accommodations, and €70 entry to "The Highest Little Tournament In The World", which will be held on Friday, 10 December, 2739 meters height above sea level at the Pierres Plates Restaurant.
Play65 Meribel Backgammon Satellites will take place on Sunday, 14 November and the following Sunday, 21 November. Entry fees are €150. The winners will be granted the Meribel prize packages and the three finalists would each get VIP Club Gold status for one month, where every dollar worth 2.5 Shop Points on Play65 gift store.
Geneva Backgammon Tournaments Reminder
And if you are already packed for Meribel, you might want to pop to Geneva on your way, where the local backgammon association (GBA) and Play65 are throwing a backgammon tournament that will be held on 27 November at the Oli bar-restaurant. This live tournament is following an online backgammon tournament that will be held on Play65 platform on Saturday, 13 November, and the best player on both tournaments would also win a month Gold VIP status.
Play65 and the Geneva Backgammon Association collaborate for two special backgammon events: an online backgammon tournament to be held on Saturday, 13 November at 18:00 GMT on Play65 game lobby, and a live event, on Saturday 27 November on 14:00 Swiss time (registration begins at 10:00) at the Oli bar-restaurant on Carrefour de Rive 1, Geneva.
The champions of the two events will be awarded cash prizes: €40 (or more, depending on the number of participants) at Play65 tournament, and 40% of all entry fees at the Geneva club event. Entry fees are only €6 for the online backgammon tournament and 60 Switzerland Francs (about €44.5) for the live event, which includes a Main and Consolation events and a ladies tournament. In addition, the player who would gain the highest score in both tournaments - online and face2face – will be automatically upgraded to a Gold status on Play65 VIP Club.
Backgammon in Geneva
"Geneva Backgammon Association is young", said 2010 Swiss Backgammon Open champion and 2009 Geneva Open champion Denis Etienne in a recent interview to Play65 Blog, "Today, there are 60 regular members, some of them are excellent players and, as it is an international city, players come from all the parts of the world. Traditionally, the best backgammon players in Switzerland came from the German-speaking part of the country, but it is maybe changing as Geneva is in the French-speaking part…"
The initial part of Play65 game preview where you will be first introduced to the backgammon software’s features and variety of games, and later view an illustration of the backgammon download and installing processes.
Play 65 Game Lobby
Here you will enter into the Play65 backgammon game lobby: joining a game table, switching from fun money to real money, opening a game table, choosing a type of game and setting game definitions, and finally customizing the backgammon board.
Sign Up Bonus
As a new player on Play65, you are entitled to receive a free sign-up bonus. This video shows the steps you should complete to claim your bonus, from registering and verifying your email and/or phone number to tracking your bonus account at the cashier.
Real Money Backgammon
This video answers all questions about playing backgammon for real money: which currencies and deposit options are accepted, and how to the depositing procedure is accomplished.
