Hi, we're Jason and Bri! We started backgammon in the summer of 2022 from an impulse board rental from our local library and the rest is history. Follow along as we learn and stumble along the way from a beginners perspective. Most importantly, follow along to see the joy that is backgammon. Take care!
I'm not the best at explaining the reasoning behind XG, but if I had to guess, it's likely I'll be leaving a blot later, except this time I'd probably have two direct shots, instead of one (the play I made) which is way more likely to get hit than just one. I'd have to spend a bit more time with it again, but that's my gut thought.
I have yet to see anyone talk about the Crisloid "Champion" backgammon boards. They are medium in size, and reasonable-medium in price (cheaper than any of the crisloids you have talked about I believe, but more expensive than the budget boards you talk about here) and boy do they look good in the photos! Do you have one of those?
Hello! I don't have one, nor have I played on the Champion size. One of my friends has one (we've never played on it for whatever reason) but he's a big fan of it. I've always been impressed with Crisloid's quality and attention to detail.
I really like your content. I live in a backgammon wasteland..Arkansas. 😂 Im 49 and started playing 25 years ago. I learned from my first wife who was from up north and here in the south there are not many folks who play. All I have for Internet is cellular service and I want to start serious play. Ive never played in a tournament or anything like that. I am good maybe not pro level but good. How do I get started? How do I get a ranking? Can I just come in off the street and play in a tournament or do I have to have a rank? Thanks so much in advance and keep making that good content
In part you two have inspired me to study the game more seriously and to go to the Madison tournament. I had entered in the novice division next month. Played backgammon with a friend today and we are interested in getting a local club going as well. As you say a good way to build some social connections as well as having some fun. I plan to bring water and snacks to eat while playing for sure.
Just found your channel and being a fellow Wisconsinite Im obliged to sub. Was about to ask if you ever checked out the Milwaukee club until I saw you in a picture on their Facebook 😅
It fits inside my tournament sized Crisloid, but I haven't checked it with other boards. I feel like I've seen others do it, although don't quote me on that, haha.
I live in the Quad City area (Davenport, IA, Moline IL) and we have no club here. I am wondering how the Madison club got started? The club in Madison and Peoria, Il are the closest to me. I have relatives in Madison and I may've to come up and play with the club like you did just to have the experience. I am entering the Madison tournament as a novice just to experience that as well. Your videos have helped to push me into studying the game more. Thanks for doing them.
UPDATE: I followed up with Crisloid via email and they responded right away that sometimes custom checkers take a little longer. Only two days after this original post we have our board and we are supper happy with it. It was worth the slight extra wait. We’ve had a less timely and less communicative interaction with Crisloid. We’ve been waiting almost three weeks now with no word on when the board has even shipped. I had to reach out to them to make sure they got the payment after almost a week. They are responsive to email communication when you’re designing your board but once you put the order in our experience is that they are less communicative once they have the payment. At this point we have no idea when we’ll receive our board.
@blunderblots Hey i played this game on App and it's very addictive. Now i want to buy my first board, but i can't chose between the 16 inch and 19 inch models. Mainly i want to use at home, but sometimes if i go to my friends or i go to holiday i want the perfect size board. I don't want two boards, just one. Can you help me make a decision? What do you suggest?
Hello! Do you envision yourself ever playing in coffee shops, or going to tournaments or anything like that? The 19" is nice, but it can be a bit big if you're taking it on the go, that being said the pieces are a nice size and it's a great board. The 16" is definitely more travel friendly and it doesn't take up as much space on a table so there's more room for things like food/drinks, etc. I don't think you can go wrong with either. If it's purely for fun, family, friends, taking on the go. The 16" is the way to go in my opinion. I've come to enjoy smaller boards for their convenience much more than larger boards. Although there's something special about playing on a bigger board too. It's a tough choice. I'm happy to answer any questions the best I can. Cheers!
Hope you know how much your videos are appreciated! I’ve watched on and off since your first video and now as I get back into backgammon again I absolutely love the way you film and edit, your passion for learning the game, and how you share the game with your significant other. Please keep this up!
Hey Jordan! That means a lot and thank you for letting me know! 😀 We sure do have fun! I just returned from playing in the Chicago Open so keep an eye out for that one in the coming weeks. Cheers!
Well, I am learning like you and your videos are well done in terms of content and technically. I am currently going through Marc Olen’s book How to Not Suck at Backgammon. I live in the Quad City area and there is not backgammon club here. There is one in Madison, WI and in Peoria, Il. I am working on getting my wife to play as I would rather play in person than online, but may have to go online to get more playing in. I am wondering about getting a club together. Any recommendations on that?
Thanks so much! That means a lot! I got that one too. It's been great! We didn't have a club closer than an hour and a half near us either (Madison and Milwaukee). One of the players we met at a tournament ended up starting one near us. We're a small club, but it's a lot of fun. It's definitely a challenge when there aren't places near you to play. I would say venture to your closest club once to see how things are run and get a feel for it. Then it's just getting word out and slowly building up from there. Also, getting to a backgammon tournament is a ton of fun and well worth checking out! If you haven't seen it already you can find clubs and tournaments on USBGF's website. Also, I much prefer playing in person too, but playing online is sometimes the only way to get matches in. Backgammon Galaxy and Backgammon Studio Heroes are good places to play online. Cheers!
This is a Crisloid board correct? Tournament or Champion size? The tournament size looks large to me and would prefer something a wee bit smaller. How does the travel size work for you? That seems to be a bit small (I Saw your videos on that),
Hi Mike! You are correct, it's a Crisloid Anchor Orange (tournament size). I only break the orange one out for tournaments. It's a phenomenal board and made exceptionally well! My wife and I find ourselves playing on the go so much that the smaller boards are more convenient for us (portability, coffee shop tables, etc) I've only ever played on a Champion sized once and I remember it being nice. Same great Crisloid quality, just a smaller package. I think it really comes down to use case. Where do you imagine you'll be playing the most? I'm happy to help with any questions. Either way, you can't go wrong with Crisloid. Cheers!
Congratulations on a great RU-vid channel, the best Backgammon channel by a country mile. Refreshing to see you & your good lady having so much fun playing & filming Backgammon. Keep up the good work, and Thank You.
Wow, what a cool board! And you’re so lucky to have played with so many great players that I’ve NEVER played against: Nick Blazier, David Todd, Ben Friesen, your wife (😂). Great stuff, thanks for your ongoing series of videos!
Thanks, Justin! This and our Crisloid magnetic are our go to coffee shop boards depending what we're doing. I bring it to the club pretty often too, but everyone wants to play on "big" boards. I love our little boards, hahah. We consider ourselves very lucky! So many great people in this game, that's for sure. Hopefully we can play together at some point too. What tournaments are you heading to this year?
Great video and review. Not to forget your channel. I'm a subscriber now. I've been looking at the adventure boards from Backgammon Galaxy for some time now. I haven't pulled the trigger yet because of the price range. I love the boards, especially the popping colors and the sound of it. Congratulations with your new board. Been looking at the Crisloids as an alternative, but I'm not a fan of the cork inlays. I much prefer the softer inlays, such as on the adventure board. Anyway, I found another alternative - the Mini Nature board from FM Gammon for $250. It's the same size, the same inlays. The checkers looks amazing. The white and brown finger dished checkers reminds me of capuccino and macchiato - will fit perfectly in at a cafe or beach bar. Haven't received it yet, but expected to have the board in the coming days. Will post a comment later if I find any flaws. But from earlier experience with Backgammon Galaxy, I haven't found any flaws with my purchased producs. I've purchased some precision dice, the tempest game clock and the prototype tournament sized Nova Board (purchased for only $127). I was expecting flaws with the Nova Board, but couldn't find any - all 45 mm checkers looked really, really good, and the playing surface looked and felt really good. And I agree, Sir, the sound of the soft inlays with the wooden frame is simply unbeatable. It's my favourite combo, without a single doubt.
Hello! Thanks for the comment! I have a friend who has one of the FM Gammon mini nature boards (also the Nova) and he's very happy with his. They're great little boards. I almost went that route as well. Who knows, maybe I still will at some point, haha.They make me think of an old library and I dig that. The coffee comparison is spot on! I've become a big fan of small portable boards. Most of my play is at coffee shops, friends houses, etc. It's just so convenient with small boards. Cheers!
@@blunderblots Good to hear. I just had to purchase a high quality travel friendly board. The full sized Nova Board is fantastic for home games, but I looked like a Russian hitman when travelling with it. Much easier with a smaller board, but couldn't play on my cheap travel board from the 90s anymore - it's not the same anymore since playing on a high quality board.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 great coverage Jason. The highlight style of this video was very enjoyable. I actually didn’t catch much of the stream, so this was perfect. Thank you. Having the commentary audio over top was great too. Keep up the great work! Let’s go Patreon lol 🎉
I must have missed my name when you mentioned "giants of the game?" Oh... you were talking about backgammon skills and not waist size... never mind , ha ha ha. Great meeting you Jason... see you again soon! Bill
Very cool. Keep it up! Wish there was something like this in The Netherlands... And congratiulations with your little one. Cherrish even the sleepless days 😂
Or... now hear me out. Just go straight to FM Gammon and pick one up for 250. It's not the same colors, but i dont think the color is worth paying double.
Another great vid from the BB team. Always top notch! Not a critique, but in most all BG content why is prize money never discussed in the coverage of these events? Gambling is not the taboo it once was and I think a spotlight on the action side of the game could really help it to grow. Take that with a grain of salt, I’m a poker player.
So glad to hear that! Storytelling immersion is a huge goal I'm working on. Hah! I can relate to the loses. Thanks for your continued support and cheers!
Always capturing the energy of these tournaments like none other. The variety of commentary, stream footage, interviews, and vlog-style shots in this one really sets it apart. What an impressive piece of work! Cherry Blossom was one for the books. Shoutout to the entire team. See everyone again next year. :)
Hey that's a good comparison with the Switch, haha. Yeah, it's definitely a bummer, but they're aware of it and hopefully it can be resolved for future boards. 😀 I definitely could have sent them back for new ones, but it didn't bother me much. I just wanted to make sure others were aware so they could make informed purchases. Cheers! 😁
Love that you enjoy this as a couple, my wife and I have been getting into backgammon after finding a cheap used set at a thrift store. We’ve been trying to play a few games each day since then. Thanks for sharing this content!
Hey, Jeff! Thanks so much! 😀 Are you planning on attending tournaments up my way this year? We're planning on attending Madison, Chicago and Minneapolis. Cheers! 😁
Now that's a tough question to answer. They all have their own specialities. Ask me in another year or so when I've attended them each a few times, haha. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them though. Cheers, Jeff!
I’m a musician who’s recently discovered the joys of backgammon. Clocks don’t scare me, I think of them like “metronomes” for games. And I’m very used to using a metronome. 😅
Nice! Welcome to the game! So much fun! Great way to think about it! I've gotten a lot more comfortable with them too. Still a little nerve wracking when you get below 30 seconds though, hahaha! Cheers!
@@tfpp1 Glad you're enjoying them! 😄 Heading to Cherry Blossom in DC tomorrow, so they'll be a new video on that tournament in the next couple weeks! Cheers! 😄
tks for the great video. What a wonderful intro for newbies like me. Would you recommend entering the Open or Intermediate category as well, just for the experience, when you are there for the Novice tournament?
Thank you! There are side events you'd be able to enter, but generally you have to pick which main event you want to enter as the Open, Intermediate and Novice divisions will all be going on at the same time. Which means you wouldn't be able to play more than one. Cheers!
