Multi Play
Multi Player backgammon is not new; the main tournaments
played both for fun and professionally are multi player. They use a
format that works unilaterally. Though face to face conflicts are
different from that of online multi players, game play remains very
much the same.
The huge advantage of an online multi-player tournament means that in
essence there are no restrictions as to the number of participants
that can play; the question is a matter of logistics. If a thousand
plus played it would take days rather than hours for a tournament to
complete.
Where as the most an offline tournament would have is probably 100 in
the early stages, or even less than this, depending upon the
importance of the competition. Multi-players in online games are not
restricted by location or time; it is just a matter of practicality,
as the geography of the situation poses no problem online. There are
no hassles with finding an event location, or accommodation, or even
flights.
It is just a matter of logging in and playing the opponent designated
to you. Usually backgammon is played fast, so movement through the
various stages of a competition is rapid, sometimes play is slower,
depending upon the experience of the players involved.
Multi-Play is no different to single combat, the objectives are the
same; get your pieces off the board before your opponent does.
With most multi-player games online, the tournament takes a few hours,
although with the popularity of online tournaments growing, spectators
can also watch the proceedings and this can add to the overall
attraction, meaning that sometimes these tournaments extend over a few
days before they are completed.
With multi-players the basics of the game remain unchanged, and though
this is called multi-player it still remains a battle between two
players, ok there is the chance that one player will meet many players
during the competition but it is still mano et mano.
What if somebody came up with a true multi-player option, namely five
or six players playing on the same board against five or six players
from the opposition, with each player having one move in sequence, how
different would that be? This could open up a whole new vista for
backgammon with multi-player tournaments played in the true sense of
the term, with teams against teams, country versus country.
The basic rules would not need to be changed; the doubling cube option
would then need to be a collective decision, with the captain of the
team casting the deciding vote.
The various strategies would pull into play a combination of attack
minded players or backgame specialists that would turn the game on its
head with every move. Countered by the opposition who would need to
adopt their own method of play, now that wouldn't that be exciting?
This game would I suggest only be possible online, with a piece of
software written to accommodate five or six players in a room, able to
move individually. This is multi-playing backgammon in the true sense
of the text, now what a game that could be.
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