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Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 8:45 p.m.

I have a friend who is very interested in games generally but not necessarily backgammon in particular, and he was intrigued by my opinion that backgammon is undergoing a shift from being a "gambling game" to being a "game of skill." He wondered how widely this opinion is shared, so I am throwing the question open to BGO readers.

1. In your opinion, has backgammon undergone, and/or is it now undergoing, a shift from being primarily a gambling game to being more of a game of skill? To clarify, I am talking not about the rules of the game changing, but of the way the community of backgammon players views and treats the game. Roughly speaking, a "game of skill" is something like chess or go, for which tournaments are conducted to determine who is most skillful at the game, while a "gambling game" is primarily played in order to bet (and hopefully win) money on the outcome of the game. Also, I'm thinking primarily of changes over the last 30 or 40 years.

2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, what do you think are the main factors that have caused this shift?

Messages In This Thread

• Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
  Timothy Chow -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 8:45 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    trichard -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 10:14 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Mick Z -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 12:30 a.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Colin Owen -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 6:20 a.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Casper Van der Tak -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 10:24 p.m.
    • +1:-) *NM*
      garyo -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 2:02 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 12:13 a.m.
  • Attempt at clarification
    Timothy Chow -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 5:25 p.m.
    • Attempt at clarification
      Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 7:15 p.m.
      • Attempt at clarification
        Taper_Mike -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 8:09 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Jakob Garal -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 9:50 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Taper_Mike -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 11:13 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Casper Van der Tak -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 10:48 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Tom Keith -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 11:42 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Jakob Garal -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 1:57 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:15 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Casper Van der Tak -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:55 p.m.
        • Luck in chess
          Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:24 p.m.
          • Luck in chess / Bill Robertie Position
            Wolfgang -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 4:36 p.m.
            • Luck in chess / Bill Robertie Position
              Philippe Michel -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 8:49 p.m.
              • That's great!
                Wolfgang -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 9:19 p.m.
          • Links to Interviews with Jake Jacobs & Kent Goulding
            Taper_Mike -- Wednesday, 21 January 2015, at 6:16 a.m.
    • Attempt at clarification
      Stick -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 8:47 p.m.
    • Attempt at clarification--the answer is obvious
      Phil Simborg -- Wednesday, 14 January 2015, at 8:37 a.m.
      • Attempt at clarification--the answer is obvious
        Albert Steg -- Wednesday, 14 January 2015, at 1:34 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Chuck Bower -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 5:47 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 7:36 p.m.
      • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
        Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:38 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Jakob Garal -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 6:28 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    ah_clem -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 9:38 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Daniel Murphy -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:23 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Albert Steg -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:58 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Albert Steg -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:15 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 10:54 p.m.