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BGonline.org Forums
USBGF Rules--My take
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: USBGF Rules (Bill Riles)
Date: Saturday, 8 October 2016, at 4:45 a.m.
1. Overall, I think the USBGF did a fine job;
2. I think it is important to have one set of rules for the entire world of tournament, organized backgammon, and I have always believed that until there is an International Federation, the existing federations should NOT each come up with their own rules, but rather form a joint committee and agree on rules for the world. Remember, individual tournament directors can make reasonable changes for particular events. For example, the dice landing on checkers is great for speedgammon and when we used it in Chicago there were few problems. I believe after enough people try it and see that most of the problems they fear about it are not really major problems, then it might be easier for the entire world to adopt that rule. I have played that way for close to 40 years with my brother and never understood why the game should be played any other way. If you have the kind of checkers that make it hard to be sure what the roll is when the dice land on them, then, for those games, with the TD's permission, play with the old rules.
3. I have spent many years studying the rules and doing re-writes and of course, with a lot of help from Jeb and Chuck, we came up with what I believe are some wonderful improvements. We changed very few rules, but we changed the way many were written to help reduce ambiguity and to deal with what should happen if there is an infraction, and I believe the USBGF incorporated much of what we had and most of the changes are excellent. One major conclusion I have made after all these years is this: we will never have a set of rules that everyone likes. But if the rules are clear and fair, we will have a great game. There are people that will never accept legal moves and many on the other side. There are people who will never want to play with a baffle box and many on the other side. There are people who will always believe headphones and electronic rollers and even recordings are bad for the game. The point is to establish rules that are clear and sure, and in time we will all get used to them, whether we like them or not.
I totally agree with Riles when he says we should try using the rules and see how they play out before we get too critical.
In short, I know this took a lot of time and work and appreciate the efforts. The next step is to see that like it or not, everyone uses these rules, as the USBGF is the representative of the players and the players should dictate how the game is governed, not just a few TD's who tell us what rules we will have whether we like them or not.
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