Spoiler Alert.
If you don’t want to read the whole sorry tale, Debbie wins on the last day by taking both games.
Debbie while cleaning out a closet found a backgammon set. Thus was born the Great Backgammon Challenge of 2011-2012. We’ll keep track of who wins each game[1] over the winter, and on the first day of Spring 2012 (March 20th) the winner of the most games gets to name their prize.
I am confident of victory, despite having had to build a fence around our back garden the last time I entered into one of these challenges.
| Date | Debbie | Chuck | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/13/11 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12/14/11 | 1 | 1 | Debbie slaughtered me in the 2nd game. I only had two pieces borne off when she finished. |
| 12/16/11 | 0 | 2 | |
| 12/18/11 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12/19/11 | 1 | 1 | Debbie hammered me brutally in the first game. I barely squeaked out a victory in the second. I’m not feeling confident. |
| 12/20/11 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12/21/11 | 2 | 0 | |
| 12/22/11 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1/4/12 | 1 | 1 | I almost gammoned Debbie tonight in the first game! |
| 1/30/12 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1/31/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie won the second game tonight only through some unholy pact that let her roll doubles 3 times in a row at the end. |
| 2/1/12 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2/1/12 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2/10/12 | 1 | 1 | I’m glad no one was counting how many times I said, “bleep it” tonight. The dice were being very cruel. |
| 2/16/12 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2/20/12 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2/21/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie rolled doubles 3 out of her last 4 rolls to make a game that should’ve been a walk-off for me way too close. |
| 2/22/12 | 2 | 0 | I should just forfeit and end the misery. |
| 2/26/12 | 0 | 2 | Maybe there is hope after all. |
| 2/28/12 | 0 | 2 | Gammon! Gammon! Gammon! Chuck is great! Let’s feed him chocolate cake! |
| 3/2/12 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3/7/12 | 1 | 1 | Status quo maintained |
| 3/8/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie says my one game lead is, “not the result of skill.” |
| 3/9/12 | 1 | 1 | No one is giving an inch as we rush towards the March 20th conclusion. |
| 3/10/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie rolled double 6’s, twice, at the end to win the second game. Not that I’m bitter or claiming I would’ve won except for her freakish luck. |
| 3/11/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie’s freakish ability to roll doubles when needed is starting to creep me out. On the other hand, maybe a trip to the craps tables in Vegas is in order… |
| 3/12/12 | 1 | 1 | Ok, some have challenged me on my constant whining about Debbie’s freakish ability to roll doubles. So tonight I kept count: Debbie rolled 9 doubles, I rolled 3. I know, I know, that proves nothing. I’m just saying… |
| 3/13/12 | 0 | 2 | We both rolled 8 doubles tonight. |
| 3/17/12 | 1 | 1 | Debbie rolled 8 doubles, I rolled 6. |
| 3/18/12 | 2 | 0 | Debbie rolled 8 doubles in the first game and I rolled 1. |
| 3/19/12 | 1 | 1 | This is nothing unusual, but Debbie rolled double 6’s to win the first game. |
| 3/20/12 | 2 | 0 | The penultimate day, and Debbie snatches victory from jaws of defeat by winning both matches. The first she won in the usual manner by rolling 5 doubles to my 1. But she won the second despite only rolling 2 doubles to my 3. |
| Total | 32 | 31 |
1.Everything we know about backgammon we know by reading a set of instructions translated by someone who didn’t know much English, and didn’t care to learn any more. What we are playing probably only coincidentally resembles regulation backgammon.
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