Backgammon tournament

Things You Should Know About a Chouette

Chouette is an interesting and challenging mode of play in backgammon. When you play in a chouette you play against three other backgammon players. That would usually pack a big challenge, but there is more to learn about a chouette. We'll discuss some items particular to a chouette and some rules as well. Since there are different rules for every chouette you might play in, we won't deal with rules specific to a certain group.

First off, everyone playing in a chouette assumes that you already know how a game of backgammon goes. It is expected that you know how to score a game, how to use a doubling cube, how to handle dice and all the other fundamentals. If some of the basics are still a bit foggy, then you should pick up on your reading and play a few more games before participating in a chouette.

If you get to play the box, this means you get to play against a team of three backgammon players. The opposing team will have a captain who gets to make the moves for the team including rolling the dice. At the end of the game, expect that the team would rotate roles and a new captain takes over. You and the other players also get to play as box and members of the crew according to rotation rules.

Initially, to determine who plays box, captain, and crew in a chouette, everyone rolls dice. The player who gets the highest number plays box, next highest becomes captain, and so forth.

Remember that you play a chouette for certain stakes. Stakes often come in an amount of dollars for every point you make. Often times, players get to agree how much is put in stake and that amount would be written on a score sheet.

The team can only consult on checker play decisions and not regarding decisions on doubling. Captains usually ask advice from the crew. A rather different twist compared to our usual backgammon game.

Other miscellaneous backgammon rules, like the Jacoby Rule or automatic doubling for example, may or may not apply depending on the group you're playing a chouette. Not all chouettes would have the same rules.

Now, if a backgammon player would have to leave the chouette only for a short time, a proxy can be appointed to take over for a brief moment. If no proxy can be found then the captain acts as that proxy until the player comes back.

These are general things you should know about a chouette. Remember to check out the specific rules first when you visit a chouette.