What exactly does “chouette” mean?

evilari · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 17

I am pretty new to playing backgammon online, although I have been playing the game for years with friends. Since I’ve started playing online I have run into the term “chouette” more times than I can count. Can anyone tell me what this means and how I can apply it to my game?

teklanika · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 6

Chouette is a form of backgammon that incorporates more than two players. To start, each player throws a die. The highest roller is in the “box” position. This player plays against all the others who form a team. The next highest rolling player is the captain of the team. He rolls the dice and moves the checkers. In some chouettes the captain is allowed to consult with his team and in others he is not. You’ll have to find out these rules depending on where you play. At the end of the game if the box wins the whole team must pay off to him. If the team wins, the box must pay out to all the team members. Once the game is finished, the captain becomes the box, the box goes to the end of the team line and the next player in the team line becomes the new captain. Because this is a rotating type of backgammon play, players can join and leave as they please. Newcomers start at the bottom of the rotation.

As I mentioned, rules differ between different chouettes. For instance, some don’t use a doubling cube at all and some allow EVERY member of the team to have a doubling cube and double his own stakes with the box.

Chouette play is tons of fun and I suggest you give it a try!