Israel’s online backgammon website Play65 has launched its Georgian ( ) platform Play65.ge and came to realize that despite backgammon’s reputation as a war game, Play65 brings peace to bloodshed areas, such as the Russia-Georgia boarder. The platform enables people from both sides of the barricade to come to terms, at least when it comes to their mutual backgammon match.

One day after Play65.ge was launched, it hosted a friendly game between representatives of opposing sides: the white checkers of the backgammon board were activated by Zaza83, 29 year old backgammon fan of Tbilisi, while the Russian ( ) backgammon veteran Kirill9009 moved the black checkers.

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“Mindgammon is a variation of Backgammon, more like a distant cousin” says Christian Bailey, co-founder of Mindgammon, Inc. Mindgammon was developed by Wayne Hulsen, Chairman of the company, after nearly two decades of thinking and planning the next generation of Backgammon. Hulsen wanted to make the game more user-friendly, especially for the beginners, and at the same time keep it a highly tactical game that would challenge the players’ intellect. He felt it was near impossible to recover from a bad roll in Backgammon, whereas in Mindgammon, there is always a chance for recovery and opportunity to win. Many games of Mindgammon come down to each player having one checker left to bear off, that makes Mindgammon much more exciting to play.

The game is available for purchase from the company’s web site (www.mindgammon.com) and will be stocked at select retail stores across the USA and Canada in late fall 2008. Mindgammon will also be available in SkyMall catalogs.

Innovation is not something new to board games. An early form of backgammon, Senet, is considered to be the oldest board game. Hieroglyphics representing a Senet game date back to 3100 BC and variations of this game have been found in many Egyptian tombs, including a flawless board in King Tut’s tomb. This game resembled the game we now know as “Backgammon“, with moves controlled by the roll of dice.

The game of Senet saw many changes over 3000 years - the Romans, Persians, the French and the Germans all contributed with some transformations to the game. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest use of the word “backgammon” was documented in 1650, and most likely derived from “back”, and Middle English “games” meaning game or play. The most recent development in Backgammon was the addition of the doubling cube in 1926-27.

For over five years, Bailey and Hulsen tinkered with the concept to ensure that it met all the requirements they had established. In 2005, they tested the game at the Chicago Toy and Fair Game (CHITAG). The reactions from the audience were more than encouraging. Hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life participated in the first Mindgammon Tournament. It lasted three days and was held at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Winners received prizes including a $500 gas card.

Next, they exhibited the game at Toy Fair 2007 in New York City. This is what Barrett Feintraub, Senior Writer Toy Fair had to say: “more than just a variant on backgammon, one that is plenty of fun, and it’s certainly more original than a lot of other ‘original’ games we saw (”it’s Risk, but in space!”, “It’s Dominoes, but the pieces bend!”, “It’s Checkers, but…”)
There is no doubt plenty of time, thought, and money has been invested in this project.”
Through 2007, Bailey and Hulsen have sought out the best manufacturing sources and planned for marketing the game board via multiple channels including traditional media, retail establishments, and the Internet.

The game will be produced in built-to-last, high quality beech wood, Polymer, and chipboard (MDF) to offer a comfortable price range. The retail prices for the game boards will range from $29.95 to $129.95 (US).

Bailey added, “Our product has received the attention of the International Montessori Council, Red Cross, and Aging Societies across the globe. Studies have shown that playing games like Mindgammon has the ability to sharpen young minds as well as curb the onset of dementia in the elderly.”

Use it or lose it. Research shows that engaging in intellectual activities, like Mindgammon, help keep a person mentally sharp in their senior years. Scientists speculate that mentally engaged people build up a “Brain Reserve” that protects them from dementia.
Also when youngsters are playing Mindgammon, they are using a part of the brain that naturally increases creative thinking by increasing right side stimulation. Once their skill level, ability and mental agility are engaged, their intelligence will slowly but surely increase.

Mindgammon Website

Online blackgammon companies are now on high alert after the recent identity theft case where Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in jail by the Moroccan government for opening a false Facebook profile in the name of the Moroccan Prince, Moulay Rachid. Recently, BackgammonMasters Mexico found several users in their systems that opened accounts with names of famous persons such as Prince William, Madonna and Tom Cruise. After checking the activities and locations of these users they found them to be fake.

Spokesperson for www.backgammonmasters.com says, “We’ve seen a trend in the industry for people to register popular names, as we call them “Gold usernames” such as backgammonking, pokerking, blackjack-king and celebrity names which are just as popular. We see people in game forums even buying and selling these usernames. For these people its status, kind of like having a custom license plate. As long as the games are for fun, we are not concerned.”

Although these players only played in fun money games such as Poker, Backgammon and 21 Blackjack, companies now are keeping an eye on these types of accounts after such an extreme case involving a major company like Facebook.

Some governments on the other hand seem to be concerned and do not take lightly insults to their leaders. Mourtada was released after serving 43 days of his term due to pressure from petition signers and Human Rights groups around the world. But this case has raised awareness that in some cases, a username is no longer just a username. Mourtada’s lawyer, Ali Ammar said, “This is a cultural problem; this is the first time that a Moroccan poses as a very important personality on the internet. This is already a common practice in European countries.”

BackgammonMasters Online Game Operator has expanded their Game Lobby to include the new AstroPay Video Slot Game. The first in a series of Video Casino Games to be launched, AstroPay gives www.backgammonmasters.com players the complete casino experience in addition to their Blackjack, Poker, and Backgammon games and tournaments. All of BackgammonMasters games are home-grown, original, one-of-a-kind creations of the BackgammonMasters Game Development Team.

Backgammon Lite

Incorporating what is said to be worlds largest online backgammon community with more than 500,000 registered players, Backgammon Lite gives you the opportunity to play Backgammon against real people and gives you the opportunity to meet other people from all over the globe.

As the A list of the social elite expands to absorb the wealth of rising gaming stars that events such as WSOP have produced, the playing field is opening to a new circle of celebrity gamers.

The announcement therefore that UK digital channel, Pokerzone has commissioned TV production company, 8mm Productions to produce a 4 hour series capturing the action at this year’s World Backgammon Championships in Monte Carlo has started an exciting chain of events to catapult backgammon into the limelight.

‘The Game of Kings’ and ‘the King of Games’

Historically known as a game of skill and sophistication, backgammon has many admirers but as the coverage of skill games increases, can backgammon rival the fame of Poker? Definitively yes answers Patti Rubin, Executive Producer for 8mm Productions forthcoming match-play backgammon series.

“Backgammon is more sophisticated and intelligent than other games, and what I think this production will do is renew the interest for players who had ventured into other gaming areas,” explained Rubin. “The power of television coverage is immense. You only have to look at the difference it has made to poker, before television, there were perhaps 60 entrants at the WSOP and this year, as poker’s coverage peaks, 6,000 players entered this year. People actually wait in line for an autograph from the winners. Because of television, the leading players have become superstars. Therefore I think the media interest in backgammon will bring a lot of people back to the game, as backgammon already has so much going for it.”

The lure of fame is something that backgammon players have also recognized. “If people appear on television, and become a celebrity by playing backgammon, their earning potential increases with endorsements, added prize money and significantly larger player numbers and it is definitely going to become more glamorous!” predicted Peter Hallberg, 2004 Backgammon World Champion. “In the past year or two there has been a small decline in the number of players attending the World Backgammon Championships, but after the efforts of backgammon servers such as Play65 and Gammon Empire more players are coming back to the tournaments and this will increase exponentially with TV. Servers such as Play65 (www.P65.com) have demonstrated the amazing power of promotion to draw awareness to the game, while this series will bring a new found glamour to the game”.

The Poker Model

Poker is a case-study for success and naturally offers a template for the exciting and continuing growth of backgammon. “This series is the starting point for backgammon,” affirmed Andy Bell, Series Producer for 8mm Productions. “Poker is the template. TV was the catalyst for poker and will be for backgammon. There is a real future in backgammon - it has huge potential. Ideally we would like to see players like Gus Hansen return to the game, who have proven in the U.S that games playing personalities can have very wide appeal, even to house wives! I can’t think of another game, other than poker, that has the chance to captivate viewers like backgammon.”

HIGH STAKES BACKGAMMON will be broadcast during October and November on Pokerzone in the UK, Germany, and Denmark. The series is being distributed to TV stations worldwide by UK company, TVF International, one of the world’s largest distributors of factual programming.