Internet Backgammon Pioneers

By Robert Wachtel

Because internet backgammon is not structurally suited to group play, all of the sites that have ever offered the game have followed an invitational model. That is, players who are looking for a game arrange to play directly with their prospective opponents others rather than depending upon the site to match them. Until two parties agree to play one another, and agree upon the precise conditions of contest (single game or match of a specific length), there is no action.

First Real Money Backgammon Site

The first successful online backgammon site offering money play was Gamesgrid (GG), founded in 1997 by computer programmer and expert backgammon player Ken Arnold. Setting the industry standard for the next five years, GG offered a user interface that featured excellent software and an invitational model that was more personal than any that has been offered since.

To play on GG, each player had to post some basic information about himself on an identity page: his name, home town, personal preferences, and usually, a picture. Yes, there were some false identities posted: the sharks quickly discovered that they got lots more action as a pretty girl than their own ugly selves. But the majority of people were who they said they were; and because the site featured an instant messaging feature, it quickly evolved into a virtual backgammon community. Friendships, even romances were established; gossip and feuds percolated; people shared news about tournaments or other live action. Like a private club, GG charged a yearly membership fee; and even the sit and goes were arranged by a live tournament director. Once logged in, you were visible to all the other members.

But GG did lack one crucial feature. If you were looking for action, all that the site allowed you to do was to signal your general willingness to play. You were not able to advertise to others what stakes or type of contest you wanted. This defect could make it quite awkward to get a game: if you invited someone to play, and the conditions that you proposed were not what he was looking for, you were often summarily rejected. Some people therefore arranged their games through instant messages; but this was not comfortable for those who did not enjoy chatting or who spoke a different language than their prospective opponent. The GG invitational mechanism was not quick and dirty enough to accommodate less sociable, action-oriented players.

Backgammon Software Upgrades

That group gravitated towards Truemoneygames (TMG), founded in 2002 by the developers of the Snowie backgammon software. Stripped down for action, TMG offered no chat feature, no user identities, and no information about who was logged onto the site. But it did feature the best backgammon software yet developed, and a lobby in which players could advertise, with certain restrictions, the stakes and type of game they were seeking.

The dominant backgammon interface since 2004 has been the invitational framework used by the Logicempire group, under its three skins: Gammonempire, Play65 and Primebackgammon. Adapted to efficient and anonymous game arrangement, this model features just a rudimentary chat function, but allows a player to post the exact stake and conditions of contest he prefers each time he advertises his availability to play.

But this free and easy matchmaking system was accompanied by certain hazards. In my next article I will examine some of the tools that Logicempire has developed to protect its clientele from cheating and predatory play of various kinds.