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Comment by fforflo | Hacker News Reader

I got a feeling that this may be a cultural aspect there too: Backgammon is not considered "sophisticated," I think. I'm from Greece (I don't play backgammon myself, though), and backgammon (tavli) is extremely popular but widely considered "a game for the masses." It is played mostly in tavernas and old-style coffee shops, and each game has a social aspect, too. People discussing (sometimes shouting and finger-pointing "no! You should have done this or that! Ah! just get up and let me play, you're a noob!"

I can't but laugh thinking who would be the GMHikaru or GothamChess of tavli :D :D

Edit: This can be misinterpreted. I don't play tavli not because is not considered sophisticated, I just find the rules confusing for certain setups.

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Interesting, I've seen the opposite. In the US it's hardly played at all, nowhere near something like chess or poker, but a large (relative) percentage of the play that happens is for money, often at absolute nosebleed stakes.

That sounds great! Here in Canada the bar scene is mostly about watching hockey on big screen TVs. That’s a lot less interesting to me than games.

I never learned backgammon though.

After I learned backgammon from my parents, I also wonder why almost no one plays it in the US compared to chess. Seems mostly European and Middle Eastern folks play it (my parents are from Romania).

I like it because it's not as serious as chess, at least when it's not played for money. Just roll and go. I always carry a portable set with me, made by sondergut.

chess should be a game for the masses too, and I think it is. People play that in cafes too

Backgammon is arguably a much better game for casual play. In Chess, unless the skill levels are pretty close, one player (the stronger one) is going to win almost every game, and many of the non-wins will be draws.

Backgammon has just about the perfect amount of RNG injected into it... weaker players can win, especially a single point (backgammon is typically played to a point target.. a game is normally worth 1 point (except for a few edge cases where one player loses very badly), but there is a doubling cube that starts in the middle. At their turn either played can pick up the cube and double, at which point their opponent can either accept, and play for double points, or resign for the _original_ stake. The cube is then handed to the acceptor, and then he can redouble later, etc, etc.

It's not that you can't play chess in cafes (I've also done that), but chess is more complex and is -perceived- to be much more complex and serious.

Backgammon has dice rolls and less complex strategy, so it's nicer to play over coffee and chatting. Rolling doubles also gives potential for comeback swings so it can be fun for spectators too.

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