Keeping Your Backgammon Obsession Quietly in the Background

Face it, backgammon lovers, we know just how addictive our game is. We play a game that combines luck (which can keep even the highest level players on an almost even keel with beginners) with strategy and skill, it's inexpensive to get started, and we can tote our game wherever we go – which means we can play our favorite game at just about any time of the day, too. This is great – for us - but maybe not for others around us in some settings, such as a college dorm, a workplace lunchroom, a teacher's lounge, maybe even in your own home.

Here are a few tips on being courteous and sensitive for others around you at odd hours of the day or night, or in surroundings where others are focusing on other tasks and might grind their teeth at the repetitive dice rattling from our spirited play:

• Double-fold a large thick towel and place it under the backgammon board – this will act as a "sound-absorber" and, although it won't totally muffle the rattling, it will soften the dice roll sounds as they strike the playing surface.
• Use a board that has a felt surface vs. the one made of wood or other non-cushioned surfaces.
• If your opponent approves, rattle and roll from your hand, which will eliminate the loud cup rattling entirely.
• If foregoing the cups goes against your playing code of ethics, then at least shake less and do so lower to the board. When you release, the dice will make a slightly softer impact (and sound) on a short fall vs. a higher one.
And of course there is the "roll and cover" technique some love to use, where the roller flips the cups over onto the board and muffles the dice with cup top itself – which also minimizes the rattling, stopping it cold. Then you lift the cup to reveal your roll.
• Of course, you can be overly-sensitive, too. Never substitute real dice with the giant felt ones that are hanging from your '57 Chevy mirror, which would might make your game more stealthy but would instead invite loud laughter. Have fun, but remember others around you appreciate good – and considerate – sports.