Danny's Backgammon Books

Vision Laughs at Counting with Advice to the Dicelorn. Two volumes covering all aspects of the game, including a pioneering chapter on the doubling cube and its use in match play, and introducing characters who write complaining letters to Miss Lonelyblots. Wrote noted backgammon author Barclay Cooke: "this book puts all others to shame." 435 pages, $80

Wonderful World of Backgammon. Miss Lonelyblots continues to answer the letters of characters said by Barclay Cooke to "rival Victor Mollo’s menagerie" while expanding on both elementary and advanced concepts of backgammon. 132 pages, $22

Meanwhile, Back at the Chouette. This book continues in the same vein as its two predecessors, with a heavy dose of Miss Lonelyblots’ advice to the dicelorn. Notably, it contains Danny's favorite chapter, a letter to Miss Lonelyblots from William of Ockham, and a review of a book by Gaby Horowitz, who put his then-wife Marcia Clark (of O.J. Simpson trial fame) through law school by his winnings while cheating at backgammon, that exposes Horowitz’s cheating as well as his bad doubling theories. 142 pages, $24

Double-Sixes from the Bar. A fourth book in the series, with some new charts showing winning chances and cube thresholds in races. Includes an account of the 1981 Plimpton Cup tournament. 135 pages, $23

Is There Life After Backgammon? Yet another book of the same kind. It includes a discussion of the claims about “psychic” influences on the dice, and a correct version of the Crawford Rule that has yet to be implemented even today, some 24 years after its formulation. 148 pages, $25

How Can I Keep from Dancing? An editor at Simon and Schuster requested “a book like Paul Magriel’s” to compete with a rival publisher. A list of books by “Paul Magriel” reveals that most are about the dance. Coincidentally, “dancing” is a colloquial term for failing to enter from the bar, something that is seldom good for a backgammon player. As the author finds less and less new theory to discover and explain, this book introduces annotated matches in which established theories are applied. 134 pages, $22

The Dice Conquer All. The dice conquer all, including the most skillful players, because they are loaded and manipulated by backgammon cheaters. This book exposes the ring of cheaters that infested backgammon in the early 1980s, naming names and describing techniques. However, most of the book is devoted to long annotated matches. 228 pages, $38

How Little We Know about Backgammon. This book continues to expose backgammon cheaters, and includes a photograph of some of the equipment used to cheat. However, that occupies only a few pages. Most of the book is consumed by a long annotated match and further discussions of backgammon theory and positions. 168 pages, $28

The Other Side of Midnight. The lone annotated match in this book adds a feature not to be found in the other books: comments by the two experts who played the match. Most of the book contains the same kinds of short theoretical essays that characterize previous books, along with the practical advice still offered by Miss Lonelyblots. 142 pages, $24

... But Only the Hogs Win Backgammons. This book contains the usual mix of material. The shorter of the two annotated matches it contains is unique in pitting a 1990 computer backgammon program against an amateur human opponent. A section at the end pays special attention to tournament rules and procedures, including a complete set of tournament rules upon which no significant improvement has been made in more than a decade-and-a-half since their formulation. 244 pages, $42

A Backgammon Book for Gabriel. Most of this book is occupied by a long annotated match, but there is still a large dose of theoretical essays and practical advice to the dicelorn. 145 pages, $25

Long Road to Gammon. The longer of the two annotated matches that form the bulk of this book was a final match of an international tournament in which the author provided a running commentary via closed-circuit television. A smattering of new theoretical material and analysis of problems completes the rest of the book, but for the first time, Miss Lonelyblots does not appear at all. 176 pages, $32

Backgammon Reference Cards. Price: $5 for four laminated wallet-size cards contain 8 charts that backgammon players may find useful:
     Winning chances in a 9-point match
     Takepoints for initial doubles in a 9-point match
     Winning chances in 2-versus-2 bear-offs
     Takepoints in 2-versus-2 bear-offs
     Chances of bearing off 3 men
     Cube actions in races
     Counts of shots and double-shots
     Fair settlements in pivotal positions


All of these books are 8½ by 11 inches and spiral-bound with schematic diagrams showing x’s and o’s. Ordering information.