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Get on Board
Backgammon's back ... and in a bar.
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Published on August 12, 2004
-
Wendi Koontz
Play backgammon over beers.
THU 8/12
Just when you thought this town couldn't get any hipper, they went and formed a backgammon club. Its mission: to unite those who would preserve this ancient game, this sacred forebear of Parcheesi. However, oh righteous hipster, you should know that the battlefield onto which you will tread has been around for about 5,000 years. The Egyptians who came up with the playing board -- the one with all the little triangles -- couldn't have predicted that you would come along in your tight, ironic T-shirt, looking for trouble. All we're saying is, don't make this a fad, like backgammon in the '70s, played in shaggy basements across the country and then left to rot atop a marigold refrigerator when some hopelessly sexy little Uno deck came along.
The game has shown staying power in the new millennium, becoming a favorite at online gaming sites. The Kansas City Backgammon Club wants to have some nonvirtual fun, though. The group holds its inaugural tournament at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Harpo's (4109 Pennsylvania). There, you may drink a pint while counting your pips (points). And the club is making it interesting -- the entry fee is $10, with a 90 percent payout divided among the winners of three brackets. For more information, contact Eric Barr at 816-561-4330. -- Sarah Smarsh
Disc Jockeys
Someone has to win.
SAT 8/14
Although the laid-back players of Ultimate Frisbee take their sport seriously, they also play for the spirit of the game -- the matches have no penalties, because it's inconceivable that team members would intentionally hurt other participants. This gives us all sorts of warm fuzzies about the Kansas City Ultimate Frisbee Summer League Tournament.
Ultimate player and social coordinator Dan Barickman tells us the team favored to win is Shawn Dubbs Family Band. "They're a dynasty," Barickman says, "but their biggest opponent will be my team, Bjorn Borg." Really, Dan? Guess we'll have to call his bluff at the tourney, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 122nd Street and Blue River Road, near Meiner Park. Call 913-406-7070 for more information. -- Annie Fischer
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