?? maybe play some backgammon tonight, ten dollars a point say, just a friendly urbane game, with plenty of breaks for story telling or the heroics of late game recubes, rare as hens teeth, to be had either for cash or for a heating up of any short match.

?? of course you may bring cousin Ari and his stained Bakelite checkers, the more fools the merrier sayeth the bard, although not in his own plays.

?? a good idea: hitting Bakelite blots and then dancing with Bakelite barmaids at your local beck and call, thereby coasting into a gammon win on the scoresheet.

?? so, chouette, you, me, Ari and who else ?

?? its an overnighter at my place, so bring irresponsible bedmates.

?? upstairs past the library is the deluxe treatment, but those stakes will need to be upwards of $2000 a point, along with the barons customary gesture to reward the first opening doubles on the dice with the option to reverse the opening cube action, taken by someone earlier in this game. No first cube, then no turning back cubetime.

?? whoa now lets get this straight: If the game’s first dice doubles {11s,22s,33s,44s,55s,66s} occur after a turned and taken cube, then the player who just rolled first doubles may, with discretion, elect to reverse the accepted cube from awhile ago, the player who has yet to roll doubles must look on in horror.

?? known, by some, as the barons gavotte

??