This is a suggested addition to the options available to a host when creating a game. The doubling cube in Backgammon is used to apply pressure on opponents by challenging them to double the stakes on a game, or drop the cube and pay the current level of stakes. If the double is accepted, the player who accepts this keeps the doubling cube, and can choose to redouble next turn or at any point later in the game
Specifics/Details:
Two players of an equal number of score points play a match for 20 points. This option would see either player be able to double his opponent at the start of his turn, but before he moves - if you refuse to accept the double, you lose the game there and then and lose 20 points; if you accept the double, you're now playing for 40 points (and can redouble your opponent later). If he's misjudged the double, he's now risking losing double the points on this game, so will have to choose his moment carefully.
How this will benefit the site and/or other comments:
Use of the doubling cube in Backgammon is one of the major skill elements of that game. It is also dice based so things can go horribly (and expensively!) wrong, but if you can judge the moment to use the cube you can increase your winnings. This allows the skilled player to use their skill effectively
The Cube also cuts short hopeless and near-hopeless games. You'd have to be a fool to accept a doubling of the stakes if you're certain you're going to lose, or even if it's a moderate to high risk. In the CC environment, you're removing the need to carry on playing pointless games. It cuts out the dross games and lets you get on with the enjoyable ones instead
Potential problems:
A cap on the maximum number of times a double can be used for inexperienced and freemium players needs to be considered. I have seen (and reported) bogus accounts where a player was stacking a game with fake players so he could win. This needs to only allow paying members to join such a game, to cut down this risk.
Only one such game playable at once. Otherwise it's possible that someone could go from Cook to Conqueror in a night!
Consider a maximum points win or loss per game - say 100 points. The game would need to calculate how many points you are playing for at the start and at each double.
Limit this to 2 player games initially for simplicity
No speed games with doubling cube for now, people need to consider the game carefully not rush.
jrh_cardinal wrote:this would not work very well for multiplayer or team games (though it would work a little in teams). If I am wrong please tell me why.
new game types that only work with specific settings are always rejected, it needs to be able to work with all of the settings currently available
Aha in games with more than 2 players, what happens in Backgammon is called a chouette - one player plays against everyone else. They play for normal stakes, the singleton plays for treble, quadruple etc. However I didn't want to confuse folks with Stage Two just yet
