Gaming: Backgammon In search of the perfect backgammon set for a traveler Maxine Park
Several years ago while shopping at the Louvre des Antiquaires in Paris, I bought a small Louis the 16th walnut-wood game table. I paid…well let’s just say that the American dollar was much stronger against the Euro then. With shipping included, let’s say it was one-third the cost of the one I saw last week at a Madison Avenue, New York Antiquaire.
The woman who sold me this beautiful piece said it was a “ trictrac “ table, but back then, I did not know what trictrac was. So, I learned.
Trictrac was very much in fashion at Versailles. On a trictrac table, one could play revertier, table suedoise and, of course, trictrac. By the beginning of the 19th century, trictrac had evolved into jacquet or backgammon. So, I learned how to play trictrac and I love it. I play with my husband and the kids; my husband is a champ. Well, almost. He almost won a tournament at the Lido in Venice, Italy. Omar Shariff was playing, too. He was very good looking then.
Anyway, my husband loves to play backgammon, and as we travel frequently, I went on a quest for backgammon sets for travelers with his birthday just around the corner.
The ones from Asprey are superb. They are available in different sizes. Sure, all have a handle, but can you really carry them with out bruising the delicate calfskin? And, remember, they are priced in pounds sterling, not in dollars, so they are a bit less than travel-friendly.
The German designers have also been making great sets lately. Werner Baldessarini creates new variations every year, but when a lizard-skin backgammon set is left on a Caribbean deck for an entire humid tropical night, it may look very strange in the morning.
The Hamburg-based Bethge makes easy-to-carry sets. I do not want to sound like Goldie Locks, but its just a bit too small for a real enthusiast, and they are priced in euros!
Louis Vuitton has a set made in the style of its famous luggage. Indestructible. The brass protective corner pieces will protect the set efficiently, but you have to be a big fan of the LV-printed canvas.
At the end of my search, I settled for a Cashmere backgammon set made by Loro Piana . My husband thinks it's great. When rolled, it fits nicely in our carry on, and it’s warm and large enough to cover my cold feet on an airplane.
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