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Chouette Rules

The following rules is meant for players that know the standard rules in backgammon (money game).

[ Basic rules | Some common variations | Tips | Order updating examples | Print | Scoresheet ]

Basic rules

1. Chouette is played by three or more players.
2. The rules of the game it self is basically the same as the rules of backgammon (money game). The difference is that in a Chouette the person in the box (the Box) plays against more than one player. In the basic setup he plays all the remaining players with the Captain as the leader of the team.
3. When starting the Chouette all the players throw one dice each. The one that rolls the highest number starts as the Box. The Captain is the person who rolls the second highest number and the remaining players are ordered after their rolls and becomes the Captain after this order (more on how to update the order below). If one or more players roll the same number then they mutually roll again until an order is determined.
4. While the Chouette is in progress new players can join if no player in the Chouette objects. Joining can only be done after a game and the new player starts as the last person in the order.
5. The game is played between the Box on one side and the Captain and his teammates (the team) on the other. Each player on the team is associated with one cube and decides on his own cube handling. The Box can therefore double all the team members and they individually make cube (take, drop, or beaver) decisions.
6. When the Box doubles then decisions on cube handling are made according to order. I.e. the Captain has to make his cube decisions first etc. No consultation is allowed.
7. The Box have to double respectively take or drop all cubes on the same level. If some players on the team has chosen to double earlier the cubes can get different values. This means that the Box e.g. can chose only to give initial cubes. In this way the players can get doubled out or double the Box out where the game has to continue to settle the game among the remaining players. In these games the players for witch the game are settled must wait for the next game before they can participate again. They do not have any consultation rights while waiting.
8. The Captain can and often do consult the rest of the team on how to move the checkers. It is not allowed to consult on cube handling unless it is part of the reasoning behind a given checker move.
9. The Captain has the final word on all checker play decisions by the team. Besides this he is the only one that actually plays the game. This means that only he rolls the dices and no one else on the team can ever touch the checkers. If a team member wishes to double he lifts up his cube before the Captain has rolled. Any roll by the Captain made while all the cubes are not on the board is considered invalid and the cube decisions have to be made before the Captain rolls. The Box does not get to chose to accept the roll in this situation.
10. The Box plays for points against all the players on the team individually. He stays in the box until he loose to one of the players. After this he will be placed as the last person in the order.
11. The highest ranking player on the team that wins against the Box becomes the Box in the next game. The second highest ranking player that won (if such a player exists) becomes the new Captain. The next winning person in the order will be the third highest ranking player etc. When all the winning players has been placed in the order according to this rule the highest ranking losing player is placed etc. If the Captain lost his game (did not become the new box) he is placed as the last person in the order. The Box is placed behind him as the last person if he lost to some other player.
12. If the Captain drops a cube the player with the highest rank that is still playing the game finishes the game as a temporary Captain. This in it self has no affect on the order in the next game.

Some common variations

• No consultation before double is a common rule that says that non of the players on the team are allowed to comment on the game before they have doubled or accepted a cube.
• Legal plays rule says that if anyone observes an ilegal play they can and should object even if they do not have consultation rights.
• Auto-double is a rule that is sometimes used in money game. In Chouette it has a special variation. Often the Box is given the option of deciding whether matching rolls should result in an increase in the cubes' values. This decision must be taken for all the cubes as one. When two matching rolls are rolled after each other the Box sometimes can chose to carry one auto-double to the next game if he is still in the box at that time.
• Sell cube option is a rule that says that if a player on the team drops and one or more players takes then he has the right to sell his cube to the highest ranking player that takes. This means that he pays the player half the value of the cube and the highest ranking player receives and plays with an extra cube. The dropping player therefore now plays on the box' side. This normally does not give him any consultation rights and will not in it self affect the order in the next game. All kinds of side bets can be arranged in this way but this one is special since it gives the player a right to force a bet.
• Single cube game is a variation that carries the above mentioned rule to the extreme. In this type of Chouette only one cube is used and differences in cube-decisions are settled by selling and buying the cube. The Captain and the Box are the only players that can double here.
• Roll-out is a rule that favors the better cubehandler. The rule says that when a cube is given all participants in the Chouette have to make a simular disicion on the cube handling (take or drop). The simularity of the decision is usualy handled by having all participants take a normal dice and secretly placing it in one of there hands. After this everybody puts there right hand over the board. When this is done everybody open there right hand and the ones that had the dice in it takes. If there were difference of opinion the position is written up and rolled out after the game is completed. This means that all that took the cube gets one point per game per cube they hold and plays as cubeowners on the doubled side of the written up game. Ofcourse the number of games for each roll-out must be decided before the Chouette starts. The number of cubes the cubeowners holds are simply the number of participants on each side of the board timed together.
• If many players are participating in the Chouette it can sometimes be a good idea to give the Box a partner. The same rules then apply for the Box and his partner as for the Captains team. This rule requires that two cubes are associated with each player on the Captains team (one for each player in the box). Normaly the order is determined allmost the same way as before. The only difference is that the Box' partner is not part of the updating process unless the Box loose. He will then become the new Box and the player on the team that would normaly become the new Box becomes the Box' partner.
• Beside the above mentioned variations all kinds of side bets, settlements and place trading can be allowed.

Tips

If you play for money of course the rate and billing conditions has to be agreed upon from the start. Take some time discussing this from the start since it can course conflicts.

Generally more consultation rights are good for learning. Side bets and limitations in consultation rights favors the better players in the Chouette.

Order updating examples

The following examples should clarify how to update the order.

If you still have problems updating the order I suggest that you use The Chouette Calculator.

I have made a full page Chouette scoresheet in PDF-format that fits the rules and recommendations above. I have also made a printable version of the rules in PDF-format. The rules are roughly translated from a Danish set of rules provided by Danish Backgammon Publishers. Comments and suggestions are welcome on m@xfriis.dk.

You can find alternative sets of rules that basically says the same less detailed at Galore, ABA, ACT, or RedTop. Furthermore you can find a set of rules for tournament Chouette.

Have fun!

Copyright © 2001 by Peter Max Friis Jensen