Post Gammon Update

"How long do I think the game will last?  Well considering how long it takes Jake to move, it could be another five years to a decade!" -Alex Vittal, June 2011

As you may or may not know, Alex Vittal and Jake Padilla are currently engaged in a match of backgammon via post cards.  They started in June 2006.  They're still playing their first game.  I'm not going into the whole history; I'm just giving an update on their status.

The latest card to be made public is this: a redouble by Alex to 4 points.  The cube is in Jake's hands!  Will Jake accept the double and make post gammon even more intense, or will he drop and finally bring and end to the saga?  What's more important here, strategy or playing out the game no matter the costs?  Jake has in fact decided, made his move, and mailed it to Alex.

In the picture above Alex is playing the red pieces, and Jake is playing green.  Alex has the next roll of the dice.  Here's another board with the same position as theirs that may be easier to read. Alex is brown here, and Jake is white.  Pay no heed to the dice.

As you can see, things are not looking great for Jake, but lets hope that he took the double! I did a little amateur analysis of Alex's possible moves if he gets a roll from this position. Now the game is, shockingly, near the end, but there are a few scenarios that could send some blots flying for both sides! Am I rooting for Alex or Jake to win? No. Neither, in fact, because a win would mean the end. I'm rooting for a prolonged game! It's already been going on for over 6 years; let's go for ten!

I wont go into great detail just in case Alex reads this before his turn, but here's a summary of what is likely. (Again, Jake has already decided to either accept or decline, and he has mailed his postcard, so any insight is now hindsight to him.) I thought about each roll and what I think Alex would likely do. These are my predictions of what Jake will face if he gets another turn. Out of 36 possible rolls:

Vittal Blot: 10/36
No Vittal Blot: 26/36

Padilla on the Bar: 17/36
No Padilla on the Bar: 19/36

Running Game: 3/36
Almost a Running Game: 14/36
No Running Game: 19/36

Great rolls for Jake: 2/36
Good rolls for Alex that still give Jake hope: 22/36
Great rolls for Alex: 12/36


As soon as we get any other updates from these two, we'll post the photos here! Keep your fingers crossed for an accepted double and more Post Gammon Insanity!


-Sleeve