Happy Full Moon.
The roll of 6-5 is used on a move commonly called the Lover's Leap in the United States, but beyond that fantastic name, there isn't a widely accepted set of names for each roll or move. Here's one list of names that my friends and I have been working on for several years. It began with Brendan and Jake writing a secret list for a 909 backgammon party and promptly losing it. Leslie wrote a replacement list, and this morphed over time to what we have below. They reflect certain qualities of the dice or gameplay, life in the Sonoran Desert, our favorite movies and music, and some are good, old fashioned inside jokes. The list is still a work in progress, so feel free to chime in!6-6 The Bluebird of Happiness
6-5 Honeymoon Heights
6-4 Postage
6-3 The Hot Gates
6-2 Cabin Fever
6-1 The Princess and the Pea
5-5 God Giveth and God Taketh Away
5-4 The Goat's Oath
5-3 Scorpion
5-2 Made for Killing5-1 God’s Teva
4-4 Desert Rain
4-3 Jungle Madness
4-2 Even Steven Segal
4-1 Banzai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai)
3-3 The Mexican Hat Dance
3-2 Tito’s Roll (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm))
3-1 The Foreman's Coffee
2-2 Hobbits
2-1 The (insert unlucky opponent's last name here) Special
1-1 The Incan Wall
Here's a brief explanation of each name:
6-6 The Bluebird of Happiness: My mother, Melissa Weller, sometimes told one of my siblings or me "You get the Bluebird of Happiness" when we did something fantastic. 6-6 is usually fantastic.
6-5 Honeymoon Heights: While it can be rolled at other times besides the opening, the 6-5 is most known for giving you the Lover's Leap, jumping from 24 to 13.
6-4 Postage: "Postage" refers to both Jake and Alex's epic decade long game of post-card gammon, hitting a blot from a long way off, and a movie quote from The Emperor's New Groove that used to really get Alex screaming about the goat's oath.
6-3 The Hot Gates: Sometimes you're on the bar and your opponent has made the 6 and the 3 point, and then you roll the 6-3, and your numbers count for nothing, just as in the movie 300.
6-2 Cabin Fever: In honor of Muppet Treasure Island
6-1 The Princess and the Pea: The six is the princess and the one is the pea. Around the time of the backgammon party that these names were created for, Jake and Stevie put a shot put under Alex's pillow as a prank, only to find out the next morning that he slept the whole night without feeling it!
5-5 God Giveth and God Taketh Away: Double 5s is a fantastic 20 pip move, until you roll it at the worst possible time and are forced into a horrible move.5-4 The Goat's Oath: Jake Padilla, one of the original Roll Roll authors, was teaching his new friend Emmaly Wiederhost how to play backgammon. Jake told her the names of each of the rolls as they were rolled, Emmaly assumed he was making it all up, and in a fit of anger spat out "Oh, well the 6-4 is named the Goat's Oath!" Somehow along the way, the Goat's Oath was changed to the 5-4, but to this day, Emmaly still swears that she'll "take a bullet for a Goat's Oath", whatever that means.
5-3 Scorpion: In honor of one of Earth's oldest creatures
5-2 Made for Killing: This is the first name of the 909 cannon. In our early days of playing, my friends and sisters noticed that very often the 5-2 was used to hit blots. Someone said "5-2, made for killing!", and a myth was born. This roll has spawned paintings, game play strategies and superstitions, fabricated historical legends, a Halloween costume, and a custom set of dice.
5-1 God’s Teva: Named in honor of a rock formation in Papago Park, Arizona
4-4 Desert Rain: Double fours is often a roll of sweet relief, like rain in the desert.
4-3 Jungle Madness: Named in honor of Brendan Lake's late night forays into poetic insanity.
4-2 Even Steven Segal: This name reflects the time when Jake and Alex thought Steven Segal was cool and the even nature of 4 and 2.
4-1 Banzai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai): When Stevie read a Bill Robertie book and started busting a more aggressive and sometimes reckless style of play, particularly using a 4-1 to colonize both golden points, Alex gave him the name Banzai. This is a Japanese war cry meaning "ten thousand years".
3-3 The Mexican Hat Dance: Shh, shh, shh. Sliding your pieces on the board makes the rhythm of the Mexican Hat Dance.
4-3 Jungle Madness: Named in honor of Brendan Lake's late night forays into poetic insanity.4-2 Even Steven Segal: This name reflects the time when Jake and Alex thought Steven Segal was cool and the even nature of 4 and 2.
4-1 Banzai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai): When Stevie read a Bill Robertie book and started busting a more aggressive and sometimes reckless style of play, particularly using a 4-1 to colonize both golden points, Alex gave him the name Banzai. This is a Japanese war cry meaning "ten thousand years".
3-3 The Mexican Hat Dance: Shh, shh, shh. Sliding your pieces on the board makes the rhythm of the Mexican Hat Dance.
3-2 Tito’s Roll (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm)) A 3-2 or a 2-3 clave rhythm is one of the backbones of the Mambo, just as Tito Puente's mambos were one of the backbone's of our lives when we were learning backgammon.
3-1 The Foreman's Coffee: When you roll a 3-1 opener, you can make your golden point, widely considered the best opening roll. Brendan said this was like a cup of coffee that wakes up the foreman who then wakes up everyone else. 2-2 Hobbits: Four little moves of two spaces have a striking similarity to Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings.
2-1 The (insert unlucky opponent's last name here) Special: Back when Alex and Stevie were playing the 909 point tournament, Stevie often rolled this pittle of a roll when he was trying to run at the end of games. This happened so much that Alex named the roll after him, "The Weller Special". This trash talking has since spread to other unlucky opponents.
1-1 The Incan Wall: The Inca were masters of masonry. Walls that still stand today were made without mortar and have rocks nestled so tightly that not even a cockroach can squeeze between the cracks. Among other things, double 1s is a fantastic way to fill the cracks in your wall during game play.
