Playing Chouettes Online
  • You can find pickup chouettes on Discord, where we play our bi-weekly tournaments. 
  • We have a special voice channel on the Twin Cities Backgammon server dedicated especially for chouettes. 
  • You'll need to have headphones and a microphone to talk during the chouette.
  • Conference calls can be a little frustrating and difficult to get used to so be patient and try not to talk over each other.  
Keeping Score
We have a handy dandy Online Chouette Spreadsheet that you can use.  It's a Google Spreadsheet so you can share it with all the chouette participants. Make a copy of the template and save your copy on your Google Drive.
  • Handles individual cubes - The score keeper tracks cube play on the top row of the spreadsheet. Use the fill colors on the cube cells to identify who owns the cube ( i.e. yellow for the team, green for the box)
  • Up to 12 Players - Each player has two columns.  One for each game score and one for the Running Total.  Only enter the game score for each player.  The running total updates automatically.  There is an automatic balance check as well so this is way better than paper.
Online Backgammon Platforms
All the backgammon sites out there are geared for heads up and tournament play.  We combine Discord for group voice calls with the backgammon playing platform to get an experience that is as close to real life as possible.  
  • Grid Gammon - http://gridgammon.com/
    This has an intuitive interface and an option for money play making it ideal for playing chouettes.  There is an option to view the game in Gridgammon.  The only downside is that you must have an account on Gridgammon to play, that can be a long a process.  It's free with a USBGF membership.  Otherwise it costs $10.
  • Backgammon Galaxy - https://backgammongalaxy.com/
    This is becoming an extremely popular site.  So much so that it has begun to lag at times.  There is an option to view the game in Backgammon Galaxy. It's great for match play, but money play is difficult. The best way to do it is:
    • Set up a match for 25 points with a Casual Clock.  This gives you 75 minutes of time to play one game. 
    • Never double in the game itself.  Use the handy dandy Online Chouette Spreadsheet instead.  This allows either player to roll or double anytime. This is particularly important when there are cubes on both sides of the board.  
Settling Up
That's really up to you.  There are several online payment methods out there.  You can use any of them with anyone to make a payment.