Bristol Backgammon has no membership fee, but some events you turn up for will have an advertised entry fee. Other events will be free of charge.
Since the start of 2006, Bristol Backgammon has had a meeting every THURSDAY.
The regular MONDAY sessions, which were held from 2008 until mid-2026, have recently been discontinued, as attendance numbers dwindled to the point where they became unviable.
There may be a replacement, if the right formula comes to mind.
The Thursday events are staged at the Ibis Bristol Centre hotel.
That means four or five different live events every month, catering for a range of players from new and improving right through to expert.
Each of the Thursday events in any month will have a different competitive focus.
We also have LEAGUES, where you arrange your own fixtures, and play anywhere and at any time.
MONDAYS:
Watch this space for an announcement if a new Monday event materialises soon.
THURSDAYS:
On the second Thursday of the month, there will always be a monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournament, where all players can test themselves against the best in the area under clock rules. The entry fee at these tournaments is £20 in March, June, September and December, and £10 in the other eight.
Eight times during the year there will be Handicap Knock-outs, where a new player would typically get a four points start against a top player in a match to 7 points. The entry fee for these is £10.
There are also eight GP20 knock-outs, where the entry fee is £20, and eight GP10 tournaments, where the entry fee is £10.
And we also have a series of seven Speedgammon tournaments, where clocks are set to scarily tight time allowances (entry is also £10 for these).
Scattered amongst these regular Thursday events, there are now several one-off events, each with a difference theme, to add to the variety of choice.
LEAGUES:
You will need to be in the right place at the right time to play in our Premier League, as entries are finalised on December 21st for each new season, which runs from January 1st to November 30th.
But we also have space for an informal league, the Bristol Feeder League, designed to involve all those newly aspiring league players who appear during the year.
League backgammon is arguably the best way to get into competitive backgammon, and matches are arranged to suit the needs of individual players, either face to face or online.
ONLINE:
On MONDAYS and WEDNESDAYS we run tournaments at the Backgammon Studio Heroes website.
But whatever the focus of any event might be, the intention is that any player, with any agenda, can come along to any session and feel at home, even if only there to observe, or on a fact-finding mission.
Or you may just wish to talk to someone about how best to get started. If so, please email Ian Tarr, the Bristol Backgammon Director, or call, text or WhatsApp him on 07751 241774.