Theories on Lost is a Lost Theory website for users to submit their own Lost Theories or to read other Lost Theories. There are plenty of Lost Theories to get stuck into so be sure to add us to your favourites!
It’s Backgammon
‘Why bother, it all ends the same’. Maybe that’s the game. Jacob ’sets up a new board’ with new arrivals/men/pawns. He’s white; I needn’t be Captain Obvious to say who MIB is. Destroy = MIB believes is eventual stratagy, everything else is just progress (in learning, perhaps to play a ‘clean’ game where you don’t hit the other guy).
Lost is often postulated/correlated to a chess game, and an earlier post asked if it’s chess or backgammon. I hold it’s a backgammon game (just like John teaches Walt).
-It has variables (dice/free will).
-The pieces are commonly called men/pawns.
-Each player has 15 pieces. The gambling die’s numbers: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. [Haven’t worked out 23 & 42, except there are 23 other on the board from the beginning and 4-2 are a good roll (considered the 2nd best opening, Lover’s Leap being the 1st.) btw: 2-3 aint’ too bad, either. Ideas?
-If you get ‘hit’ your tossed on the bar and have to go back (time travel - or you could reset the board and play again - a little different).
Oh, and ancient Egyptians played a version of it. (Or, as Locke put it, “Backgammon is the oldest game in the world. Archeologists found sets when they excavated the ruins of ancient Mesopotamia … Their dice were made of bones.” )
(Of course, there would have to be more ‘cuz the show would suck if it had THIS as it’s ‘Twilight Zone’ ending as much as if Hugo imagined it all in a catonic state like Dave said.)
RECEIVE THE LATEST THEORIES IN YOUR INBOX!To receive the latest Lost Theories straight to your inbox click here.
Alternatively, sign up using a RSS reader by clicking here.
5 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Login
About waycurious:
Post count: 178 | Comment count: 688
@11:11:11
You have some good ideas here. How the different games relate to the characters and how they live their lives is probably important.
(Report comment)
@11:27:50
The writers love metaphor. And John Locke loves games. Just watch the opening scene of ‘Deus Ex Machina’, to see a lovely metaphor for Lost using the game ‘Mousetrap’.
It eerily describes how MIB set his trap for Jacob.
(Report comment)
@12:26:44
That was my theory - “Backgammon or Chess”
I am still going with Chess!
Btw have you seen the new trailer where all of the characters a depicted as pieces of a chess board?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C56Lgl6DorM&feature=player_embedded
Damon Lindelof called it “Incredible”
- Also the idea of the kings not being able to kill eachother but needing another piece to do so. And pawns being able to reach the end of the board (die) and come back as something else!
(Report comment)
@16:20:17
And the Dharmaville Losties are playing Risk, aren’t they?
(Report comment)
@15:27:16
hi waycurious, i am liking your ideas. I only just learnt how to play Backgammon yesterday so fortunately i can understand any theories relating to it now. i will need a bit of time to think about the connections between lost and Backgammon myself and report back!!
anyway, if Lost is a big game of chess and/or Backgammon, to win in Backgammon, you need to be the first to remove all your pieces from the board - what are your views on how this may relate to Lost?
Joshcgs, firstly that video was very good. I am also liking the idea regarding the Kings and the Pawns and just thinking about it (quite briefly i might add), this must must MUST tie in with Jacob, Nemesis and the returning of dead characters ie. Yemi and Flocke etc.
i truely believe that after many complex and in depth theories (all of which are brilliant i hasten to add again), the unfolding of the story and the ending will be quite simply. The simplicity of this theory and also your “Backgammon or Chess” are very believeable and there in lies Lost’s brilliance - possibly!
(Report comment)