The Topic of Backgammon again
Has anyone on the site, who is extensively familiar with how to play backgammon, investigated if this is a possibility? What I mean is, would it be plausible to think that there are two ultimate people, namely Jacob and MIB, are playing a game of backgammon using the Losties as the “stones?” I do not play backgammon but tried to look up simple game play.
1) I noticed that there are 24 “pipes” which could correspond to the numbers except for 42.
2) A single stone by itself can be attacked by the opposing others.
3) When attacked or captured a stone gets placed on the bar and can only come back when there is an opening to do so.
4) The whole light vs. dark thing – Aside from backgammon I think there are “teams.” I think there is a dark team and a light team which can almost be divided by hair color, skin tone, eye color, etc. Sounds basic I know but there just seems to be a division to me. I think the actual physical appearance covertly defines their character too. Some light examples would be Locke, Juliet, and Claire. Dark: Jack, Kate, maybe Sayid.
5) I can’t recall the episode but while watching it I was hit by this revelation that two “teams” were converging at the same point at the same time. It was almost as if there were two versions or reincarnations meeting. It was the scene on Penny’s boat after rescue before some went on their separate ways. We had Jack to Desmond, Kate to Juliet, Sayid to Hurley, and perhaps Sun, and Frank(?). At this point the custody of Aaron shifted hands and I thought that was intruiging as well.
My question is this to someone with backgammon experience: could it be that Jacob/MIB are playing a godlike game of backgammon, the oldest game known to man, using the Lost characters as the stones?
On a damned Flashforward related note, in the episode entitled “Playing Cards with Coyote”, “Charlie,” while playing poker to determine if he and a cohort fess up to killing 20 million people, states something to his cohort along the lines of “hurry up, god knows how long you took last time during a game like this.” This comment is what made me think of the backgammon connection.
it is a possibility that just one big but very important game is being played. The evidence being the rules that Jacob, Nemesis and Ben mention.
I am also a non backgammon player so i don’t know the rules to it but i’ll have a go at relating it to the show against the points you’ve made.
the most interesting point/rule you mention is No. 3. (When attacked or captured a stone gets placed on the bar and can only come back when there is an opening to do so).
this may relate to Nemesis. He gets trapped (captured) in the cabin until Hurley breaks the ash circle which created an opening. this meant that Nemesis could get back into the game.
or maybe point 3 could relate to the losties and their connection with Jacob and Nemesis. Maybe Nemesis can’t bring any pieces (dead people) back into play until someone dies and creates a space for them to return such as FLocke/Christian/Yemi’s apparant reincarnations? And maybe Jacob can only bring new pieces (alive people) to the game when someone dies and creates a space for new people such as when the Black Rock, Rousseau’s crew and 815 arrived.
If this is the case, Jacob and Nemesis will be going round in circles. When someone dies they go onto Nemesis’ team but at the same time Jacob can then bring new alive people to the island to be on his team.
Maybe, and it a biggie, as Jacob has been killed by Nemesis, Nemesis will try to control the dead manifestation of Jacob. However, it could end in a similar way to how The Matrix Revolutions ended when Smith took over Neo’s body – both persons were eliminated.
i hope i’ve made sense because i’ve possibly confused myself!!! 🙂
I had suggested this “Big Game” theory in August or so, right about the time this site went down… I never reposted it but maybe I’ll look at it again (since the Admin sent me all my theories) and post as well… I do think this may be the case – it’s very Twilight Zonish, but the creators have gone out of their way to throwout a lot of game play, ie. Backgammon, Chess, Risk, Mouse Trap, Axis & Allies, cards, and I guess ping-pong & golf too… In my write up I had mentioned Othello as well, since it seems to match what you’ve wrote here somewhat, with the pieces changing ownership from black to white and vice-versa throughout the show as they do in that game.
@I_Am_Jacob
I think rule no 3 would rather refer to the fact that losties get brougth off / on the island. In backgammon, pieces never die; they are only displaced outside the board (island) and can come back eventually
@The Apostle
I already started investigating this. I realised that there could be similarities such as moving people on / off the island (moving pieces on / off the board), however somethings just don’t fit. In backgammon, pieces get out one after another. In lost, losties get off the island in groups.
I then started studying the current theories on the origins of backgammon (which go back to ancient egypt, a game called Senet where there was 13 cases each with different personnalities (god illustrations) causing different events when pieces were put on them). There is like 2 or 3 theories on what were the rules for the board that was recovered but I did not find any particular link to make with Lost beside the basic idea of pieces going off the board like losties get off the island.