My fun videogame fact for Sugoroku vs Backgammon is about the localisation of a GBC game called Gem Gem Monster/Lil Monster. There's a small minigame where you play Sugoroku for gems, called Gem-roku, and you can see how the translators just fell over the concept entirely. Firstly, it's been translated as GEMROCK (all caps included). Secondly, the original Japanese script has the minigame host react with anger and confusion if you ask for the rules to play Gem-roku - he repeatedly tries to talk you down out of asking for a tutorial and grows increasingly angry; "You know how to play Sugoroku, right?" "You're kidding, right?" "Never in my long life have I met anyone who doesn't know how to play Sugoroku!" etc. Given the ubiquitous nature of Sugoroku in Japan, and how simple of a game it is, it makes total sense for there to be no real tutorial and just a gag if you press for information. The problem is that the English language localisers decided to change his ruleset comparison to Backgammon, which is considerably more complex. It renders his rant about you being an idiot for not knowing how to play Backgammon as a strange non-sequitur, because you genuinely might not know how to play Backgammon! I think it's the only time I've seen a game try to use them as equivalent cultural analogues to one another.
so Koichi Sugiyama did a song for the game and was honorary chairman of the Japan Backgammon Association at the time might have some thing to do with it
This is the first time that Nintendo got involved in Backgammon before Mario's Game Gallery, which has Nintendo characters in it (and the first appearance of Mario's first voice actor), had backgammon as one of the games in it.
I am from Germany. I don't know if it is just me, but the backgammon board was allways a mystery. Maybe they Nintendo hoped that the computer supported game will eas players in (the computer shows you, where you can put your stones or not). But the relaese is kind of fitting: An obscure game nobody knows how to play on a system nobody wants to play anymore, and Japan at this moment has to wait just some weeks to get its hands on the Super Famicom.
@MattTheSpratt For me ist was always an obscure game and like RndStranger said, for mist Japanese it is also obscure. By the way: In my family we played checkers, nine men's morris, Mensch-ärgere-dich-nicht (German-style pachisi) and sugorok-style games like "Game of the Goose", but the backgammon board nobody used and didn't know, how to use and nobody was bothered to read the instruction.
Was the Japanese gaming market really crying out for Backgammon? It's a bit of an old man game, that or you find it in the attic, and wonder what it is for five seconds, before putting it back.
With all the retro releases, I'm wondering if maybe someone in Nintendo did market research and decided that the remaining Disk System users were older than was normal at the time. That's my best guess anyway.
@@jasonblalock4429 That could be true, you see modern systems often have a ton of games aimed at kids now, as the older systems are often hand-me-downs to younger siblings.
@@LarryI think the cover art also shows evidence that Backgammon was made in conjunction with a real-life association for competitive backgammon. Also, I think the music was composed by the late, great Kouichi Sugiyama.
It’s crazy how many people seem to never have played this game. I’d always play it with my dad or brother when bored on trips or on the ferry or whatever
I'm sure it's that sort of thing. You either had parents that introduced you to it or not. Kinda like having grandparents that knew Cribbage. I've always seen backgammon boards in the house but never tried playing it.
I never understood the doubling cube until this video. I always thought it was betting on who would win that number of games, not how many points this one game was worth. I was like "Who's going to play 64 games of backgammon in a row just to see who's better?"
The Royal Game of Ur, briefly mentioned in the beginning, is also a genuinely fun, easy to learn, family friendly game, in case anyone was wondering. It's interesting, too, that it uses binary dice, 2/4 chance to either get 0 pip or 1 pip, per die.
Trying to cram a backgammon board into a ~150x150 pixel screen would be difficult, but forcing the player to scroll the screen back-and-forth would make strategizing much more tedious.
not a board game I"m at all familiar with... at least not familiar with how to actually play it. but leave it to this video to spell some of that out! maybe I need to reinstall clubhouse games on the Switch...
from a historical standpoint, this is an interesting release from Nintendo, but as a game it's SO BORING. It doesn't even feel like it has that "nintendo flourish." Sure, the little hand animations are cute, but they ain't much.
Despite hearing it brought up my entire life, I've never learned how to play Backgammon until this video.
It was something I never asked about either, and I was born in '77.
I'm sure I was taught once but then forgot due to never trying it again.
My fun videogame fact for Sugoroku vs Backgammon is about the localisation of a GBC game called Gem Gem Monster/Lil Monster.
There's a small minigame where you play Sugoroku for gems, called Gem-roku, and you can see how the translators just fell over the concept entirely.
Firstly, it's been translated as GEMROCK (all caps included).
Secondly, the original Japanese script has the minigame host react with anger and confusion if you ask for the rules to play Gem-roku - he repeatedly tries to talk you down out of asking for a tutorial and grows increasingly angry;
"You know how to play Sugoroku, right?" "You're kidding, right?" "Never in my long life have I met anyone who doesn't know how to play Sugoroku!" etc.
Given the ubiquitous nature of Sugoroku in Japan, and how simple of a game it is, it makes total sense for there to be no real tutorial and just a gag if you press for information.
The problem is that the English language localisers decided to change his ruleset comparison to Backgammon, which is considerably more complex.
It renders his rant about you being an idiot for not knowing how to play Backgammon as a strange non-sequitur, because you genuinely might not know how to play Backgammon!
I think it's the only time I've seen a game try to use them as equivalent cultural analogues to one another.
so Koichi Sugiyama did a song for the game and was honorary chairman of the Japan Backgammon Association at the time might have some thing to do with it
This is the first time that Nintendo got involved in Backgammon before Mario's Game Gallery, which has Nintendo characters in it (and the first appearance of Mario's first voice actor), had backgammon as one of the games in it.
> first appearance of Mario's first voice actor
Didn’t Hotel Mario come out the year before (1994)? LOL
I heard he was in a Mario pinball game!
Then someone said he wasn't, but hey, we had all those trade shows or whatever, right?
I am from Germany. I don't know if it is just me, but the backgammon board was allways a mystery. Maybe they Nintendo hoped that the computer supported game will eas players in (the computer shows you, where you can put your stones or not). But the relaese is kind of fitting: An obscure game nobody knows how to play on a system nobody wants to play anymore, and Japan at this moment has to wait just some weeks to get its hands on the Super Famicom.
What- Backgammon's anything but obscure!
@MattTheSpratt For me ist was always an obscure game and like RndStranger said, for mist Japanese it is also obscure. By the way: In my family we played checkers, nine men's morris, Mensch-ärgere-dich-nicht (German-style pachisi) and sugorok-style games like "Game of the Goose", but the backgammon board nobody used and didn't know, how to use and nobody was bothered to read the instruction.
Oh, so that’s what that weird cube with the numbers was for. I had no idea why it was there when I had my grandpa’s old backgammon set as a kid.
Was the Japanese gaming market really crying out for Backgammon? It's a bit of an old man game, that or you find it in the attic, and wonder what it is for five seconds, before putting it back.
With all the retro releases, I'm wondering if maybe someone in Nintendo did market research and decided that the remaining Disk System users were older than was normal at the time. That's my best guess anyway.
@@jasonblalock4429 That could be true, you see modern systems often have a ton of games aimed at kids now, as the older systems are often hand-me-downs to younger siblings.
But...hello, you.
@@LarryI think the cover art also shows evidence that Backgammon was made in conjunction with a real-life association for competitive backgammon.
Also, I think the music was composed by the late, great Kouichi Sugiyama.
It’s crazy how many people seem to never have played this game. I’d always play it with my dad or brother when bored on trips or on the ferry or whatever
I'm sure it's that sort of thing. You either had parents that introduced you to it or not. Kinda like having grandparents that knew Cribbage.
I've always seen backgammon boards in the house but never tried playing it.
They should make a sequel: Forwardgammon.
DoubleBackgammon. Reversi was taken.
You mean it's not a kiosk re-release? Dang
I never understood the doubling cube until this video. I always thought it was betting on who would win that number of games, not how many points this one game was worth. I was like "Who's going to play 64 games of backgammon in a row just to see who's better?"
The Royal Game of Ur, briefly mentioned in the beginning, is also a genuinely fun, easy to learn, family friendly game, in case anyone was wondering. It's interesting, too, that it uses binary dice, 2/4 chance to either get 0 pip or 1 pip, per die.
I'm surprised they never tried to put this on Game Boy.
Trying to cram a backgammon board into a ~150x150 pixel screen would be difficult, but forcing the player to scroll the screen back-and-forth would make strategizing much more tedious.
not a board game I"m at all familiar with... at least not familiar with how to actually play it. but leave it to this video to spell some of that out! maybe I need to reinstall clubhouse games on the Switch...
this post got me to buy that
How did they pull off that frame rate while giving the illusion of 4 areas of parallax?
Baby got back(gammon)
I like smart moves and I cannot lie
from a historical standpoint, this is an interesting release from Nintendo, but as a game it's SO BORING. It doesn't even feel like it has that "nintendo flourish." Sure, the little hand animations are cute, but they ain't much.
This is probably the most obscure game from Nintendo's catalogue if I'm not wrong.
Still better than Mario Party 10 though (which is sick burn btw)
Magnetic Soccer is pretty obscure. A Euro only gameboy title based on foosball.
For me: Backgammon in real life is unplayable and in video game form Backgammon is unplayable as well