-:¦:-
The History of SimmplyGammon -:¦:-
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As we open
a brand new era for the pips, the
dice, the cards, and the pegs.. hosts and players
alike.. let's take a walking tour of where we've been!
Most recently, welcome to Safe Harbor Games.. our
new home! All shiny and new with lots of crustaceans!
We are actually proud to be one of the very first
backgammon
tournament circuits on this site. Hats off to Hatteras,
SHG lead..
for tolerating my incessant whining about schedules,
hosts, you
name it.. Ask her! She WON'T disagree!
But now we are firmly in place.. SHG TR 6.. for backgammon..
With that said, here's a "walking history",
if you will..
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| Chapter
1 -:¦:- Zone Daze.. |
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| On July 9, 2004, SimmplyGammon flung open the proverbial
backgammon doors for the first time to millions of adoring
fans, all hyped up by the latest stadium parking lot
gossip and each clutching their own personal set of
lucky fuzzy dice - pastel pinks, lavenders and greens.
It was an event that has been compared to the Rolling
Stones in Madison Square Gardens… an epic of mass
proportion, with the generosity of the doubles being
surpassed only by the extra ice cubes at the lemonade
stands! Ok…levity aside; it certainly was an
entertaining event. We were a hand full of offshoot
hosts, most of us having been mainstays for EZ Backgammon,
which in the days of the Zone, set up camp first in
TR 19, then landing in TR 6 following the restructuring
of the Zone tourney rooms sometime in early 2003,
I believe.
We had been planning this "sneak preview"
tourney for weeks, and nobody was disappointed! I
don't remember exact numbers, but the lobby was bumping…and
I had my hands full with a very lively group! I would
hazard a guess that there were somewhere around 50
of you awesome players…posting wins at a rate
that had my monitor scrolling like the credits of
a cheap flick.
Weeks later, everything was in place…and SimmplyGammon
hit the tournament circuit on a daily basis. We rolled
the dice several times a day with the help of myself,
+CrispyDragon, and some wonderfully talented individuals
-- +DeeJay_Groove, +intriguedsweety, +Melaroo, +Me_Mad_Mackie,
+DaddysGirl_Host and many others! Most of these hosts
have moved on, and they are missed. Their dedication
to the creation and growth of SimmplyGammon is immeasurable,
and they will never be forgotten.
As we searched for a place to call home, we spent
some time in TR 2 and shared quarters with +SirPenguin
and the wacky Zoned Out crew. We made stops in TR
13, TR 8, and eventually found greener pastures in
TR 3. We moved around so much that I often had players
ZM'ing me… wanting to know where the heck SimmplyGammon
was now!
As SimmplyGammon grew, we met many new friends, many
of whom you can still find hanging out in our little
neck of the Net…like street urchins without
a home. This list is far too long to print here. You
all know who you are…let me be the first to
tell you - everyday is adventure with each and every
one of you...in the lobbies, on the tables, and beyond!
When the Zone closed it's doors and shut the lights
out on July 19, 2006, it is nothing less than staggering
to mention that in a very short two years, we hosted
just shy of 2,700 tournaments and saw over 81,000
bright, smiling faces at the tables! What a tribute
to each and every one of you! Kudos!! |
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| Chapter
2 -:¦:- World Gaming Center.. |
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| Even before the lights went out at the Zone, we had
relocated on a part-time basis. On July 7, 2006, we
re-opened SimmplyGammon at a new site called "World
Gaming Center". We were originally in TR 4, then
after having "passed mustard" (yes, I know
that's misspelled)...we were given our own room. I would
like to think that we continued to be a "force
to be reckoned with" in the next few years of online
backgammon. In that time, we created our own web site,
thanks to the immeasurable talents of Plankton, still
a host and our director of Data Management.
We picked up a bunch of great hosts along the way...most
notably -- ChoirGirl, Bellarina, LoisLane, Penuche,
and Sweetcorn...they all continue to fill slots and
provide entertaining tournaments to this day!
We had a ton of fun there...and believe it or not,
from July 7, 2006 to June 30, 2008...just days short
of a full 2 years... SimmplyGammon hosted 3,407 tournaments
and saw over 69,000 players! Again...kudos to you
all!! |
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| Chapter
3 -:¦:- We're Safe Again.. |
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| When WGC decided to
pull the plug and revamp (yes, they're still around)...many
of us saw a lot of players headed to a site called
Safe Harbor Games. I can actually clearly remember
the evening that Abuelita and I decided to check it
out...and then I think it was the next day that we
dragged Planks over here. Obviously, we liked what
we saw...and we put it up to the hosts to tell us
what to do. Not 1 nay vote, as I recall....
So all those numbers that I've mentioned up there?
Let's see...2700 + 3400 = 6100. That's over 6,000
tourneys, folks!! My hat's off to YOU! Here's to the
next 6,000!
Have fun in the Harbor! |
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| The
SimmplyGammon Directors Team |
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