A chouette is a form of backgammon for more than two players. Chouettes offer many advantages over one-on-one play in a club situation. They are fun, sociable, and exciting. And it is easy for players to join a game or take a brief break when they want to.
To start, each player throws one dice and in the event of a tie there is a reroll. The player rolling highest becomes the box and plays against all the others who form a team. The second highest becomes the captain of the team. The captain rolls the dice and makes the plays for the team.
When the box wins a game, he collects from each member of the team. Then the captain goes to the back of the line and the next player on the team becomes the captain. When the team wins, the box pays off to each team member. Then he goes to the back of the line and the captain becomes the new box.
Chouettes of eight or more players often permit the box to take a partner. The partnership is offered in rotation, starting with the captain and moving on down the line. If no one offers to be the box's partner, a partner may be chosen by lot from among the team members other than the captain.
Players can leave or join a chouette at any time. A new player starts at the bottom of the rotation.
A chouette may be played with either a single doubling cube or multiple cubes. In a single-cube game, the only decision that the members of the team make individually concerns takes. If the box doubles, each team member can decide on his own whether to play on or drop out. Those who drop out each pay off to the box and no longer participate as team advisers. If the captain drops out while there are others on the team who wish to play on, the captaincy is assumed by one of these players and the previous captain drops to the bottom of the rotation.
Most chouettes today use multiple cubes. Each member of the team has his own doubling cube. The box can double the individual team members, and each team member can decide whether and when to double the box.
With multiple cubes in play, it is possible for the box to win against some players while losing against others. So the question arises, when does a player get to keep the box? The usual rule is that a player retains the box if he defeats the captain.
