We meet every Tuesday at the King William IV pub, on the northern edge of St Albans. From roughly noon it's chouettes (i.e. money play; team against "Box").  At 18:25 prompt, there's a knockout tournament (i.e. match play) featuring "variable pool" entry (so you can choose your own stake from 0 upwards).  Those who lose in the Main tournament can then either enter a Consolation flight, or revert to chouettes. The evening's play wraps up when the pub closes at at 23:00.

There is no charge for attending and no "rake"; instead please remember to patronize the bar, and choose from the food menu. Because we are playing in a pub, all play is cashless; the mechanism by which players settle up will be explained to you on arrival.

We aim to be a very friendly club, and welcome players of all levels of experience, including beginners. We adhere to the UK Backgammon Federation's rules and Code of Conduct, we also have a our own chouette rules (comprised two parts) which you can download here and here.
Regarding rule options, in both chouettes and tournament, it's

• Legal moves
• Premature rolls stand
• Dice on checkers only by mutual agreement

and for tournament only

• Clock mandatory
• Baffle box optional

Tournament results are uploaded to two databases: the UKBGF, where you can track your performance against nearly 2000 other players; and a separate database, where you can analyse your performance against fellow St Albans players in greater.  The latter database also determines the winners of two annual awards: the Fotiadis Cup, awarded to the player with the highest percentage of wins; and the Masterpoints Cup, awarded for a mixture of performance and attendance.

There is one further award, The Waite Winner's Cup, named after Jim Waite, the late landlord of the Mermaid where St Albans backgammon first met, and held by the player who has most recently won the weekly Main tournament.