Snapshot · Freakonomics Radio
Remington Davenport observed that women make up only about 10% of attendees at backgammon world championship tournaments, motivating her to found 'Gals Who Gammon.'
Where this was said
At 53:49 · chapter starts 53:20
Dubner speaks with Remington Davenport — who describes herself as a 'sales gal' with no social media background — about how she stumbled into building New York's most visible backgammon community. She started the NYC Backgammon Club in 2023 simply because she wanted somewhere to play; she knew about 10 people in New York. She began hosting weekly events and watched attendance swell. The moment she knew something real was happening: she went home and cried after 50 strangers showed up to one of her events. Within a year she had left her full-time job to run the club. Her competitive league now runs five seasons deep with 235 players in season four, each team with its own home bar, tournament-format play, and league shirts. She also founded Gals Who Gammon after observing that women are only about 10% of world championship attendees. Davenport runs events Sunday through Thursday, holds a board seat on the US Backgammon Federation, and has a dream of hosting a tournament at Madison Square Garden. She frames the whole renaissance with a simple observation: people are desperate to get off their phones and meet each other.
Remington Davenport didn't set out to build a movement. She just wanted somewhere to play. She started hosting weekly events in 2023 with 10 friends; by season four of her league, 235 people were competing. She cried after her first 50-person event because she didn't even know 50 people in New York.
Stephen Dubner observed that backgammon appears to experience major popularity surges roughly every half century — in the 1920s, the 1970s, and now the 2020s.
Remington Davenport's NYC Backgammon Club league grew from 64 players in its first season to 235 players in its fourth season.
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