The Basic Rules of Backgammon
Backgammon is a board game played by two players, and each has 15 checkers (or "men") and two dice. The first player to "bear off" (remove) all his checkers from the board wins the game.
The board has two equal rectangles, separated by a space called the bar. The two rectangles are painted with 12 long triangles called points, numbering from 1 to 24. Points 1 to 6 comprise the home (or inner) board, while points 7-12 are the outer board. The 7th point is referred to as the bar point.
At the commencement of the game the player's checkers are placed as follows: two checkers are on point 24, 3 checkers on point 8, and 5 checkers on points 6 and 13. To start backgammon, both players throw a die each. The one with the higher number goes first, and moves his checker according to the number on the die thrown.
Subsequently the players alternate, each throwing dice and moving the checkers based on the numbers that appear. For instance, if the dice shows 6 and 3, the player moves two checkers six and three points forward. If a double is rolled (i.e., 5 and 5) four checkers are moved five points forward.
In Backgammon a player may move his checker on a point occupied ("made") by an opposing piece. If a checker moves to a point made by the opponent it is called a blot, and the adverse checker is placed on the bar. A player cannot make a move when he has a checker on the bar. A checker may reenter when the dice thrown corresponds to an exposed point on the opponent's home board.
When the 15 checkers are on the home board, bearing off can begin. Usually a checker is removed from an occupied point via the corresponding number rolled. That is, a roll of 2 may bear off a checker at point 2 and so on. If the roll produces a number that is higher than any occupied point the checker on the next highest point can be removed.
Example: if the dice roll produces a 6 and 5, and the checkers are on point 5, the roll can be used to remove those two checkers. A player loses a gammon (equivalent to a double loss) if he fails to remove a single piece by the time his opponent is finished bearing off all of his. When a player has checkers stranded on the bar or the adverse inner board, he is credited with a backgammon loss, a triple loss.
Often in playing backgammon for money, a doubling cube is used. Marked with the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32 and 64, it is primarily a means for faster play and raising the stakes. Before the doubling cube is used a player demands that the stakes be doubled. If the opponent refuses to accept he loses.
The rules governing backgammon are simple enough, but flexible so that any number of strategies and tactics can be employed. The more you play the more you will appreciate the game and improve your skills, enabling you to compete in money tourneys.
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