Learn How to Play Backgammon

The board game backgammon is among the oldest games known to man. It’s thought that early variants of the game were played in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Ancient Rome. Since then, the game has developed, changed names and spread to other parts of the world. It is presently a common pastime all over the US, East Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

In order to play backgammon all you require is a partner, two dice and a specialised backgammon board with checkers. The backgammon board is split into two sides,each one is the mirror reflection of the other. Each side comprises 12 triangles called points numbered from 1 to 24.

Points 1 to 6: Home Board or Inner Board
Points 7 to 12: Outer Board
7 point: Bar Point
13 point: Mid Point

At the beginning position of the game, each player has 2 checkers on the 24 point, 3 checkers on the 8 point and 5 on the 13 and 6 point. Each player moves from his home board through the outer board towards the opponent home board.

The aim of backgammon, then, is to move your checkers toward your opposition home board and get rid of them off the board prior to your opponent moves his checkers toward your home board. The speed of the progress of each move is dictated by the outcome of the dice roll.

The backgammon play commences with both players tossing one die. The player whose result is the highest, makes the first move utilising both his and his opponents number. If the outcome of the dice toss is even, the players toss the dice once more until an uneven result comes out. From now on, each player tosses both dice on his turn.

After each toss of dice, you should move your checkers forward the number of steps appears on both dice. You are able to move either one checker the number of steps summed up by both die or move two checkers. To make it more decipherable: if the outcome of the dice roll is 5 and 4, you are able to either move one checker 9 steps forward or move one checker 5 steps forward and then move the other piece 4 steps forward

If the dice rolls a double, which means an even number on both dice, you are able to move double the number appears on the dice. For instance, if you roll double 2, you are able to move 2 points four times. In that case, you are able to either move one checker 8 steps forward; move two checkers a total of 4 steps; move two checkers a total of 2 steps each plus a total of 4 steps; move one checker a total of 6 steps plus 2 steps; or move four checkers 2 steps.

You are able to move a checker to a point where there’s another among your checkers or no more than one checker of your adversary, called blot. When you hit a blot, it’s moved to the center of the board to the part divided between the home board and the outer boards, called the bar.

The checkers placed on the bar are kept out of play until the bar can be entered by a dice roll in the opponent’s home boards. For instance, if you roll 2, you are able to enter a checker to the 23 point and enter the opponents home board and re enter the bar checkers into the game. You cannot move the other checkers unless your entire bar checkers are at your opponents home board.

By the time your checkers are in your home board, you must remove the checkers from the board, to bear off, using a roll of dice. For example, if you roll 1, you will be able to bear off one checker from the 1 point; if you roll 2, you are able to move a checker form the 2 point, and so forth.

If your adversary hasn’t borne off any checkers while you have borne off 15 checkers, you win the gammon. If your adversary hasn’t borne off any checkers and still some of his checkers are positioned on the bar, while you’ve borne off 15 checkers, then you win the backgammon.

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