Backgammon is a strategy board game for two players, in which the playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice.
A player wins by removing all of his pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits. Backgammon is one of the oldest classes of board games in the world.
Although luck plays an important role in Backgammon, there is a large scope for strategy in the game. With each roll of the dice, a player must choose from numerous options for moving his checkers (playing pieces) and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. Players may raise the stakes during the game. There is an established repertoire of common tactics and occurrences.
HOW TO PLAY:
To start the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number moves first using both the numbers shown. Both dice must land completely flat on the right hand side of the gameboard. The players then alternate turns, rolling two dice at the beginning of each turn.
After rolling the dice a player must, if possible, move his checkers according to the number of pips shown on each die. For example, if the player rolls a 6 and a 3 (notated as “6-3″), that player must move one checker six points forward, and another or the same checker three points forward. The same checker may be moved twice as long as the two moves are distinct: six and then three, or three and then six. If a player rolls two of the same number, called doubles, that player must play each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5-5, that player may move up to four separate checkers forward five spaces each. For any roll, if a player can move both dice, that player is compelled to do so. If a player cannot move either die in a roll, given the position of his checkers, then that turn is over and the turn passes to the opponent.
If it is possible to move either die, but not both, the higher number must be played. For example if a player rolls 6-3 and can only move a 6 or a 3, the 6 being the bigger number must be moved; if it is possible to move the 3 but not the 6 then the 3 is played. Furthermore, if one die is unable to be moved, but such a move is made possible by the moving of the other die, that move is compulsory. In short, the rules compel a player to exhaust every option available to complete both die moves where possible.
In the course of a move, a checker may land on any point that is unoccupied or is occupied only by a player’s own checkers. It may also land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker, or “blot”. In this case, the blot has been hit, and is placed in the middle of the board on the bar that divides the two sides of the playing surface. A checker may never land on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers; thus, no point is ever occupied by checkers from both players simultaneously.
Checkers placed on the bar re-enter the game through the opponent’s home board. A roll of 2 allows the checker to enter on the 23-point, a roll of 3 on the 22-point, and so forth. A player may not move any other checkers until all checkers on the bar belonging to that player have re-entered the game.
When all of a player’s checkers are in that player’s home board, that player may start removing them; this is called “bearing off”. A roll of 1 may be used to bear off a checker from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, and so on. A die may not be used to bear off checkers from a lower-numbered point unless there are no checkers on any higher points. When bearing off, a player may also move a lower die roll before the higher even if that means ‘the full value of the higher die’ is not fully utilised.
If one player has not borne off any checkers by the time that player’s opponent has borne off all fifteen, then the player has lost a gammon, which counts for double a normal loss. If the losing player has not borne off any checkers and still has checkers on the bar or in the opponent’s home board, then the player has lost a backgammon, which counts for triple a normal loss.
TIPS:
1) Once a backgammon opponent makes an advanced anchor, it is even more important to make one yourself. Your opponent can now afford to make bolder plays which could really put you on the defensive.
2) If you are already substantially behind in the race, it may not hurt your chances to fall further behind. When you are way behind in the race, it may actually improve your timing to be hit again, giving you a better back game or avoid crunching your board.
3) When ahead in the race, race! Break contact if you are ahead and bank on your racing advantage.
4) When you are behind in a race it is usually wrong to abandon an anchor or a holding point. Waiting for that shot may be your only chance to win.
5) When you are in doubt, hit. Hitting takes precedence in most situations, especially on your opponents side of the board when it makes a bigger difference in the race. Your opponent may dance.
6) When you are behind in the race and waiting for a shot, slot and build the points in your home board in order.
7) Always slot to extend primes, especially 6pt primes since you have less checkers to work with. The exception would be when you risk being put behind a prime yourself.
8) When considering a double, for every 2 gammons you think you will lose, you have to win 1 more game to make it up. Varies with match score.
9) When considering a double, you should be able to win 25 per cent of the games, if there is little risk of a gammon, to break even. Varies with match score (when behind be a little more aggressive, when ahead be a little more conservative).
10) When trying to save a gammon, always bear into the 6pt, and make crossovers whenever possible. On last roll situations, make the play which allows you to save gammon the most often.
11) In prime vs prime situations, make plays that don’t allow you to play high numbers on your next roll.
12) Fight for equality early in the game. Battle for your 5pt and 4pts on both sides of the board.
13) When considering doubling while on the bar, a better backgammon tip is to make sure you have serious market losers, you may dance.
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