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Backgammon Rules
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Backgammon Rules
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How to Play Backgammon
The Basics of Backgammon
Object of the Game
Getting Started
Course of the Game
Backgammon Hits and Enters
Clearing the Backgammon Board (Bearing Off)
Winning by Points, Gammon, and Backgammon
Doubling the Wagers
Optional Rules: Beavers, Automatic
Doubles, The Jacoby Rule
Backgammon is one of the oldest and most amusing board games in the history
of games. Backgammon an be played by players of all levels - beginners will
find the
rules quite simple and will rely more on chance, while experienced players can
use advanced strategies and exciting moves.
The Basics of Backgammon
Backgammon is a game for 2 players.
The backgammon board contains a drawing of 24 cones called points. 12 points
are light and 12 are dark, alternately. The points are divided to 4 groups of
6, called quarters or quadrants.
The points are numbered from 1 to 12 and each player owns the 12 points that
are closer to him. Opposite points has the same number - your point #1 is in
front of your opponent's point #1. Point number 1 to point number 6 are the
Home Board and point number 7 to point number 12 make the Outer Board
At the center of the board there is a bar that marks the division of the board
to two - the home board and the outer board.
Each player gets 15 checkers (also called stones), dark or light. Each player
also gets 2 dice that determine separate moves and an extra dice to duplicate
the bets (marked with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64). As you well know, if there are
dice, there is chance, so try not to forget the main ingredient: lots of luck!
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Object of the Game
The object of a Backgammon game is to carry all your15 checkers to the Home
Board and then to remove them off the board before your opponent and preventing
him of doing the same.
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Getting Started
Each player chooses color, dark or light.
The checkers are set by this fixed arrangement:
5 checkers in your point 6
3 checkers in your point 8
2 checkers in your opponent's point 1.
5 checkers in your opponent's point 12.
Since each player has to carry his checkers from the initial position to his
Home Board, one of the players will have to move his checkers clockwise, while
the moves his checkers counterclockwise, going in the opposite direction of
his opponent's checkers.
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Course of the Game
To determine which player starts first, each player rolls one of his dice and
the one with the higher number wins. (In case of a draw simply roll again).
The winner begins the game with the result of the two dice, the one he rolled
and the one rolled by his opponent. From this stage the players take turns rolling
two dice each.
The movement is by points (for example, if you rolled 5 you can move from point
12 to point 7) and the direction is always towards point 1. The point you are
already standing in doesn't count. A checker can be moved only to an open point,
which is a point that is not taken by 2 or more checkers of your opponent.
If the numbers rolled on both dice are not identical you can choose between
making two separate moves, or one long move. For example if you rolled 5 and
3, you can either move one checker 3 points and then move a different checker
5 points, or you can move one checker 8 points but only if the connecting point
(third or fifth point in this case) is open also.
In case you roll a double (2 equal numbers), the number of moves for that turn
is duplicated. For example if you roll two 5s you can make four moves of 5 in
any way you wish.
Note that you must use both numbers of a roll and 4 numbers of a double as
much as possible. However if you are blocked the following rules apply:
- If only one number can be played you must play it.
- If you can play either one of both numbers but not together, you must play
the higher number.
- If you can't play either one of both numbers, you lose your turn.
- If you rolled a double but you can't play all 4 numbers, you must play as
many numbers as possible.
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Backgammon Hits and Enters
A single checker standing alone on one point is called a blot and is a strategic
weakness. If a checker lands on a blot of a different color the blot is hit
and is moved to the bar (division between the Home Board and the Outer Board).
A player who has a checker sitting on the bar must have it moved to his opponent's
home board as soon as possible. To do so, he must roll a number that corresponds
to an open point on the opponent's home board (points1 to 6), to make his way
again to his own Home Board. For example, if you have at least two checkers
on your points 1, 3 and 5, your opponent will have to roll 2, 4 or 6 to be able
to reenter his checker to the board.
- If a player hasn't rolled a number of an open point he loses his turn.
- If all the points on the opponent's Home Board aren't open, the player is
blocked and loses all his turns until any of the 6 points open up.
- If a player has several checkers on the bar, he must enter as many as possible
in one turn.
Once a player brought back the last checker from the bar he must make a move
according to the unused number he rolled, on any checker he chooses.
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Clearing the Backgammon Board (Bearing Off)
Once all your 15 checkers are gathered in your Home Board, you can start clearing
the board by bearing them off with the next roll of the dice. Note that you
can't start bearing off until all 15 checkers are on you Home Board - if one
of your checkers was hit you can't go on bearing off until that checker is back
on your home board.
To bear off a checker you must roll a number that corresponds to its point.
(For example, if you rolled 5 and 1 and you can bear off one checker from point
5 and one checker from point 1).
If you rolled number of points that have no checkers you must make a regular
move with a checker from a higher number point. If there are no checkers on
a higher point you must remove a checker from your highest occupied point.
Note that you don't have to bear off a checker if you have an option to make
another (legal) move.
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Winning by Points, Gammon, and Backgammon
The winner is the first to bear off all of his 15 checkers.
- If the loser managed to place at least one checker in his Home Board before
the end of the game, the winner gets one point. That means that the loser loses
only the value showing on the doubling die.
- If the loser failed to place at least one checker in his Home Board, he loses
by Gammon and the winner gets two points. Loser loses twice the value of the
doubling die.
- If the loser doesn't have at least one checker in his Home Board and has one
of his checker in his opponent's Home Board or on the bar, he loses by Backgammon
and the winner gets 3 points. Loser loses three times the value of the doubling
die.
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Doubling the Wagers
When it's time to bet, the real player in Backgammon is the doubling die. It
shows the following numbers: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64. Each player can use the
doubling cube during the game to rise the original bet when the odds seem to
be in his favor.
To double, first you must announce that you want to double the bet, take the
doubling die and put it on the opponent's side of the bar with the number 2
on top.
Now your opponent has two options: to accept the doubling and continue playing,
or to refuse and lose the game. This decision requires some experience and should
not be taken on the spur of the moment.
If your opponent accepts the doubling of the bet, the doubling die remains on
his side of the bar, and he will be able to make a doubling offer if he wants
to, but next time he will place the die with the number 4 on top, on the opponent's
side of the bar.
Players can go on doubling until 64, although it rarely goes higher than 8 or
16 since the doubling the bets makes the game go faster.
Remember that a normal loss gives 1 point to the winner, a loss by a Gammon
gives the winner 2 points and a loss by a Backgammon gives the winner 3 points.
So don't say we didn't warn you when you start passing the doubling die across
the bar!
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This following rules are optional, however widely used:
Beavers
An additional rule for doubling - If your opponent offered a double, you may
immediately redouble (called beaver) and still keep the doubling die. Your opponent
can accept with a regular double, or refuse as usual.
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Automatic Doubles
If the first roll of the dice is a double the players can agree to double the
stakes. The doubling die is set on 2 and stays in the middle of the bar.
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The Jacoby Rule
If none of the players offered to double during the game Gammons and backgammons
will count as a single game only.
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