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Learn How to Play
Online Backgammon
A
backgammon board has 24 triangles in alternating colours called points. The
board is divided into 4 quadrants and each quadrant has 6 points. You and your
opponent each have a home board and outer boards which are separated by a raised
section called the bar. After a checker is hit it is placed on the bar and it
can only re-enter in the opponent’s inner board on a subsequent roll. The way
the checkers are initially set up for play is known as the starting position.
Two checkers are on each player 24pt. five on each player 13pt. three on each
8pt., and five on each players 6pt. The direction of play is from your
opponent’s home board to their outer board, to your outer board to your home
board.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is for each player to
bring all his checkers into his home board, and then to bear them off
the board. The first player to get all his checkers off the board is the
winner.
Starting the game
At the beginning of the game, both payers throw a single dice. The
player throwing the higher number moves first using both their number
and the number of the opponent to move the checkers. If the same number
comes up on both dice, the players re-roll until they are different.
After the first move, players alternate turns by rolling their own dice.
Moving the Checkers
The checkers must always be moved forward around the board according to
the numbers shown on the dice. The numbers on the two dice constitute
separate moves. For example, if a player rolls 4 and 6, he may move one
checker four spaces to an open point and another checker six spaces to
an open point, or he may move the one checker a total of ten spaces to
an open point, but only if one of the intermediate points (either four
or six spaces from the starting point) is also open. The bar is not
counted as a space.
The checkers are always moved around the board from a player's outer
board to his inner or home board.
A checker may be moved only to an open point, one that is not occupied
by two or more opposing checkers. A checker may move to a point if it is
occupied by only one of the opponent's checkers. In this case the
opposing checker is hit and placed on the bar.
To avoid leaving single checkers vulnerable a player can try to use his
roll to make a point. A player makes a point (takes control of one of
the triangles on the board) by positioning two or more of his checkers
on it. He then "owns" that point, and his opponent cannot move a checker
to that point nor touch down on it when taking the combined total of his
dice with one checker.
A player must use both numbers of a roll if it is legally possible to do
so (or all four numbers of a double). When only one number can be
played, the player must play that number. Or if either number can be
played but not both, the larger number must be played. When neither
number can be used, the player loses his turn. In the case of doubles,
when all four numbers cannot be played, the player must play as many
numbers as he can.
The Bar
The bar is the middle strip that separates the inner and outer boards
and once a checker is placed there, it remains out of play until it can
be entered in the opponent’s inner board by a throw of the dice.
Entering from the Bar
A checker can be entered from the bar if on the next roll one of the
numbers corresponds to a point not occupied by two or more opponent
checkers in the opponent’s home board. If you cannot enter because both
points indicated by the dice are blocked, the turn passes to your
opponent. If your opponent owns all 6 points in their board you can not
roll since it is impossible to enter until your opponent opens up a
point in their board. If a player has one or more checkers on the bar
they must all be re-entered before any other checkers can be moved. Once
all of the checkers have been entered, any unused numbers on the dice
may be used to move the checker that was entered or any other checker.
The Bear Off
The Bear Off is the final stage of the game when you remove your
checkers from your home board but you cannot start this process until
all 15 of your checkers have made it there. After all your men are in
the home board you may bear them off according to the numbers on the
dice you throw. You must use your entire roll so if you roll a 5 and
have no checkers on the 6pt or 5pt, you must take a checker off of the
next highest point with checkers on it. If you roll a 5 and have no
checkers on the 5pt but you do have a checker on the 6pt, you must move
the checker on your 6pt five spaces to the 1pt. You do not have to bear
a checker off if you have another legal move which can be useful when
your opponent is on the bar or still owns a point in your board. If your
opponent hits a blot while you are bearing off, you must enter that
checker and bring it all the way around back to your home board before
you can continue to bear off checkers. The first player to bear off all
15 checkers wins the game.
Doubling
Backgammon is played for an agreed stake per point. Each game starts at
one point. During the course of the game, a player who feels he has a
sufficient advantage may propose doubling the stakes. He may do this
only at the start of his own turn and before he has rolled the dice.
A player who is offered a double may refuse, in which case he concedes
the game and pays one point. Otherwise, he must accept the double and
play on for the new higher stakes. A player who accepts a double becomes
the owner of the cube and only he may make the next double.
Subsequent doubles in the same game are called redoubles. If a player
refuses a redouble, he must pay the number of points that were at stake
prior to the redouble. Otherwise, he becomes the new owner of the cube
and the game continues at twice the previous stakes. There is no limit
to the number of redoubles in a game.
The Jacoby Rule
Gammons and backgammons count only as a single game if neither player
has offered a double during the course of the game. This rule speeds up
play by eliminating situations where a player avoids doubling so he can
play on for a gammon. The Jacoby rule is primarily used in money games
The Crawford Rule
If you are playing an n-point match and your opponent is ahead of you,
if he gets to n-1 points according to the Crawford Rule you are not
allowed to use the doubling cube in the following game.
The Holland Rule
In post-Crawford games the trailer can only double after both sides have
played two rolls. It makes the free drop more valuable to the leader.
The Holland rule is rarely used.
You can play online backgammon
for free at these established online casinos. But don't forget to check
out our tips & strategies pages first
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