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Beginners Guide |
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Backgammon |
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Backgammon
is considered to be among the
table class of board games. In
the company of such classic
games as chess, table class
games are among the oldest
board games in the world.
Backgammon is a game of simple
rules through which great
strategy can develop. It only
takes a few seconds to set up
and game play rarely lasts
more than 30 minutes. Because
of the rapid pace of the game,
Backgammon is usually played
in matches, victory being
awarded to the first person to
win a certain number of games.
The Backgammon board has a
very distinct look. A thick
bar runs down the middle,
dividing the board into two
separate spaces. Each side of
the board has a track of long
triangles called points. The
idea is that the points are
all connected from 1 to 24, so
each player moves his pieces
forward from his 24 toward his
1; the opposing player moves
his pieces in the opposite
direction. All together there
are 24 points and they are
usually numbered. The
objective of the game is to
remove (or bear-off) all of
your checker pieces before
your opponent. When the game
begins, all of your checker
pieces are scattered to
different areas of the board.
Strategy comes in to play when
a player fully utilizes his
ability to block and hit the
checker pieces of his opponent
in order to keep him from
bearing-off his pieces first.
When setting up the board,
each player starts with 15
checker pieces on the board.
Each player will have 2
checker pieces on his 24
point, 5 on his 13 point, 3 on
his 8 point, and 5 on his 6
point. Points 1 through 6 are
referred to as the player’s
home board, toward which the
checkers are heading.
Movement in Backgammon depends
on the role of two dice. To
start both players role a
single die, whoever roles the
highest number moves first.
That first move is base on the
already rolled dice. The
player may use each die
separately for the movement of
two checker pieces, or he may
combine the value of the dice
and move one checker piece; it
is up to his discretion.
For example: A player
rolls a 4 and a 6. The player
has the option of moving one
piece 4 spaces and another
piece 6 spaces or he may move
one single piece 10 spaces. If
a player is lucky enough to
roll a double, he most use the
number on each die twice.
Meaning, if a player roll a 6
and a 6, he may move as many
as four checker pieces 6
spaces. Players must move
their checker pieces when
possible, but blocks and hits
make that a little
complicated.
This is
where skill and strategy enter
the game. Players cannot skip
points and two checkers of
different colors cannot occupy
the same point. If another
player has a single check on a
point and an opponents checker
lands on that point, it is
considered a hit and the first
player’s check is placed in
the middle of the board, the
bar. In order to return a hit
checker to the game, the
player must roll the die; a
roll of 2 allows the check
entry at the 23 point, a roll
of 3 at the 22 point, 4 at the
21 point, and so on. A player
must return all of his hit
checkers to the board before
continuing to move other
pieces.
Once all of a
player’s checkers have arrived
on the home board, points 1
through 6, that is when a
player can begin bearing off
his pieces. The roll of the
dice determines what pieces
can be removed from the board.
For example: A roll of a 1
and 3 means a checker can be
removed from the 1 point and
the 3 point. If a number is
rolled and no checkers occupy
the corresponding point, a
check must be removed from the
point directly below that
number.
Backgammon is a
game of both chance and
strategy. Its rapid pace has
kept people entertained for
centuries.
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