Learn Backgammon

by J. Phillip Vogel

Backgammon has firmly reclaimed its prominence as one of the most popular games worldwide, thanks in part to its newfound online presence, which has opened the door for millions of people to learn and play the game.
Let's explore more via this Learn Skill Games lesson.
Backgammon is a two player game, the object of which is to be the first player to move all of their checkers into their home board and then off the table.  It is played on a board consisting of 24 narrow triangles (called points), which alternate in color and are grouped into two, each having twelve triangles.
The halves are formed by the two opposing sides of the board, with a vertical band down the middle--the bar where the checkers are placed when hit.

The points in backgammon are numbered from one to 24, with checkers always moving from high to low numbers. As the players move their checkers in opposite directions during backgammon, the one point for one player will be the 24 point for the other.
Each player has 15 checkers and these begin the game with two positioned on the 24 point, five on the 13 point, three on the eight point, and five on the six point in their home board. 
A pair of dice determines the number of moves available to the players, and a doubling cube with numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 on its faces is used to keep track of the stakes currently being played.

Two timers govern the game of backgammon. The local timer counts down 45 seconds in normal speed games, 30 seconds in fast games, 15 seconds in express games, in which time the player must make a move. This is reset after each move and, if it expires, the global timer starts ticking.

The global timer is set to three minutes in normal speed games, two minutes in fast games, one minute in express games, and only starts ticking when the local timer expires. This global timer governs the entire game.
For example, in the case of a game at normal speed, if the player neither moves any checkers nor makes any transactions during the 45 seconds of the local timer, the global timer will start. If the global timer runs out, the player in control of the board will be declared the loser, and points will be awarded to his opponent according to the doubling cube. This will be counted as losing the game, regardless of the current state of the game board.

Starting the game of backgammon
At the start of the game, two of each player’s checkers are positioned on the 24 point, five on the 13 point, three on the 8 point, and five on the 6 point in the player's home board.  Before play begins the dice are rolled (one for each player), and the player with the higher number makes the first move, using the combination of his die throw and the opponent's.
In the case of a tie, the dice are rolled again until one of the players gets a higher score.  If possible, a player must move his checkers the number of points shown on each die. In other words, if a two and a five are rolled, two separate moves must be made, corresponding to the pips of the dice.
The player may move two checkers, or may choose to move only one by combining both numbers. Play continues with players alternating turns after each roll.

Moving the checkers
Each player must move his checkers in a forward direction onto points that the opponent has not already occupied with two or more checkers. If a player rolls the same number on both dice the roll is called a doublet, and each number must be played twice. Once more, all moves are distinct. For example, a player who rolls 5:5 has to play four moves of five spaces, with between one to four checkers.

Where checkers can land
A checker can land on any vacant point. It can also land on any point occupied by a player's own checkers. A checker cannot land on a point occupied by two or more of the opponent's checkers.
If a player has no legal moves after rolling the dice because all of the points are occupied by two or more of the opponent's checkers, his turn is forfeited. If a player has a legal move for one die only, he must make that move and then forfeit the use of the other die.
If the player has a legal move for either die, but not both, he must play the higher number.

Hitting checkers
Two or more checkers of one color on a point own that point. A single checker is known as a blot. If one of the opponent's checkers lands on a blot, the blot is considered hit, and is placed on the bar. That checker is temporarily out of play.

Re-entering checkers
If a player has checkers on the bar, no other checker can be moved before re:entering all of his checkers on the bar.  Any checkers on the bar must be reintroduced into the game before any other moves are made. The checker(s) must be entered on empty points or blots in their opponent's home board, according to a throw of the dice. If there are no empty points, the player must forfeit their go.  After the last of a player's checkers have re-entered the game, he must play the rest of the numbers shown on the dice if possible.

Bearing off
When a player has all 15 of their checkers in their own home board, he can start to remove them from the board; this is known as bearing off.
The player can bear a checker off corresponding to each number on the dice—a four will allow them to remove a checker from the 4 point. If there is no checker on the point indicated by the roll, the player must make a legal move using a checker on a higher-numbered point.
If there are no checkers on higher-numbered points, the player is required to remove a checker from the highest point on which one of his checkers resides. A player is under no obligation to bear off if he can make an otherwise legal move.
A checker that has been borne off cannot re:enter the game. If a checker is hit during bear off, no other checkers can be borne off until that checker re:enters the game from the bar and reaches the player’s home board again.

Scoring and doubling
Backgammon is played for an agreed stake per point. Each game starts at one point.
If a player is confident of a win, he can use the doubling cube to increase the bet.
This must only be done before the player rolls the dice. The doubling cube's faces are numbered 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64.
If the second player declines the increase in the stakes, he instantly loses the game and loses a point. However, when the second player accepts the doubling of the stakes he then takes control of the cube, meaning that only he can increase the stakes again.
Subsequent doublings of the stake are known as redoubles. If a player rejects a redouble, then they lose the game by the amount of points shown on the doubling cube. Alternatively, the player who accepts the redouble becomes the owner of the doubling cube.

The Backgammon Winner
The first player to get all of their checkers off the board wins.
The loser either loses by a single point, or by the number of points shown on the doubling cube.  The loser forfeits twice the stake if he has not moved a single checker off the board by the end of the game.
This is known as a gammon. If the loser still has checkers on the bar or in the winner's home board, they lose triple the stake.
This is known as a backgammon.
gamerisms.com offers an inclusive backgammon glossary and quiz.


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