The ancient Egyptians played a game called senet, which
resembled Backgammon, with moves controlled by the roll
of dice. The Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient
Mesopotamia, is a more likely ancestor of modern tables
games. Recent excavations at the "Burnt City" in Iran
showed that a similar game existed there around 3000 BC.
The artifacts include two dice and 60 pieces, and the
set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the
sets found in Ur.
The ancient Romans played a number of games with
remarkable similarities to Backgammon. Ludus duodecim
scriptorum ("game of twelve lines") used a board with
three rows of 12 points each, and the pieces were moved
across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Not
much specific text about the gameplay has survived.
Tabula, meaning "table" or "board", was a game mentioned
in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (AD 476-481). It
was similar to modern Backgammon in that a board with 24
points was used, and the object of the game was to be
the first to bear off all of one's checkers. Three dice
were used instead of two, and opposing checkers moved in
opposite directions.
In the 11th century Shahnameh, the Persian poet Ferdowsi
credits Burzoe with the invention of the tables game
nard in the 6th century. He describes an encounter
between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from India. The Raja
introduces the game of chess, and Burzoe demonstrates
nard, played with dice made from ivory and teak.
The jeux de tables, predecessors of modern Backgammon,
first appeared in France during the 11th century and
became a frequent pastime for gamblers. In 1254, Louis
IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials and
subjects from playing the games. Tables games were
played in Germany in the 12th century, and had reached
Iceland by the 13th century. While it is mostly known
for its extensive discussion of chess, the Alfonso X
manuscript Libro de los juegos, completed in 1283,
describes rules for a number of dice and tables games.
By the 17th century, tables games had spread to Sweden.
A wooden board and checkers were recovered from the
wreck of the Vasa among the belongings of the ship's
officers.
In the 16th century, Elizabethan laws and church
regulations had prohibited playing tables, but by the
18th century Backgammon was popular among the English
clergy. Edmund Hoyle published A Short Treatise on the
Game of Backgammon in 1743; this book described the
rules of the game and was bound together with a similar
text on whist. The game described by Hoyle is, in most
respects, the same as the game played today.
Name
-
In English, the word
"Backgammon" is most likely derived from "back" and
centerEnglish "gamen", meaning "game" or "play". The
earliest use documented by the Oxford English Dictionary
was in 1650.
-
In Arabic, the game is called tawilat
el-nard or tawilat el-zahr, meaning "board of dice".
-
In Chinese, the game is called shuang
lu, meaning "double sixes".
-
In
Greek, it is referred to as portes and is played as one
of the three games in a tavli match.
-
In Hebrew, it is called shesh besh,
derived from the Persian and Turkish for "six" and
"five"
-
In Japanese, sugoroku refers to
Backgammon as well as other racing games.
-
In Persian, Backgammon is called takhte nard, meaning
"battle on a wooden board".
-
In
Portuguese, Backgammon is called gamão.
In Turkish Backgammon is called tavla.
Setup
Backgammon is a game for two players,
played on a board consisting of twenty-four narrow
triangles called points. The triangles alternate in
color and are grouped into four quadrants of six
triangles each. The quadrants are referred to as a
player's home board and outer board, and the opponent's
home board and outer board. The home and outer boards
are separated from each other by a ridge down the center
of the board called the bar.
 |
Figure 1.
A board with the checkers in
their initial position.
An
alternate arrangement is the reverse of the one
shown here, with the home board on the left and
the outer board on the right.
|
The points are numbered for either player starting in
that player's home board. The outermost point is the
twenty-four point, which is also the opponent's one
point. Each player has fifteen checkers of his own
color. The initial arrangement of checkers is: two on
each player's twenty-four point, five on each player's
thirteen point, three on each player's eight point, and
five on each player's six point.
Both players have their own pair of dice and a dice cup
used for shaking. A doubling cube, with the numerals 2,
4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 on its faces, is used to keep track
of the current stake of the game.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is move all your checkers into
your own home board and then bear them off. The first
player to bear off all of their checkers wins the game.
|
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
|
 |
Figure 2.
Direction of movement of
White's checkers. Red's checkers move in the
opposite direction.
|
|
12 11 10 9 8
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
|
Movement of
the Checkers
To start the game, each player throws a single die. This
determines both the player to go first and the numbers
to be played. If equal numbers come up, then both
players roll again until they roll different numbers.
The player throwing the higher number now moves his
checkers according to the numbers showing on both dice.
After the first roll, the players throw two dice and
alternate turns.
The roll of the dice indicates how many points, or pips,
the player is to move his checkers. The checkers are
always moved forward, to a lower-numbered point. The
following rules apply:
1. A checker may be moved only to an
open point, one that is not occupied by two or more
opposing checkers.
2. The numbers on the two dice
constitute separate moves. For example, if a player
rolls 5 and 3, he may move one checker five spaces to an
open point and another checker three spaces to an open
point, or he may move the one checker a total of eight
spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate
point (either three or five spaces from the starting
point) is also open.
|
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 |
 |
Figure 3.
Two ways that Red can play a
roll of
|
|
12 11 10 9 8
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
3. A player who rolls
doubles plays the numbers shown on the dice twice. A
roll of 6 and 6 means that the player has four sixes to
use, and he may move any combination of checkers he
feels appropriate to complete this requirement.
4. A player must use both numbers of a
roll if this is legally possible (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 player must play the larger
one. 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.
Hitting and Entering
A point occupied by a single checker of either color is
called a blot. If an opposing checker lands on a blot,
the blot is hit and placed on the bar.
Any time a player has one or more checkers on the bar,
his first obligation is to enter those checker(s) into
the opposing home board. A checker is entered by moving
it to an open point corresponding to one of the numbers
on the rolled dice.
For example, if a player rolls 4 and 6, he may enter a
checker onto either the opponent's four point or six
point, so long as the prospective point is not occupied
by two or more of the opponent's checkers.
|
13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 |
 |
Figure 4.
If Red rolls
with a
checker on the bar, he must enter the checker
onto Red's four point since Red's six point is
not open.
|
|
12 11 10 9 8 9 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
|
If neither of
the points is open, the player loses his turn. If a
player is able to enter some but not all of his
checkers, he must enter as many as he can and then
forfeit the remainder of his turn.
After the last of a player's checkers has been entered,
any unused numbers on the dice must be played, by moving
either the checker that was entered or a different
checker.
Bearing Off
Once a player has moved all of his fifteen checkers into
his home board, he may commence bearing off. A player
bears off a checker by rolling a number that corresponds
to the point on which the checker resides, and then
removing that checker from the board. Thus, rolling a 6
permits the player to remove a checker from the six
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 permitted (and
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.
|
Figure 5.
Red rolls
and
bears off two checkers.
|
A player must have all of his
active checkers in his home board in order to bear off.
If a checker is hit during the bear-off process, the
player must bring that checker back to his home board
before continuing to bear off. The first player to bear
off all fifteen 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.
This page would
help you understand some of the basic strategies and
plans you can form while playing backgammon. These
strategies can be used in either Backgammon gambling
or playing Backgammon online for fun.
Overall Board Game Strategy
As you develop
your Backgammon skills and begin to test out different
tactics during money play, your
overall planned objective is always finding a way to get
your checkers around the board and off before your
opponent does. There are a variety of strategies
available to do that. The strategy you choose is often
dictated by the dice rolls early in the game and the
strategy chosen by your opponent. If your first two
rolls are 65 and 65, you will often move your back
checkers forward and get into a race. If you are hit
early and have checkers sent back, you will choose a
holding game or a back game.
The
Five Basic Backgammon Strategies
There are 5
basic strategies that you can use when you play
Backgammon online for fun or gambling on money.
The
Running Game Strategy
The Holding
Game Strategy
The
Priming Game Strategy
The Backgammon Blitz
The Back Game Strategy
The
objective of the Running Game is to bring all your men
into your
inner board
and bear them off as quickly as possible, similar to a
competitive race. You should choose a running game when
you have fewer pips remaining to get all your checkers
off than your opponent, and you already have gotten all
your checkers past your opponent or it appears likely
that you can do so. Before engaging in a Running Game,
it is important to evaluate the position of your men and
decide whether it is at your advantage to do so. If your
opponent has fewer pips remaining than you, then aiming
for a running game is a poor strategy, and has little
chance of success.
The Holding Game
The central idea of the Holding Game
is to plan on keeping a point in your control that is
located highly in your opponent's board, usually a point
in his inner board or the bar point. This is often the
best strategy when trailing in the pipcount race.
Playing this kind of positional advantage is more of a
style than a Backgammon strategy. The 20 point or bar
points are the best holding game
anchors, as they provide maximum chances to hit your
opponent as he brings his checkers closer to home.
Points further back get much weaker. It is also crucial
to understand the right times to offer the doubling
cube, and to accept or drop a double when playing or
defending a holding game. Another key strategical
element to the holding game is the distribution of the
opponent's checkers. If he has only the 8 and 13 points
made (as in the starting position), he will often have
to leave a shot as he brings his checkers around. If he
has made additional landing points in his outer board,
your hitting chances go down significantly.
The Priming Game
The Priming Game is a particular type
of holding game and involves building a
prime - a
long wall of your pieces, ideally 6 points in a row - in
order to block the movement of your opponent's pieces
that are behind the wall. These pieces will remain
trapped as long as you can maintain the
prime,
and can result in an interesting struggle for your
opponent to move pieces around the Backgammon board.
Hitting an opponent's
blot to
trap it behind your blockade is the main aim of playing
a Priming Game when gambling on Backgammon. The prime
can be constructed anywhere between point 2 and point 11
in your board, then you can shuffle it into your inner
table as you approach the
bearing-off game phase.
The Prime vs. Prime Game
When your opponent has a
prime, it is very important to get your checkers to
where they can escape with a single number. For example,
if his prime is 5 points long, it is very important to
get to the front so you can escape with a 6. If his
prime is 6 long, you cannot escape.
A variation of the priming game is the prime versus
prime, when both sides have strong blockade. The key
features are the number of points in the prime for each
side, the number of checkers behind the prime, and
whether the stranded checkers are at the front of the
prime.
The most unusual thing about a prime versus prime game
is that, all else being equal, strategically the player
behind in the pip count is favored to win the game. This
is because if neither side escapes their checkers, the
one leading in the race will have to give up his prime
first.
The Backgammon Blitz
The Backgammon Blitz is essentially an
attack on your opponent's pieces, with the aim of
keeping your opponent on the bar while moving your
pieces into your inner table as quickly as possible. The
ultimate goal of the blitz is to close out one or more
of your opponent's pieces by occupying all 6 of the
points in your
inner table,
making it impossible for these pieces to return to the
game until a point becomes available when you are
bearing off.
Blitzes are very committal - once you
begin to attack, you have to continue to hit and take
risks and changes to make additional points. If the
attack fails, either because the opponent makes an
anchor
or because you get too many checkers hit and sent back,
you can easily reach a point where you are losing the
game.
The key strategy to starting a blitz
is usually an early roll where you hit an opponent's
checker and he stays on the bar, or perhaps you hit two
and he doesn't enter both. A blitz is a much weaker plan
when your opponent has as many (or nearly as many)
points made in his board as you do in yours. Since you
are taking risks to make points, you cannot afford to be
hit and dance on the bar. It is also crucial to double
at the right time. Blitzes, when they succeed, often
result in gammons, and you can easily become too good to
double if things go well. This is especially true in
money gambling games or tournaments with the
Jacoby Rule in effect. It
is foolish to take risks to win a gammon and not get the
full value of them by doubling at the right time. The
Blitz gives you a great tactical advantage.
The Two-Way Forward Game
The two-way forward game is not listed
as a basic plan, because it is a hybrid of the blitz and
prime games. In the two-way forward game, you normally
have built a mini-prime of 3 or 4 points, and then have
the opportunity to attack your opponent. If your
opponent
anchors,
you hope to have extended your prime in the process and
to win from a priming game.
Two-way forward games are extremely strong when they
come up, because if the dice go badly for one plan, they
often go well for the other.
The Back Game
The Back Game is achieved by
controlling two (or more) points in your opponent's
inner table.
The main game objective is to hit a
blot late
in the game and contain it. It is a difficult strategy
to play in Backgammon because the chance of a successful
Back Game is influenced by the luck of
the dice roll. A
successful Back game requires that you establish two
anchors,
have at least 10 of your checkers advanced to contain
the opponent if you hit, and have enough
timing
(i.e. are far enough behind in the race) to wait until
he rolls awkwardly and leaves a single or double shot.
Back games that are unsuccessful often result in gammon
or Backgammon losses. If your timing is marginal (if you
are only down 50 to 70 pips in the race), a backgame
involving higher points (like the 2 and 4 or 3 and 4) is
much stronger than those involving the ace point. The
back games involving the 1 and 2 points is not that
strong; the best backgames are usually considered the
1-3, 2-3, and 2-4.
While a weak
opponent can often be seduced into overrating his
position when you play a back game, it is rarely a good
strategy to seek a back game from the start. It will
often arise on its own if you attempt a blitz and have
many checkers hit. Even then, you would usually prefer
to hit an opposing checker early and try to trap it. You
should only go all-out for a backgame once you have two
back points made and are at least 70 pips or so behind
in the race.
Backgammon is essentially a game of mathematics, more
precisely probabilities. Your success in
Backgammon
therefore relies primarily on how well
you can judge the chances of something happening in a
given situation - the probability of X. From that we can
conclude that in Backgammon
your decisions are only as good as your judgement of the
situation.
Backgammon
and probability
Novice players often find it extremely difficult to form
a clear overall picture of a
Backgammon
game. Duplications, diversifications,
pip-counts, timings, wastage, strategies,
Backgammon,
holding games - it is all very confusing in the
beginning. I am no genius and chances are that your
neither. So we need something that helps us getting
started with understanding what's going on and through
that make better calls. The answer is probability
tables.
For those interested in the mathematical aspects of
probability, there is an excellent book called
Introduction to Probability. The book is a scientific
publication but contains many easy-to-understand
examples that are very educative and useful.
Probability tables are overlooked in most of
Backgammon
literature for novice players and hidden among the last
pages just before the appendix or glossary so that you
can easily forget about them. However, they should get
the credit they deserve as they really can speed up the
understanding and level of your game. See, if you know
what is the chance of something happening after your
move you might not even make that move but do something
else that will either increase your chances or decrease
your opponents chances. It's up to you how you want to
see it.
Below we go through the three most common and useful
probability tables for novice players. You might want to
print them and keep them near to you. Don't worry, soon
you can leave them alone for the bigger part of the game
and the time will come when you can do without. The
basic tips after each chapter will help you how memorize
the essence of the probability tables.
Chances of hitting
The most used
probability table deals with the probability of hitting
a direct shot when when it is a given amount of pips
(points) away. By studying and understanding this will
help you to position your checkers in the best way,
minimizing the chances of getting hit.
|
Points away |
Chance of hitting |
|
1 |
11/36 |
31% |
|
2 |
12/36 |
33% |
|
3 |
14/36 |
39% |
|
4 |
15/36 |
42% |
|
5 |
15/36 |
42% |
|
6 |
17/36 |
47% |
|
7 |
6/36 |
17% |
|
8 |
6/36 |
17% |
|
9 |
5/36 |
14% |
|
10 |
3/36 |
8% |
|
11 |
2/36 |
6% |
|
12 |
3/36 |
8% |
|
15 and above |
1/36 |
3% |
By far the biggest chance of hitting is when the blot is
6 points away. That's why in the beginning it can
sometimes be so difficult to make the bar point for both
players. However, the chance of hitting suddenly takes a
nosedive when when the blot is 7 or more pips away.
That's good to keep in mind for example when either you
or your opponent played a deep holding game and it's
time to bear in.
From this table, remember two things
1. If you leave a shot within 6 points away from your
opponent,
leave it as close to him as possible.
2. If you leave a shot more than 6 points away from your
opponent, leave it as far away as
possible.
Chances of entering from the bar
The reason why it is
so important to make home board points as early in the
game as possible is that the more points you make the
harder it is for your opponent to enter from the bar. It
might not seem much but three made points as opposed to
two makes it suddenly much more difficult for your
opponent to enter from the bar on his next turn. The
probability table below highlights the chances of
entering from the bar when the opponent has from 1 to 5
points made in his board:
One checker on the bar
|
Points |
1
roll |
2
rolls |
3
rolls |
4
rolls |
5
rolls |
|
1 |
97% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
2 |
89% |
99% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| 3 |
75% |
94% |
98% |
100% |
100% |
|
4 |
56% |
80% |
91% |
96% |
98% |
| 5 |
31% |
52% |
67% |
77% |
84% |
Two checkers on
the bar
|
Points |
1
roll |
|
1 |
69% |
|
2 |
44% |
|
3 |
25% |
|
4 |
11% |
|
5 |
3% |
With two checkers on
the board it is nearly irrelevant to discuss
probabilities for both entering from the bar on the same
turn, so low the chances are. Bottom line is that
the combination of hitting checkers and making home
board points is a real killer. That's all there
is to it. There is no
Backgammon
game when a blot doesn't get hit and
when it does, make sure you have the upper hand. And if
you can hit two checkers, go for it unless you can think
of a
really good reason not to. The
other obvious advantage of making home board points is
that they are ready for bearing off when the time comes.
From this table, remember two things
1. Make home board points always when you can.
2. Hit as many checkers as you can.
Chances of winning in a 5-point match
when you play money
games online a very common match length is 5 points.
Many tournaments also have match lenght of 5 and
therefore it is important for you to know what your
chances are of winning at a given score. This is
important for doubling cube action as you need to take
your chances into account when deciding to accept the
doubling cube or not.
In the probability
table below your score is on the left and your
opponent's on the right. Your chances of winning the
game at that score are next to the it. The table below
assumes that both players are of equal level.
Chances of winning in a 5-point
match
|
0-0 50% |
0-1 42% |
0-2 34% |
0-3 25% |
0-4 15% |
|
1-0 58% |
1-1 50% |
1-2 41% |
1-3 32% |
1-4 17% |
|
2-0 66% |
2-1 59% |
2-2 50% |
2-3 40% |
2-4 25% |
|
3-0 75% |
3-1 68% |
3-2 60% |
3-3 50% |
3-4 30% |
|
4-0 85% |
4-1 83% |
4-2 75% |
4-3 70% |
4-4 50% |
From this table, remember two things
1. If you are the first to reach score of 3 or 4 you are
looking very good. Play solid, don't take silly risks.
2. Whenever you are two points behind in the score,
don't hold back. You need to play aggressive to win.
Here is a list
of 27 tips to help make you a better
Backgammon
player. These are general guidelines to consider in
common situations.
-
Once an 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.
-
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 backgame or avoid
crunching your board.
-
When ahead in the race, race!
Break contact if you are ahead and bank on your
racing advantage
-
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.
-
When 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.
-
When you are behind in the race
and waiting for a shot, slot and build the points in
your home board in order.
-
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.
-
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.
-
When considering a double, you
should be able to win 25% 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).
-
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.
-
In prime vs. prime situations,
make plays that don't allow you to play high numbers
on your next roll.
-
Fight for equality early in the
game. Battle for your 5pt and 4pts on both sides of
the board.
-
When considering doubling while on
the bar, make sure you have serious market losers,
you may dance.
-
When in doubt, lock up permanent
assets. Making a key point is often better than a
loose hit.
-
When bearing off, use all your
numbers to take checkers off rather than trying to
smooth your distribution by filling holes.
-
If you are 2 pts away, try for the
undoubled gammon rather than turning an early cube.
-
Keep your composure during big
swings of luck in a game. Consider each position as
a new one and not as the one you used to have.
-
When considering plays, try and
duplicate your opponents constructive numbers.
-
If the likelihood of getting a
gammon is close (50%) bear off aggressively, if it
is very likely or unlikely, play it safe.
-
Loose 6's are better played on
your opponents side of the board. Better to try and
escape or go for an anchor than to risk getting hit
on your own side of the board.
-
When you already have several of
your opponents checkers back, it is better to
strengthen a prime than to send more back which may
give them a better backgame or improve their timing.
-
Recirculate your checkers when in
a backgame. Getting hit will improve your timing and
help you to avoid crunching your board.
-
When in a backgame, consider all
your opponents rolls and create shots by opening up
points and increase your chances of hitting.
-
Try and keep an even number of
checkers on your highest points when bearing off
against an anchor to avoid leaving shots if you roll
high doubles.
-
As a general rule, if you have
fewer checkers left and fewer pips in a bearoff, you
have a sound double.
-
If you have a choice between
hitting a checker on your opponents side of the
board or make a point on your own side, it is
usually better to hit in backgammon game.
-
Your barpoint (7pt.) is valuable
but if you have a choice, it is better to make your
5pt. or 4pt.
|
