Games - Backgammon

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	Games - Backgammon

Backgammon is a board game for two players. Each player has fifteen pieces (checkers or men) which move between twenty-four triangles (points) according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to be first to bear off, that is, to move all fifteen checkers off the board.

History

Backgammon is the oldest known recorded game. Traditionally, it was believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, Sumeria, or Mesopotamia in the Persian empire (present-day Iran). However, more recent conclusive evidence indicates that the game originated on the eastern borders of Iran, near Afghanistan. The Iranian chancellor and thinker of the Sassanid Empire Bozorgmehr is said to have created the ancient version of the game. In English, the word backgammon is believed to be derived from "back" plus the Middle English word "gamen" (game).

Tabula was a form of backgammon played by the ancient Romans. It was called tabula, which means 'table' or 'board', since it was played on a special board. Tabula bears some similarity to Egyptian Senet, which dates back to at least 3000 BC.

The game of Tabula was similar to modern-day Backgammon in that the same board was used with fifteen pieces alloted to each player with the object of the game being to be the first to bear off all fifteen pieces. It differed in that the game began with no pieces on the board so that these first had to be entered by the roll of the dice. Likewise, three dice were used instead of two. Finally, both players entered the board from the same table and moved around the board in the same counterclockwise direction.

Rules

Backgammon is a simple game with deep strategic elements. It does not take long to learn to play, although obscure situations do arise which require careful interpretation of the rules. The playing time for each individual game is short, so it is often played in matches, for example the first to five points. Game and match are used in Backgammon to refer to these distinct elements, as in, "I won two games in a row, but then she won three in a row and I lost the match, three points to two."

In short, players are trying to get all of their pieces past their opponent's pieces. This is difficult because the pieces are scattered at first, and may be blocked or captured by the opponent's pieces.

Each side of the board has a track of twelve adjacent spaces, called points and usually represented by long triangles of alternating (but meaningless) color. The tracks are imagined to be connected across the break in the middle and on just one edge of the board, making a continuous line (but not a circle) of twenty-four points. The points are numbered from 1 to 24, with checkers always moving from higher-numbered points to lower-numbered points. The two players move their checkers in opposite directions, so the 1-point for one player is the 24-point for the other. Some recorded games, however, keep the numbering of the points constant from the perspective of one player.

Each player begins with two checkers on his 24-point, three checkers on his 8-point, and five checkers each on his 13-point and his 6-point.

Note that the board as shown can be flipped horizontally, with starting positions and direction of play likewise flipped but with no changes to the mechanics of gameplay. The two orientations are equally common and game boards are all designed to be played both ways.

Points one to six, where the player wants to get his pieces to, are called the home board or inner board. A player may not bear off any checkers unless all of his checkers are in his home board. Points seven to twelve are called the outer board, points thirteen to eighteen are the opponent's outer board, and points nineteen to twenty-four are the opponent's home board. The 7-point is often referred to as the bar point and the 13-point as the mid point.

At the start of the game, each player rolls one die. Whoever rolls higher starts his first turn using the numbers on the already-rolled dice. In case of a tie, the players roll again. The players alternate turns and roll two dice at the beginning of each turn after the first.

After rolling the dice a player must, if possible, move checkers the number of points showing on each die. For example, if he rolls a 6 and a 3, he must move one checker six points forward and another one three points forward. The dice may be played in either order. The same checker may be moved twice as long as the two moves are distinct: six and then three, or three and then six, but not nine all at once.

If a player has no legal moves after rolling the dice, because all of the points to which he might move are occupied by two or more enemy checkers, he forfeits his turn. However, a player must play both dice if it is possible. If he has a legal move for one die only, he must make that move and then forfeit the use of the other die. (If he has a legal move for either die, but not both, he must play the higher number.)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Backgammon ]

Games - Backgammon

History

Rules

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