Backgammon Rules: Learn How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is a board game played with pieces moved according to rules and by general principles of strategy. It's very popular in some parts of the world, mainly Turkey and Iran, but also in Vietnam and India. The objective of the game is to be first to move all your checkers (usually triangles) across a board according to certain rules and conditions. A player wins by being first, or by escaping from their opponent's home-board. In most countries backgammon is regulated—meaning it must either be played officially at a registered venue or with official equipment under adult supervision; otherwise it may be considered cheating. The rules of backgammon are a little different from the rules of other board games. Players can make the game somewhat more difficult for themselves by deliberately mis-reading the positions of their opponent's checkers, which makes it more difficult for them to escape from their opponent's home-board. Players should also try to cover their own men with those of their opponents; this makes it more difficult for them to escape.

Front: is the place where the dice roll must start in the front or left side. Back: is the place where the dice roll must start in the back or right side. Home: is the place where the checkers start. Checker: pieces that move on the board.

Backgammon Terms The following terms are used in backgammon: Backgammon Terms 'Bar point': You have only one option to make a play in a single game; this is called a bar point. 'Bear off: Pushing checkers off of the board is called bear off or bear down. 'Blot': An unprotected piece; if it is hit by an opponent, it's sent back to your home-board unless you can stop them from hitting you by making a , which requires that your opponent doesn't have any possible moves on their next turn. 'Bolt': The turn when your opponent gets to move all of his/her checkers; if you've been hit with a , you have the option to make a 'dart' or 'shot', which is an attempt to force that checker back onto a different board position. 'Check point': A place where your opponent's checkers can be blocked until they've made all moves in their turn. 'Checker: A piece that moves on the board. 'Double Game': When one player wins two games in a row, they win the match. The player who wins more games wins the match. 'Doubling cube: This is a six-faced cube that the opponent puts down in modern play. When you've won a game, or been hit with an , the opponent puts this down on his/her side of the board and it must be doubled in order to make any doubles (where you can put your opponent's two checkers onto one of your own). You can't affect whether or not the opponent will be able to do this or not, but it does increase their risks and attempts to win back their lost games. 'Doublette': A variation of backgammon that's played with only two checkers per person. The board is just half of the regular backgammon boards, and you only use a single die. 'Doubling cube': This is a six-faced cube that the opponent puts down in modern play. When you've won a game, or been hit with an , the opponent puts this down on his/her side of the board and it must be doubled in order to make any doubles (where you can put your opponent's two checkers onto one of your own). You can't affect whether or not the opponent will be able to do this or not, but it does increase their risks and attempts to win back their lost games. 'Doubling race': You must double the stakes of a game when you're offered the opportunity. Either you win double or nothing, or you lose your money and get sent back to your home-board if you're hit with a . 'Doubling cube': This is a six-faced cube that the opponent puts down in modern play. When you've won a game, or been hit with an , the opponent puts this down on his/her side of the board and it must be doubled in order to make any doubles (where you can put your opponent's two checkers onto one of your own). You can't affect whether or not the opponent will be able to do this or not, but it does increase their risks and attempts to win back their lost games. 'Doubled Dart': The dart which is used to double a checker from an opponent's home-board, placing it back on his/her own. This is usually used as a strategic maneuver, because if you hit your opponent's checker that has been doubles by your own checker, you'll need to roll again before you can make any moves with your own men. In most cases hitting and doubling a checker is considered an attack. 'Doublette': A variation of backgammon that's played with only two checkers per person. The board is just half of the regular backgammon boards, and you only use a single die. 'Doubling cube': This is a six-faced cube that the opponent puts down in modern play. When you've won a game, or been hit with an , the opponent puts this down on his/her side of the board and it must be doubled in order to make any doubles (where you can put your opponent's two checkers onto one of your own). You can't affect whether or not the opponent will be able to do this or not, but it does increase their risks and attempts to win back their lost games. 'Doubled dart': The dart which is used to double a checker from an opponent's home-board, placing it back on his/her own. This is usually used as a strategic maneuver, because if you hit your opponent's checker that has been doubles by your own checker, you'll need to roll again before you can make any moves with your own men. In most cases hitting and doubling a checker is considered an attack. 'Elitist: A term used to describe someone who only plays people of a certain level or rating. 'End Game': When one player has won two games in a row (a match). The player who wins more games wins the match. 'Fader: A player who is absent-minded or distracted easily. 'Flat hit: A hit that isn't diagonal to the board. 'Forward race: When a player is trying to get rid of their checkers as quickly as possible, usually because they're vulnerable to attack. 'Gammon': When one player has been hit twice before they've gotten rid of their men, they lose the game. They also lose when a player has gotten all but two checkers off of the board, which is called a backgammon. 'Gammons': When one player has been hit twice before they've gotten rid of their men, they lose the game.

Conclusion

This is a the final version of this article. I've already explained more about backgammon than I could fit into the first draft, but I still believe that it's important to share this with people, so here is the final version of what I've written.

The first thing that you should know about backgammon is that it's really not as hard as it looks when you're first learning to play.