Backgammon is a 2 player board game with an interesting design. 15 Counters for each player are assembled in specific start positions- positions being also called points (points or spaces being denoted by long thin triangles of alternating colour. Usually red and white)..
On the board there are 6 points per quarter. The aim is quite simply to move around the board and get your counters home first. This is a game of strategy and luck, the latter comes from a pair of dice used to get a turns score whereby you can move your counters towards ‘home’. The counters move in opposing nature across each other’s move- an exciting feature of the game.
Each player moves and can protect chips from being ‘taken’ by never leaving them alone (as a single chip on a point). If you roll a six you move one counter six places for example. There are some things to take note of:
You cannot move onto a point occupied by 2 or more opponent chips.
If you land on an opposition counter that is unprotected you can send it back to the start, severely changing the game’s predicted outcome. That player then needs to roll an exact number to come back into play for any free space available.
You ‘bear off’ only when all your counters are in the last quadrant.
Backgammon is played for points and it gets more challenging with a double up system that introduces a risk factor. This is a cube just like a die with 2,4,8,16,32 and 64 marked on it.
On one player getting all his chips home after ‘bearing off’ a score of 1, 2 or 3 points is awarded (multiplied by the stake cube if used).
1 point for when both players have started to ‘bear off’.
2 points for when the loser has not yet started to ‘bear off’. This is known as losing a gammon.
3 points for when the loser has at least one counter in the opponent’s home quadrant or off the board.
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