The Objective
The whole point of Backgammon is to make sure you bring your checkers, whichever the color, to your home board, so you can remove your checkers from the board. The winner will be determined by being the first to remove all his/her checkers.
Starting Backgammon
You start playing by rolling the die once, and whoever rolls the highest goes first. If both players roll their die and corresponding number show, they are to roll again until their numbers on the die do not correspond. Although the next rule does not exist in Backgammon today, a few still abide by it. The player that has thrown the highest on the dice uses it in his/her first move. After then the players alternate and the die is rolled once.
Whoever wins the game plays first the next round of Backgammon. Most of the time the rule is not followed, this is because people find it boring.
The numbers on the die indicate the amount of pips, or points the player must move the checkers. Checkers cannot be moved backwards. They are only to move in the direction of their home-boards. This means that the black and white pieces move in opposite directions around the board.
The Moves
A few rules to consider are: the number of a die represents two distinct moves. For example, after rolling a 1 and 3, one checker can be moved once and another can move three. The player could consider this move or the player could just move one piece 4 spaces. Wherever you decide to move your checker is entirely up to the player. The checker can be moved to a point occupied by the player’s own checkers, or onto the opponent’s point as long as there is only one checker belonging to the opponent available. If there are two or more checkers belonging to your opponent occupying the point, this is considered a block. Throwing a double on the die allows the player to move the checker(s) the amount shown on the die, times two.
The Blot and the Hit
A checker alone on a point is called a blot, and this blot can be attacked by the opponent. Different-colored checkers cannot occupy the same point. A blot is removed when an opponent’s piece lands on it. This is called a hit. The blot is removed and moved to the bar. Here it stays until the opponent enters it in his/her board. The checker can be re-entered by the player if a number on the rolled dice corresponds with a point your opponent’s pieces are not occupying.
Bearing off the Checkers
The final stage of the game is the player removing his/her pieces from their home board. You should have all 15 pieces in your home board. The player bears off the pieces according to the dice. The player might encounter a situation where no checker occupies the point indicated by the die-roll. The player is then to use the highest pointed-checker and make a move. The player has no obligation when trying to bear off if the player has to make another move.
The Backgammon Winner
The winner is determined by who is first to remove the checkers. If the opponent is not able to bear off any checkers, it is a double victory and you score a gammon, which is known as twice a-normal win. Backgammon or triple victory is known as three times a-normal win and this is determined whether the opponent has succeeded in removing any checker and/or currently has checkers on the winner’s bar or in the victor’s home board.
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