Backgammon is an ancient and still popular board game. It is not played in casinos in Las Vegas, but many backgammon tournaments are staged in Las Vegas, and the Las Vegas Backgammon Club is a large and active organization with weekly tournaments. Backgammon players frequently come to Las Vegas looking for great playing opportunities, and they will often find them.

In addition, many on-line gambling sites also offer backgammon as an electronic game. For this reason, the game seems to be enjoying another renaissance in popularity.

Rules

The board game is for two players. The board has two sides, an inner boar for each player on one side (white’s right, red’s left) and an outer board. It is permitted to reverse this arrangement and have white’s home board be on the right of the outer board and red’s home board to the left.

The objective is to move all of one’s checkers into the home board, and once there, then “bear” all of them off the board before the opponent is able to bear off all of his or her checkers.

There are a total of twenty-four triangular points, in four groups of six, with one group on each side of the home board and on each side of the outer board. There is a bar between the inner boards and the outer board.

Each point is numbered for each player, starting in the player’s home board. The farthest point for one player is point 24, which is also the other player’s 1 point.

Each player has 15 checkers, a pair of dice and cup. The starting arrangement of checkers is 2 on 24 point, 5 on 13 point, 3 on eight point, 5 on six point.

The direction of play is intuitive, given the numbering of the points. It goes from high numbered points down towards the one point. This is around the board in a counter-clockwise direction for white and in a clockwise direction for red. (If the alternative arrangement has been agreed to in which white’s home board is to the left of the outer board, then the direction of play is reversed.)

A doubling cube is used to determine the current “stakes” of the game. It is a large die with powers of 2 on each face up to 26 or 64.

The game starts with each player rolling one die. If the roll is a double, the dice are re-rolled. The player throwing the higher number goes first. The “numbers” used for the play are the values on each of the two dice, and so the winning player moves checkers in accordance with it.

The dice direct the player to move checkers from higher points to lower points. Each point or “pip” corresponds to a number on a die. Each die represents a separate move of a checker.

Normal rolls of the dice must be together and land on the flat part of the right hand board surface. Re-rolls are required if the dice do not land flat, or hit a checker, or go outside the right-hand board. Once a legal roll has occurred, the dice should not be moved until all moves made in accordance with the dice are completed.

A checker may not be moved to a point already occupied by two or more of the opponent’s checkers. They may only be moved to “open points.” The same checker may be moved according to both dice, but only if the intermediate point after one move is open. If the roll of the dice is a double, then the dice are played twice each, that is, for a total of four moves of the value of one of the dice. Both moves must be used if legally possible. That is, a player can not simply decline to make a move that could be made just because it is disadvantageous. If only one number of the two can be played, it must be played. If either number can be played, but not both, then the larger number must be played. If neither number can be played, the player makes no moves and the turn passes to the opponent.

If there is only one checker on a point, it is a “blot.” A blot is susceptible to being “hit” by the opponent’s checker landing on the same point. In that case, the opponent’s checker occupies the point (becoming a blot) and the checker that was “hit” goes up on the bar. The hitting checker may keep on going after making the hit if another move is still open to the player doing the “hit and run,” and the checker’s next landing point is open.

When a player has a checker on the bar, all other moves are suspended while the player must cause the checkers to reenter the game. A checker is “entered” from the bar through the opponent’s home board to an open point that corresponds with the roll of the dice. If neither of the points indicated on an entry roll is available, the player loses that turn and will have to try again after the opponent gets to make another play. If more than one checker is on the bar, as many as possible must be entered on each turn until they are all back in the game. Once all the checkers have been reentered, any number or numbers not yet used must be used on other plays, including making a second move, if desired, for a checker that has just been entered.

Eventually a player may manage to move all fifteen checkers into the home board. “Bearing off” the checkers may commence. Rolling the dice, the player is looking for a number that matches the point on which the checker is located, and then taking that checker off. For example, if 4 checkers are on the 6 point and the player rolls a 5-6, then one of the four checkers on the six point may be borne off. If bearing off is not possible, the player must make some other legal move if possible, like moving a checker from a higher point to a lower point. If that is also not possible, the player will then remove a checker from the highest point that does have a checker on it. Bearing off is not required if the player has some other legal move and prefers it.

Backgammon is scored by points. Each game starts out as being one point. If a player wishes to “double,” meaning raising the stakes by 100%, he or she may propose this at the beginning of a turn before rolling the dice. If the other player refuses, then the game is conceded and the proposing player wins one point. If the other player agrees, then the game continues as a two-point game. The doubling cube is then in the custody of the accepting player, who, as “owner” of the cube, is the only one who can make the next double. If that player “redoubles” at some point, the same process continues, with the accepting player becoming owner of the cube and the game continuing at double the stakes (i.e., four points in the case of one double and one re-double). If a player refuses a proposed redouble, then the game is conceded at the current point level. The doubling cube is used to keep track of what the current stakes are for a game. There is no limit to the number of redoubles, however.

If a game continues to a normal ending, that is, if it has not been conceded through the refusal of a double, then the losing player loses the number of points indicated on the doubling cube (if there has been a double), or one point, if there has been no double. However, this rule only applies if the player has borne off at least one checker.

A player who has lost the game without bearing off at least one checker is said to be “gammoned,” which translates to losing double whatever the doubling cube says (or -2 points if no one has doubled yet, which is most unlikely). The only thing worse is to lose a game without bearing off any checkers and being caught with checkers on the bar. In that case, the loser is “backgammoned,” with the consequence that the loss is triple whatever the doubling cube says (or -3 points if – incredibly -- there has been no doubling).

As hard to believe as this may seem, players sometimes assign monetary values to points and then use backgammon as a form of skill-based gambling.

Additional Rules

What is “a turn?” A “turn” commences with either a proposal to double or the roll of the dice. It ends when the dice are retrieved. If a player has not made a legal move or has not made all moves required, the opponent is permitted to object up until the opponent starts his or her turn. After that, it is too late. If a player rolls the dice before the opponent has ended his or her turn by retrieving the dice just played, the roll is void. Experienced players do not enforce this rule if the player has no options concerning the play or if it is late in the game and the checkers have all passed each other on the way to being borne off.

In serious backgammon circles the following rules are common.