Backgammon is one of the oldest games for two players, and has been enjoyed by people around the world for more than 5,000 years. To win in this game, you must move all your seeds onto the board on your side, then remove them. If you want to know how to play backgammon, follow the easy steps below.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Getting Ready to Play
Step 1. Understand the backgammon board
Backgammon is played on a board containing 24 narrow triangles, called points. All of these triangles alternate in color and are grouped into four quadrants, each containing six triangles. There are four types of quadrants: the player's home board and the outside board, and the opponent's home board and outside board. The center of the four quadrants is separated by a border known as the bar.
- Players will sit opposite each other at the back of the game board. Each player's home board is positioned in the right quadrant closest to that player. The two players' home boards are on opposite sides, as are their outer boards, which are in the left quadrant.
- The player will move the seed from the location of the opponent's home board in a horseshoe-like direction, namely by moving counterclockwise.
- The triangles will be numbered from 1-24, with the 24th point being the farthest point from the player, and the number 1 being the rightmost triangle on the player's home court. Both players must move their seeds from opposite sides of the board, so a player's number 1 seed position is the number 24 position on his opponent's side, while the number 2 seed lies in the number 23 position on his opponent's side, and so on.
Step 2. Prepare the board
Each player must prepare 15 seeds so that the game can start. Players' seeds will have two very different colors, usually white and red, or white and black. To prepare the board, each player must place two seeds at point 24, three seeds at point 8, five seeds at point 13, and another five seeds at point 6.
Keep in mind that each player has their own numbering system so the seeds don't clash with each other
Step 3. Roll the dice to determine who starts the game
The player with the lowest number will start first. If both players get the same number, roll the dice again. The numbers rolled over will count as the first move for the player with the highest number. For example, if a player rolls the dice and gets a 5 and the other player gets a 2, then the player who gets a 5 will go first and use the results of the 5 and 2 when rolling the dice again.
Step 4. Remember, you can double bet any time
In backgammon, the winner doesn't get points, but the loser loses points. So if you win, your opponent will lose based on their value, double value, or triple the value of the multiplier dice. This multiplier dice is not a real dice but a marker. The number starts at 1, but you can double this bet any time at the start of your turn before you roll the dice.
- If you want to double the bet and your opponent agrees, then the multiplier dice are placed with the new number face up and placed on your opponent's playing field. He will be deemed to have his dice multiplier and can offer a doubling of the bet on his turn later.
- If your opponent does not accept your offer, he must give up and lose his initial bet.
- You can continue to double bet, or multiply even more, although usually no more than three or four times in a game.
Part 2 of 4: Moving Your Seeds
Step 1. Roll the dice
Use the dice shaker to roll two six-sided dice on each turn. The numbers obtained represent two separate moves. For example, if you get a 3 and a 5, you can move one seed three places and another five places. Or, you can move a seed 3 places and then add as many as 5 places.
- Make sure you roll the dice to the right side of your board from a sufficient height, so that the dice bounce and roll slightly.
- If any of the dice lands on the seed, off the board, or tilts on the board, the roll is not considered valid and you must roll it again.
Step 2. Move your seeds to an open area. Open place is all the places on the board that are not occupied by two or more opponent seeds. You can move your seed to a place that is free of seeds, a place with one or more of your seeds, or a place with only one opponent's seed. Remember, you should always move your seeds clockwise, thus moving from your opponent's home court to your home court.
- You can start with any seed you choose, but make sure you get off your opponent's home court as quickly as possible.
- You only need 2 seeds to block a point, but you can put as many seeds as you want on a point.
- Remember that you can move one seed twice, or two seeds once. For example, if you get a dice roll of 3-2, you can move a seed 3 times and then 2 more times, as long as it lands in the open in both moves. Alternatively, you can move one seed 2 times into an open area, and move another seed 3 times into another open area.
Step 3. Play the numbers on the dice twice if you get twins
If you get the same number on both dice, then this means you get two extra moves. For example, if you get the number 3 twins, you can do four moves of 3 points each.
Again, you can also move four different seeds 3 times, move a seed 3 times if it lands in the open after each move, or mix your options and move two seeds 3 times, or a seed 3 times and another seed 9 time. As long as the total moves are 12 and each seed lands in the open, you are welcome to do so
Step 4. You will lose your turn if you cannot play both numbers that appear on the dice
For example, if you roll a number 5-6, but can't find an open space when moving any seed 5 or 6 times, you are considered to have lost your turn. If you can only play one number, then you can walk as much as that number but lose your turn on the other number. If you can only play one number or another, you must play a higher number.
This rule applies even if you get twin results. If you cannot play the twin number you rolled, you will lose your turn
Step 5. Keep your seeds safe
Avoid allowing a seed to be in one place, this is called a blot, which is a vulnerable position to be "attacked" by your opponent's seed. If one of your seeds is attacked, it will be thrown into the bar and you must use your next turn to scroll and try to re-enter the board at your opponent's house. Do your best to keep at least two seeds at a point, at least at the start of the game.
Step 6. Try to dominate the board
Before starting to move your seeds to the home court, you should try to master a lot of points with 2 or 3 seeds instead of just a few points occupied by 5 or 6 seeds. This will give you more options for moving into the open, but your opponents will have a hard time doing so.
Part 3 of 4: Attack and Enter
Step 1. Attack the blot to move your opponent's seeds to the bar
If you are about blot, which is a point occupied by only one of your opponent's seeds, then the opponent's seeds will be placed on the bar. You should try to hit the blot whenever possible, as long as it helps you move the seeds as close to your home field as possible. This is a good way to hinder your opponents.
Whenever a player's seed is on the bar, he cannot move any other seed until the ball on his bar has moved back to the home court
Step 2. Put in your seeds when they come out
If a player hits a blot consisting of your seeds then you must transfer those seeds to your bar. Your task now is to move the seeds back to the opposite house board. You can do this by rolling the dice and then moving the seeds to an open point on your opponent's home board if you get a free number. Otherwise, you will lose your turn and have to try again the next time.
- For example, if you get a result of 2, you can move your seeds at point 23 on your opponent's home court, as long as that point is free. This is because you will be moving the seed two points away from the bar.
- You may not use the sum of two numbers to select a place. For example, if you get the numbers 6 and 2, you can't add them up and move your seeds to the eighth point. You can only move the seed to the sixth or second point to allow it to re-enter.
Step 3. Move your other seeds once all your seeds have made it out of the bar
Once these seeds are back on the board, you can move your other seeds again. If there is only one seed you have to return, you can use the other numbers you get from rolling the dice to move one of the other seeds.
- If there are two seeds on the bar, you must return them both before you can move the other seeds. If you can only return one of them while rolling the dice, you will have to try again the next turn.
- If you have more than two seeds in the bar, you can only move the other seeds after all the seeds in the bar area have been returned to the game board.
Part 4 of 4: Spending Your Seeds
Step 1. Understand how to win the game
To do this, you must be the first person to successfully finish or remove all your seeds from the board and place them in your tray. To do this, you must roll both dice and use the numbers to move the seeds into the tray. The number you roll must be exactly or higher than the amount of space required to remove each seed from the board.
For example, if you get 6-2, you can get rid of the two seeds that are at these points. However, if you don't have any points by the sixth point, you can remove the seeds from the next point on the board, such as the fifth or fourth point
Step 2. Move all your seeds to your home field
You can only start removing seeds once they are all in your home field. To begin with, move all the seeds to points 1-6 on your court. These seeds can be placed at any point between the numbers 1-6. Don't forget that your seeds are still vulnerable while in your own home field.
If the opposing player has a seed in the bar area, he can still put it in a blot on your court (if you still have one), thus forcing you to remove one of your seeds and return it to point number 24. Once this happens, you cannot remove it unless you first return the seed to the board
Step 3. Start spending the seeds
While doing so, you can only get rid of seeds that occupy a certain point. For example, if you roll the number 4-1, and you have a seed at points 4 and 1, you can get rid of it. If you roll a six-twin and have four seeds on the 6th point, you can get rid of them all.
- If you can still play the dice and there are no seeds to remove, you must move a seed based on the number on the die. For example, if you only have two seeds left in points 5 and 6 and you get 2-1, you can move the seeds at point 6 to point 4, and the seed at point 5 to point 4.
- You can use the higher roll results to get rid of the dice on the lower points. If you roll 5-4 and only have a few seeds left in points 3 and 2, you can get rid of two of those seeds.
- You must move the lower number of rolls before the higher one, even if this means you can't actually use the total value of the dice. For example, if you have a seed at point 5 and get a roll of 5-1, you must first move the seed following number 1 to point 4, then get rid of it using number 5.
Step 4. Finish all your seeds (fifteen pieces)
If you finish all of these seeds before your opponent spends his seeds, you have won the backgammon game. However, not all victories are achieved by the same scenario. Your opponent can lose in one of these three ways:
- Ordinary defeat. This happens when you get rid of all your seeds first, while your opponent is still trying to get rid of them. Opponents will only lose points on the multiplier dice.
- state gammon. If you remove all your seeds before your opponent removes his seeds, he is considered to be in a gammon state and loses twice the value shown on the multiplier dice.
- state backgammon. If you get rid of all your seeds while your opponent still has seeds on the bar on your home court, your opponent is considered to be in backgammon and loses three times the value shown on the multiplier dice.
Step 5. Play again
Backgammon is meant to be played more than once, as each game is worth a certain number of points. You can even set a playing target until the losing player loses a certain number of points.
If you want to continue playing but can't finish it immediately, keep track of each player's lost points count and come back to play later
Tips
- If you roll the dice and get a double number (say 4-4), it is called a double. If you get a double, instead of moving the seed twice the number you get, you can move the seed four times the number you get. For example, if you get a 3-3 result, you can move 3 steps 4 times.
- If one or both of the dice fall off the board and land on a seed, you must roll them both again.
