Tuesday, June 27th, 2006
Jargon is important in every hobby and so it is in backgammon too. This glossary covers most of the terms you will come across in the online backgammon scene.
Monday, June 26th, 2006
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Monday, June 26th, 2006
Almost all offline backgammon tournaments have something called the Crawford rule. The Crawford rule is optional at most online backgammon sites, but it usually is in effect. So just what is the Crawford rule and why is it so often used?
The Crawford rule is quickly explained. It states, that if in a match either player comes within one point of winning the match, the next game is played without a doubling cube. Therefore, if a player wins a game to get a 8-6 lead in a nine point match, then the next game is played without the doubling cube. If the match becomes indecisive then the doubling cube is back in the following game again.
The Crawford may seem quite quite odd at first glance, but it makes ample sense if inspected more carefully. The reasoning behind the rule is, that without the rule backgammon matches would see quite a bit of bizarre doubling cube action.
Consider the following scenarios:
Score is 8-6 in a nine point match and the next game begins. Without the Crawford rule the trailing player might just as well double on his first turn, as he has nothing to lose.
Score is 5-6 in a nine point match. The player with 5 points doubles. Without the Crawford rule the player in the lead could accept the double without hesitation, no matter how poor his position was (barring a gammon threat). Why? Because after his loss the score would be 7-6 and in the beginning of the next game he could just double blindly. This way the player who improved his position from 5-6 to 7-6 didn’t actually gain anything at all!
So the rule makes sense, but why not simplify it? Wouldn’t it work, if doubling was altogether banned after one player is just one point away of winning a match? Well, no it wouldn’t. Consider a score like 8-4 in a nine point match. If doubling was banned altogether for the rest of the match, it would make it nearly impossible for the trailing player to win the match, as he would need to win five times in a row. With the Crawford rule it is still difficult to make a comeback, but at least it is possible.
It is highly recommended that you choose to use the Crawford rule if you play backgammon at a site where the rule is optional (like Gammon Empire or Play65). It is not by any means a perfect rule, but it is a good compromise: The Crawford rule makes it valuable to get into close proximity of winning a match, but at the same time the it leaves the trailing player a fighting chance.
Sunday, June 25th, 2006
When you are playing backgammon, you are contributing to a great piece of history. Backgammon history dates back 5,000 years and is thus the oldest known game to man. In the following article we are going to follow the history of backgammon and see how backgammon evolved to be the game as we know it now. There is also a nice summary of Backgammon history at Wikipedia.
To date it remains questionable where the first version of Backgammon originates. The oldest possible ancestor of the game found so far dates back to 3,000 B.C. to the ancient civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia (present Iraq). Early 20th century excavations revealed a set of games made of wood with loose resemblance to the present Backgammon boards.
The ancient Egyptians also had their own version a possible ancestor of the modern Backgammon. Wall paintings around the ancient Egyptian empire depict people, both aristocrats and common people, playing the boardgame found also in Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb in the valley of Nile.
The first real version of Backgammon has likely originated in India or in China. Due to the trade connections between the two civilizations it is difficult to point out a definitive origin of the game, but the Indian game Parcheesi bears enough similarity to modern Backgammon to be recognized as the first ancient version of the game. The object in Parcheesi, as in backgammon, is to “bear off” all your men from the board, and in both games a player must bring all of his men into his home sector before be can start to bear them off. Further, in both games a single man or “blot” is a weakness since an opponent can play to that point and send that man off the board.
Backgammon, or more precisely an ancestor of the game, eventually found its way to Europe. Greeks were playing their own version of it and later it continued to gain popularity within the Roman empire.
Backgammon had various names during the Romans times, of which worth mentioning are “tabulae” and “ludus duodecim scriptorium” – the latter meaning “the twelve-line game” for the twelve points on each side of the board. It was a very popular game especially on all levels of the society and several excavations have revealed wall paintings depicting people playing backgammon, which at the time was apparently played with three dice instead of two. For those who are interested, this page of rules and history of Tabulae is a must.
Romans took the game with them during their conquests but it was the crusades that eventually spread the game around Europe. “Tables”, as backgammon and its different versions were called (deriving from the Roman “tabulae”), spread from the upper class throughout medieval society in Europe. The Church opposed tables and other gambling games and people caught playing it were being prosecuted. Attempts to suppress tables continued until the end of 15th century, but beginning from the early 16th century onwards bans were gradually lifted around Europe.
The word “backgammon” was first used in 1645. H.J.R. Murray wrote then in his book “A History Other Board Games Other Than Chess” that backgammon, the modern form of “tables” was invented in the early 17th century in England. The game, still commonly called tables, was played around Europe and not surprisingly it found its way to North-America already with the early settlers. By the 18th century backgammon had become a very popular pastime on both side of the Atlantic Ocean, Thomas Jefferson for example was a keen player.
In 1743 Edmond Hoyle published his “Treatise on the game of Back – Gammon”, codifying the first official set of modern backgammon rules.
Backgammon went through the last major change in the 1920’s when some unknown gambler in New York introduced the doubling cube. This sped up the game, added an extra element of risk, and demanded new levels of strategy and skill. The marketability of the game increased as well – an important element in securing the popularity of backgammon.
The 1920’s and 1930’s were a good time for backgammon. During World War II interest decreased and it wasn’t until the 1970’s when backgammon again became hugely popular. Vast amounts of literature published in the 1970’s are still widely available in a multitude of languages.
1980’s saw again a decline in interest towards backgammon due to the introduction of computers and computer games. The young generation was lured away from traditional backgammon by flashy computer graphics. Internet and online gaming, however, has opened possibilities for backgammon to reach popularity levels never seen before in the history of backgammon. Play65 and Gammon Empire are examples of excellent online backgammon sites that show what wonderful times backgammon players are now living and of what is to come in the future.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Doubling cube is used to up the stakes during a backgammon game. This fairly recent addition to backgammon takes this game to the next level by adding a whole new dimension of strategy to the game. Handling the doubling cube well is vital, because using it right can literally double ones earnings.
Backgammon is often played in matches, where a certain amount of points has to be won to win the match. Each game is worth one point at the beginning and a new game is played if neither player reached the number of points needed to win the match.
So, each backgammon game is worth one point in the beginning. On his turn a player can double this amount, and if the opponent accepts, the game will continue. Now the game is worth two points (double the previous amount) and now the player who accepted the double is the one who may double. This is the standard way how the doubling cube is used.
If neither player has yet doubled in a game, then either player may use the doubling cube to double the point value of the game. Player announces a double at the beginning of his turn, before he rolls the dice.
Opponent has to either accept the double or concede the game. If the opponent concedes, the doubling player wins as many points, as the game was worth before the doubling was offered.
Player accepting a double gets control of the doubling cube and is the only one who can now double. Player controlling the doubling cube can double anytime he wants when it is his turn (again before he rolls the dice). If he doubles, the other player must concede or accept, and if he accepts he again gets the control of the cube.
The doubling cube has numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64, but there is no limit to the doubling, so theoretically game can be doubled to 128, 256, etc. However in real life it is rare to see a game doubled beyond 4.
Beaver is an often used addition to the doubling cube rules. Beaver means that a player who is deciding wheter to accept a double or not, may immediately redouble and keep control of the cube! So if an opponent makes a poorly calculated double to 2, his opponent may immediately “beaver” to 4 and keep control of the doubling cube (and probably double again to 8 a little later…)
Another optional rule that deals with doubling cube is the Crawford rule. It states that when after a game either one of the players is one point away from winning (i.e. 4-3 in a five point match), then the next game is played without the cube. See full explanation of the Crawford rule for more information.
When a game ends, winning player gets as many points as is the value shown on the doubling cube. This number is multiplied by two for gammons and three for backgammons. So if doubling cube is at 4 and player wins a backgammon, he gets 3×4 = 12 points.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Backgammon is a two player game with a combination of strategy, risk taking and luck. Both players try to move their checkers to their home boards and then remove them from the board. Player who first manages to remove all his checkers from the board wins.
Surely luck playes a part in the game, but with good strategy a good player will win most of his games. However, the element of luck also means that a novice player can beat the best of players every now and then - and that’s one of the beauties of backgammon.
Each player has 15 checkers and moves them around the board according to the roll of two dice. The goal is to remove all 15 checkers from the board. The one who removes the checkers wins.
The backgammon board is marked with 24 spiked playing segments known as points. The board is divided into four quadrants by vertical and horizontal dividers, the vertical divider is called the bar. Each quadrant contains six points and both players have a quadrant where he needs to move all checkers before he can start removing them from the board. This quadrant is called the home board. The quadrant next to the other player’s home board is the other player’s outer board.
In the beginning both players roll one dice, the one rolling a higher numbers starts the game. The two rolled numbers are also the opening moves for the player going first. If both players roll the same number, the dice are rolled again.
After the first roll the players take turns in rolling two dice at a time. The rolled numbers dictate how many points the checkers are allowed to be moved. The checkers are moved from one point to another and only towards the player’s own home board. The player can move one checker totalling the sum of the rolled numbers or move two checkers, one for each rolled number. A checker may not move onto a point occupied by two or more of the opponent’s checkers. If the same checker is used for both parts of the move, then the first part of the move must also be to a point not occupied by two or more of the opponent’s checkers. There is no limit how many own checkers a player can move to one point.
A checker can be also moved to a point with one opponent’s checker, in which case the opponent’s checker is removed from the point and put to the bar. This is called hitting. When a player has a checker on the bar, he must use one of his rolls to enter the board on the opponent’s home board. Entering is allowed only to a free point or to a point that is vacated by one or more of his own checkers or to a point where he can hit the opponent’s checker.
When the numbers rolled on the two dice are the same, the player is said to have rolled a double. In that case the player makes four separate moves of the same number shown, one or more of which can be with the same checker.
When a player has moved all his 15 checkers in his home board he can begin removing them from the board. He may remove a checker from the point corresponding to a number shown on a die. When a number is rolled that is higher than the highest occupied point, you may use it to bear a checker off the highest occupied point. If, however, the rolled number corresponds to an unoccupied point but at the same time the player has a checker on a higher-numbered point, a move must be made within the player’s home board without bearing off. For example if the player rolled a 4 but the point is unoccupied and he has checkers on the 5 and 6-points, he must must choose to move a checker forward from either of the two points.
Please note that you are not obliged to remove checkers with the numbers rolled and sometimes it plays an important role not to remove your checkers but only move them forward.
Obviously the first player to remove all his checkers is the winner. If the opponent has managed to remove at least one checker, the winner scores 1 point. If the loser didn’t remove any checkers the winner scores a gammon, worth 2 points. Finally, if the loser still has a checker in the winner’s home board or on the bar and hasn’t removed any checkers, the winner scores a backgammon. A backgammon is worth 3 points.
During the game a player might offer his opponent to double the points, or money, at stake. This is done with the doubling cube. The doubling cube is a die with number 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 on it. If the doubling is accepted by the opponent by the first time, the points at stake are doubled. The victory is now worth 2 points, a gammon 4 and a backgammon 6 points. The same way if the doubling cube is used again later in the game the next higher number on the die is used as the multiplier, in this case 4. This means that the victory is now worth 4 points, a gammon 8 and a backgammon 12 points! If the player two whom the doubling was offered to declines it, he loses. Points are then counted by the value on the doubling cube before the doubling was declined.
The concept and the use of the doubling cube is explained in more detail in article The Doubling Cube.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Backgammon is a very old game played with many different rule sets. These are the rules used online and offline in competitive backgammon.
Backgammon is a two player game. The player who first moves all his checkers to his home board and then removes them from the board wins. Backgammon can be played in matches, where a certain score has to be reached to win it, or as single games.
Checkers (15 per player) are placed on the 24 triangles (”points”) as in the picture below.
In addition to checkers and the board, dice and a doubling cube (optional) are used. Both players have their own dice.
Beginning player is chosen by each player throwing one die. In case of a tie the dice are thrown again, until no tie happens. Player who threw the higher number starts by using the die rolls used to determine the beginning player.
After the first turn, players throw two dice and alternate taking turns.
The dice control how many points a player must move his checkers. Checkers are always moved forward, towards the players own home board. Die rolls move checkers exactly the number of points equal to the number shown on the die (ie. six can not be used to move checker just four points).
Die rolls can be used to either:
Move two different checkers. One for each die.
or
Move one checker two times. In this case the die rolls are not added. For example rolling three and four moves the checker three and four points or four and three points, but not single leap of seven points.
Double rolls are used twice. For example rolling 4 and 4 allows the player to move his checkers 4, 4, 4, and 4 points.
Checker can be moved to an open point or to a point where player has his own checkers. There is no limit to how many checkers single point can hold.
Checker can be also moved to a point where opponent has exactly one checker (lone checker is called a “blot”). This move is called hitting. Opponent’s checker is removed from the point and placed to the middle of the board (see “hitting and entering”).
Checker can not be moved to a point where opponent has two or more checkers.
No voluntary passing is allowed.
All die rolls must be used if possible.
If only one die roll can be used, it must be used.
If either higher or lower of the dice can be used, then the bigger number must be used.
If no moves can be made, then the player must pass.
Hitting a blot: If player places his checker to a point occupied by exactly one of opponents checker, the opponents checker is placed to the middle of the board (the “bar”).
If player has one or more checkers at the bar, he must enter all of them back to the game, before he can do anything else. Checkers are entered to the opposite color’s home board (ie white enters on black’s home board and vice versa). Checker is entered by placing it to a point corresponding to one of the numbers rolled.
If player has just one checker on the board and can enter it, then he can (and must) use the other die roll normally to move his checkers.
If player has two or more checkers, he enters as many as he can of them back to the board on his turn. After he has entered all of them back to the board, he can start playing normally. Example: player has two checkers on the bar. On his turn he can enter only one of them, so on this turn he cannot do anything else but enter the one checker.
Bearing off is removing checkers from the board. Player may begin to bear off his checkers from the board as soon as he has moved all his 15 checkers to his home board.
Players bear off their checkers by removing them from the rows corresponding to the die rolls. For example by throwing three and four, player may remove checkers from third and fourth point (counting from the edge of the board).
If there is no checker at the point indicated by the roll, player must use the throw to move his checkers forward. If there are no checkers at the point indicated by the roll or farther away, player may bear off one of his checkers farthest from the board’s edge.
Player who first bears of all his fifteen checkers wins the game.
There are three ways to win:
Normal
If player loses and has managed to bear off at least one checker, he loses the value the game was worth at its end - either one or the number shown on the doubling cube (see doubling cube rules).
Gammon
If player loses and did not manage to bear off any checkers, he loses twice the value of the game.
Backgammon
If player loses and has a checker on the bar or at winner’s home board, he loses three times the value of the game.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
There are quite a few online backgammon sites on the internet and you’ll probably find yourself wondering which one you should choose to play at. A good rule-of-thumb is to go for online backgammon sites that are popular, as they are probably popular for a reason. In terms of online backgammon sites popularity directly correlates with high level of quality, safety, good support and a continuous set of good money tournaments. However, most importantly a popular site offers a large number of opponents to play against around the clock.
On this page we present our current selection of online backgammon sites you might also want to try out.
Gammon Empire is a huge online backgammon site with more than 10.000 players online at all times. It uses a very good backgammon software that has helped in creating a venue for all backgammon enthusiasts that is hard to match. Thousands of players, educating and fun backgammon school and good choice of tournaments make Gammon Empire perhaps the best online backgammon place to be. Tournaments up to $50,000 in prize pool underline the status of Gammon Empire as the leading online backgammon site.
Tip: If you can, download the Gammon Empire backgammon software. It offers a faster and nicer overall game experience than the online browser version they also have available. Both work perfectly fine but in the long run the downloadable software is the more comfortable option.
BackgammonMasters is the newest member of our recommended online backgammon sites. BackgammonMasters earns our recommendation not only because of its highly respected position in the backgammon world but also because it offers something most backgammon sites don’t - a personal touch.
As a new player to BackgammonMasters, or also known as BGM, the first thing you should check out is the excellent animated introduction that explaines pretty much everything you need to know to get started. It’s a feature that definitely lowers the threshold for novice players to sign up. Look for the “Guided tour” on the BGM homepage.
BGM offers single and match plays as well as daily Sit & Go and Freeroll tournaments. A BGM speciality is Hypergammon, or HyperBackgammon as it is called at BGM. It’s an fast-paced backgammon variant that the our other top online backgammon sites don’t offer. Check out our Hypergammon rules article in case you are still unfamiliar with this game.
The BackgammonMasters tournaments are well organized with generous prize pools. The winner can cash up anything from $ 10 in the smallest Sit & Go’s to $ 3,000 in larger tournaments. Daily freeroll tournaments are highly popular with the winner getting up to $ 100.
If you would want to describe BackgammonMasters with one word, it would definitely be “cosy”.
When PartyGammon was launched mid-2006 it entered the online backgammon scene with a bang. By hosting the first million dollar tournament (not online, though) in January 2007 it has set a clear goal to establish a solid position in the online backgammon market.
Part of the well-known PartyGaming family (e.g. PartyPoker and PartyBingo), PartyGammon continues the same high-quality approach to online gaming as its brothers and sisters. PartyGammon is very well managed and organized, you can clearly see that PartyGaming has done its homework before going public.
Unfortunately, despite the very promising beginning not that many players have found PartyGammon yet as many of us would’ve hoped for. Is it perhaps the perhaps rigid business-like look and feel? Or perhaps it’s just a matter of time until PartyGammon really takes off? One way or another, PartyGammon is a very good online backgammon site and we sure as heck believe that it will (and already is) putting up a good fight against the biggest online backgammon sites.
Oh, and you know what? PartyGammon is currently the only backgammon site where you can win an entry to a live $1,000,000 tournament. That’s something to think about.
Play65, the second largest backgammon site on the internet also offers you a great platform to satisfy your backgammon lust. Here too, thousands of players are available for you to challenge, or if you feel like it you might just want to hang out and watch games in real-time and learn from experienced players who take it all away.
Play65 uses the same software as GammonEmpore and therefore the differences between the two sites are minimal.
Note: Before you head off to one of the sites above, read also our backgammon software review article. We have reviewed the softwares used at the above sites so that you will know what to expect when you are ready to sign up.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Backgammon strategy can be very confusing for beginners. They wonder whether there is such a thing as “backgammon strategy” - after all, it backgammon seems to be about only two things: rolling dice and adjusting your options to the what the dice give you.
All right, let’s not fool ourselves here. Backgammon has an element of luck in it, but why is it then that certain players end up winning almost all of their backgammon games? What is it that makes them successful? You guessed it: the answer is “backgammon strategy”. Each experienced player has his own strategy and no doubt you’ll also have one or will soon develope one. If not, then be sure you read this article well - we’ll introduce you the most important concepts of basic backgammon strategy.
Backgammon strategy can be broken down to three goals players try to achieve. Here are each of the three goals with brief explanations.
Hitting blots is great for two reasons.
First, Backgammon is essentially a racing game. If you hit a blot, your opponent is sent back in the race: the blot (lone checker) you just hit has to enter the game from the bar and race around the board all over again. This means wasted time and die rolls for your opponent.
Second, hitting blots limits your opponent’s options on his turn. He must bring the blot back into the game before he can do anything else. And for doing anything else he only has one die left, and it may not be the one he would have wanted to use.
If you have a chance to hit your opponent’s blots, it is almost always the best thing to do. Even better is if you can hit two of them on the same turn! Especially if you have made some points on your home board, he most likely will not be able to enter both of those checkers. That way you get to play again and your opponent can’t do anything but complain about his “bad luck”.
If you can’t hit, make points. Points are incredibly valuable. When you make a point (move more than one checker to a point) your checkers are safe and at the same time you limit how your opponent can move. Not all points, however, are equally important. The most important points are those on your home board. They prevent your opponent from entering the game from the bar and there your checkers are ready for you to bear them off.
In the early phases of the game the most important point to make is your five point. Let that be your first priority during the first few moves. Claiming the five point has numerous advantages: a) it is used to bring checkers back into the game from the bar, b) it is a great grouping point for escaping back checkers and c) your checkers at your opponent’s five point are ready for bearing off, but still have room to move forward when necessary.
Other important points are the four point and the seven point. Claiming those makes it very difficult for the back checkers to escape and thus move towards their home board. If you can claim all those three points, you can congratulate yourself - you are on your way to winning the game!
Both you and your opponent will be furiously working to securing each others five, four and seven points, but don’t forget to move your back checkers! Say, you have managed to claim your opponents five point but at the same time he has your five AND seven points and you haven’t even touched your back checkers. It might become incredibly tough of a job for you to get your guys escape the blockade your opponent has built. Needless to say, you’ll soon fall behind in the race and will likely end up losing the game.
Every time you are unable to make points or hit (or you think it wouldn’t be a wise move): move your back checkers forward. A wise thing is to build an anchor. To build an anchor, split the back checkers. First move one back checker forward and later the other one. Splitting has its risks, but if your opponent hits them, you won’t lose much. It is best to build and anchor (= make your opponent’s five or four point) quite early in the game so your back checkers don’t get stuck on the one point. Keep in mind, though, that escaping with the back checkers rarely is an easy or safe task, so be prepared to take some risks!
The three goals big of backgammon strategy demand that player knows how to balance between them. It is vital to know when to hit, make points and move the back checkers forward, which means that it is vital to make the correct tactical moves.
Best way of learning the balancing act is to just play, play and play some more. It is also important to understand that backgammon demands risk taking. Safe backgammon is losing backgammon. Taking the right risks is winning backgammon.
Saturday, June 24th, 2006
Backgammon is a tactical game that requires players to be able to change their strategy within moments. Sometimes you need to play conservative and constructive, other times require an aggressive attitude. In the very early stages in the game is such a moment when you really need to be aggressive, quick and determined. Achieve your early game goals quickly and you are on your way to winning the game.
This is smart for two reasons. First of all it makes your opponents life much more difficult. It is not fun to end up on the bar when entering is difficult. Even if you only have one or two points covered, it will severely limit your opponents choices on the turn he enters from the bar. The second reason is that when you make points on your home board, your checkers are ready for being beared off.
Keep in mind that not all points are equal though. You don’t want to make points right on the edge of the board, as these checkers cannot be maneuvered any further. Think of the home board points this way:
If you can’t take points on your home board, make points as near to it as you can. Block points 7-12 and note how it makes it very difficult for your opponent to escape his back checkers. Points 7-12 can also be used as reserve ammunition: with a good roll you can use checkers from those points to hit escaping back checkers or cover points on on your home board.
Don’t forget your two back checkers. If they get blocked, you are not going to win no matter how well you play otherwise!
Move the back checkers forward early on to keep them in contact with the rest of your checkers. You don’t want them to lose contact (ie. be over six points away) from the rest of your checkers. Losing contact leaves the back checkers vulnerable for attacks and blocking.
Couple of tips about moving your your back checkers:
If you roll a double, use half of the roll to move the two back checkers forward. This way they move on the same turn and are not in any danger of getting hit. Using both of the rolls to move your back checkers is somewhat wasteful, though. You should use the other half of the double to make some important point elsewhere on the board. With a small double (ones - threes) it may even be wise to make two points and worry about the back checkers bit later.
You often roll combinations where you can really use only one of the numbers rolled - the other one would leave other checkers too vulnerable. In that case use that other number to split your back checkers! It is always a little risky to split them, but you don’t win any backgammon matches without taking risks. After splitting your back checkers get them together again as soon as you can. Leaving them split will hinder your game, as your opponent can attack them and force you to spend time bringing them back into the game from the bar.
When you do reach your early game goals you can really look at the game ahead of you with confidence and concentrate on the essentials instead of firefighting problems that seem to be appearing out of nowhere. Those seemingly random problems are often just a result of a bad start, so keep it cool, stay focused and take the initiative by playing aggressively from the first roll and your on your way to winning many, many games!
There are over 10,000 players inGammon Empire
at any given moment.