A Background of Backgammon
Backgammon is a board game where two players move checker-like counters around accordingly to the roll of dice. Essentially, the game is a race and luck plays a big role during the game. The player who first removes all his pieces from the board is the winner. But there's also a large measure of strategy that can be employed during play.
The Game Board
The game board consists of 4 sections, each having a wedge-shaped space, called points, in alternating colors. The play requires the players to advance 15 counters counterclockwise through the course of 3 section (18 spaces) and then across the 6 points of one's home table, from where the counters are borne off, or removed, from the board. The points number from 1 to 24.
And players can start the game from either moving to a higher point or to a lower point. Each player starts with two checkers on his 24th point, 3 checkers on his 8th point and five on each 13th and 6th points. The first 6 points are called the home board. The next 6 points are called the outer board. And the 3rd set of 6 section points are the opponent's outer board, while the last 6 are the opponent's home board. A player can not remove any of his checkers until all 15 reaches his home board.
The first player to bear off all his counters wins. A loser who fails off a single counter is "gammoned" and so loses a double stake. In addition, a loser is "backgammomed" when he has one or more counters outside his home table. When this happens, he loses a triple stake.
The Play
The players move their counters in opposite directions. By using two sets of dice. A player may move either one piece by adding the total number rolled or two pieces by using the number shown by each die. A roll of doubles enables the player to move twice the total count of the dice.
A counter cannot be moved to a space if it is occupied by two or more enemy pieces. If there is a "blot" (or one enemy piece) in a space, his counter shall remain on the space. The enemy piece is temporarily removed from the board and returned to play only by placing it at the farthest space from home. The opponent can't move any more counter until that piece is returned to play.
