How to play backgammon? Rules of the game

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Backgammon is a very exciting and entertaining board game. It enjoys considerable popularity, despite the abundance of all kinds of computer games. The game combines elements of dispute, science and art. This game has been around for thousands of years. Before you start playing, you need to know how to play backgammon by the rules.

Basic concepts

"Zary" - cubes (classic dice). The material for them can be bone or plastic, depending on the cost of the game set. On the faces there are clusters of points, whose number indicates a number - from 1 to 6.

"Head" - the initial location of the checkers at the start of the game.

"Home" - the final part of the path - a quarter of the board, where you need to bring all the checkers. The player does not have the right to start discarding checkers if there is not one at home yet.

"Double" - the simultaneous loss of charges (cubes) with an equal numerical value.

"Correct" - this word is used when the player does not intend to make a move, but only corrects the checker in relation to the rest in the line.

"Bring out into the yard" - this term refers to such moves through which the checkers will go beyond the bordersat home, that is, in the yard.

What beginners need to know about the game

So how to play backgammon? At the very beginning, players need to put the checkers on a single line (head) on opposite parts of the playing field. In order to determine who will go first, the participants take one zara and throw it. Whoever gets the highest number on the dice will be the first. If two players have similar numbers, the dice are thrown over.

Like any other sport, backgammon is subject to rules that formulate the principle of the game. His whole point is to take his checkers home and take them out into the yard.

It's important to throw dawns on your side of the board. If one die flies out of the field, stands on an edge, because it hits a checker or the edge of the board, then this throw does not count and must be rerolled.

How to play backgammon: rules for beginners

Backgammon is an intellectual game. It has its own differences with most of these games. The specificity is that here all the steps are determined by the position of the checkers and what will fall on the bones during the throw. For these reasons, the game can be classified as particularly democratic in relation to the players. The game set consists of a book-board divided into two parts, 30 black and white checkers and two dice.

Those who don't know how to play backgammon and are just getting acquainted with the rules of the game are usually not aware of the fact that there are two variants of the game: long backgammon and short backgammon. It will be difficult for a beginner to master the rules of both types at the same time, he will be confusedbetween different conditions. In this regard, it is desirable to first master one type of game, and then proceed to the second. As for beginners, it is better for them to take on long backgammon, since they are somewhat easier than short backgammon.

Long backgammon. How to play?

According to the rules, this type of backgammon begins with the arrangement of checkers. Participants arrange their 15 checkers in a row. Then they alternately throw dawns and, depending on the numerical value, move their checkers counterclockwise.

If on the first move a value is thrown at which it will be impossible to move the same checker a second time, then instead of one checker, two checkers are taken from the house at once. This principle works only when two sixes fall out, but this situation rarely develops. For other moves, only one checker can be removed from the house per move. In this case, make the second move with the same checker or another one that is already on the field. It is allowed to place your checkers in free holes and in those holes where your own checkers are already standing. It is forbidden to put your checkers in holes where there is at least one other's.

If the player has nowhere to go, it's the opponent's turn. But if there is a chance to make at least one move, even if it is unfavorable, the participant has no right to refuse it and is obliged to move. Checkers that have passed the circle and brought to the end of the route must be removed from the board into the yard. This can be done by rolling the dice and removing the checkers according to the number of the hole. If the hole with the dropped number is free, transfer to this number is allowed.holes ahead. If there is nowhere to transfer, then the checkers from the hole with the lowest value are taken. The winner is the one who first removes all the checkers from the board.

Short backgammon

The goal of the game is to bring the checkers into the house and take them out to the yard before the other player.

Now more about how to play short backgammon. The rules and course of the game has many differences from long backgammon. The checkers go on top of each other, and it is allowed to knock the opponent's checker off the hole (only if there is one checker). It is allowed to cut down several checkers per turn. Knocked checkers go "to the bar" - the center of the playing field. During one move, you can move 1-2 checkers. When a double is rolled, the move is doubled (for example, a roll of 5-5 means that you need to go 4 times, 5 points each). Until the participant has returned his checkers from the bar back to the field, he is not allowed to move others.

The winner, as in long backgammon, is the one whose checkers quickly reached home and went beyond the boundaries of the field.

Victory options

It is worth noting that in backgammon, in addition to the variants of the game itself, there are three types of victory (they are determined by the superiority of the player over the opponent at the end of the game):

1. "Mars". The defeated player could not drive his checkers into the house, and the winner has already brought his checkers into the yard.
2. "Home Mars". The defeated opponent brought the checkers home, but failed to enter the yard.
3. "Coke". The designation of this type of victory is different for short and long backgammon. In long - the opponent did not take all the checkers out of the house, in short - the opponent did notbrought out no checkers.

Distribution of winning points: with a simple victory, 1 point is assigned, mars gives 2 points, with a home mars - 3 points and a maximum of 4 points - for a coke win.

Pros of the game

Backgammon is not only a good remedy for boredom, but also a way to start an interesting conversation with your opponent. They develop strategic thinking and mental arithmetic, allow you to diversify your leisure time and take a short break, as well as test your luck. The game itself is quite exciting, but it will become even more exciting if you play with bets. It doesn't have to be money. For example, with children you can play for sweets, and with friends - for desire. However, how to play backgammon - with or without stakes - is up to everyone.