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Backgammon is a board game played by two players, each of whom has fifteen checkers or men that move across twenty-four triangles or points in response to the roll of two dice. The game combines strategy and luck, the latter of which is determined by the roll of dice. Although the outcome of a single game is influenced by luck, the player with superior skills will achieve a better record over a series of games. With every roll of the dice, players have to select from a range of options for moving their checkers and anticipate potential counter-moves by their opponent.

Backgammon Rules (How to play Backgammon):

Setup.

Each side of the board features a track consisting of 12 long triangles, known as points. These points create a seamless track in the shape of a horseshoe and are allocated numerical designations between 1 and 24. The two participants shift their chips in opposing directions, advancing from the 24-point down to the 1-point.

Points 1 to 6 constitute the home board or inner board, whilst points 7 to 12 are known as the outer board. The 7-point is commonly referred to as the bar point, whilst the 13-point is referred to as the midpoint. Generally, the "golden point" for each player is the 5-point.

Objective.

The objective of the game is to be first to bear off, i.e. move all fifteen checkers off the board.

Movement.

To begin the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number starts first using the numbers shown on both dice. If the players roll the same number, they must roll again. Next, the players take turns rolling two dice at the start of each turn..

After rolling the dice, players should move their checkers according to the numbers shown on each die, if possible. For instance, if the player rolls a 6 and a 3 (noted as "6-3"), they must move one checker six points forward and another or the same checker three points forward.

The player can move the checker twice if they can do each move separately and legally. The first move can be three spaces followed by a second move of six spaces, or vice versa. Doubles occur when two dice show the same number and the player must use each die twice. For example, when rolling a 5-5, the player can move four times, each for a distance of five spaces. Whenever the dice are rolled, the player must move using the numbers on both dice if possible.

If one or both numbers do not allow a legal move, the player forfeits that portion of the roll and the turn ends. If moves can be made according to either one die or the other, but not both, the higher number must be used. If one die is unable to be moved, but such a move is made possible by the moving of the other die, that move is compulsory.

In the course of a move, a checker may land on any point that is unoccupied or is occupied by one or more of the player's own checkers. It may also land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker, or "blot".

In this case, the blot has been "hit" and is placed in the centre of the board on the bar that divides the two sides of the playing surface. A checker must never land on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers; therefore, no point is ever occupied by checkers from both players simultaneously. There is no limit to the number of checkers that can occupy a point at any given time.

Checkers placed on the bar must re-enter the game through the opponent's home board before any other move can be made. A roll of 1 allows the checker to enter on the 24-point (opponent's 1), a roll of 2 on the 23-point (opponent's 2), and so forth, up to a roll of 6 allowing entry on the 19-point (opponent's 6). Checkers may not enter on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers. Checkers can enter on unoccupied points, or on points occupied by a single opposing checker; in the latter case, the single checker is hit and placed on the bar. More than one checker can be on the bar at a time. A player may not move any other checkers until all checkers on the bar belonging to that player have re-entered the board.

If a player has checkers on the bar yet rolls a combination that does not allow any of those checkers to rejoin the board, the player forfeits their turn. If the opponent's home board is entirely "closed" (meaning all six points are occupied by two or more checkers), no roll permits a player to enter a checker from the bar, and the player must stop rolling and playing until at least one point becomes open (occupied by one or no checkers) due to the opponent's moves.

Bearing off

When all of a player's draughts are in that player's home board, the player may begin removing them; this process is known as "bearing off". A roll of 1 may be utilized to bear off a draught from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, and so forth. If all of a player's draughts are on points lower than the number showing on a specific die, the player must employ that die to bear off one draught from the highest occupied point.

For example, if a player rolls a 6 and a 5, but has no checkers on the 6-point and two on the 5-point, then the 6 and the 5 must be used to bear off the two checkers from the 5-point. When bearing off, a player may also move a lower die roll before the higher even if that means the full value of the higher die is not fully utilized. For example, if a player has exactly one checker remaining on the 6-point, and rolls a 6 and a 1, the player may move the 6-point checker one place to the 5-point with the lower die roll of 1, and then bear that checker off the 5-point using the die roll of 6; this is sometimes useful tactically. As before, if there is a way to use all moves showing on the dice by moving checkers within the home board or by bearing them off, the player must do so. If a player's checker is hit while in the process of bearing off, that player may not bear off any others until it has been re-entered into the game and moved into the player's home board, according to the normal movement rules.

The game is won by the first player to bear off all fifteen of their own checkers. If the opponent has not yet borne off any checkers by the end of the game, the winner scores a gammon, which counts for double stakes. If the opponent has not yet borne off any checkers and still has some on the bar or in the home board of the winner, then the winner scores a backgammon, which counts for triple stakes.

Doubling cube.

To speed up match play and to provide an added dimension for strategy, a doubling cube is usually used. The doubling cube is not a die to be rolled, but rather a marker, with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 inscribed on its sides to denote the current stake. At the start of each game, the doubling cube is placed on the midpoint of the bar with the number 64 showing; the cube is then said to be "centered, on 1". When the cube is still centered, either player may start their turn by proposing that the game be played for twice the current stakes. Their opponent must either accept ("take") the doubled stakes or resign ("drop") the game immediately.

Whenever a player accepts doubled stakes, the cube is placed on their side of the board with the corresponding power of two facing upward, to indicate that the right to redouble, which is to offer to continue doubling the stakes, belongs exclusively to that player. If the opponent drops the doubled stakes, they lose the game at the current value of the doubling cube. For instance, if the cube showed the number 2 and a player wanted to redouble the stakes to put it at 4, the opponent choosing to drop the redouble would lose two, or twice the original stake.

There are no restrictions on the number of redoubles allowed. While 64 is the maximum number indicated on the doubling cube, the stakes may increase to 128, 256, or more. In money games, a player may sometimes "beaver" when presented with the cube, doubling the value of the game again, and keeping hold of the cube. Let’s play!