Duplicate Backgammon Variant

Duplicate Backgammon is a Backgammon variant that came about in correspondence to Duplicate Bridge. Duplicate Backgammon may not be an entirely separate game, but it certainly is an alternative method of participating in a Backgammon game. The very first time this Backgammon variant was played was in the late 1920's, parallel to the rise in the popularity of Duplicate Bridge. Duplicate Backgammon was put to the test once more when the game of Backgammon made a comeback in the 1970's.

You can play Backgammon in duplicate form with 4 players and 2 boards or any variation on these numbers. Partners play opposing positions, meaning that while one side plays Black on a certain board, his partner will be playing White on the opposite board.

The dice is rolled on just 1 board and disclosed to the other players where that roll is played. There can be as many pairs of 2 boards each as you want, with 50% of the players on one side playing Black, while the other 50% are playing White and those rolls are used on all the boards.

Every player with checkers of the same color at all the tables gets the exact same rolls of the dice. Each player is actually battling the other players that play duplicate rolls of the dice only at separate tables, rather than the person sitting across from him at his table.

The concept that stands behind Duplicate Backgammon is that if you get the same rolls as the other participants, yet you manage to get further ahead in the game, then skill must be the ruling factor since luck is neutralized in this Backgammon variant.

Regrettably, Duplicate Backgammon is nowhere near as successful as its counterpart in Bridge, since Duplicate Backgammon has proven to be an innovation of Backgammon that does not function well in Backgammon tournaments.

David Carnegy - Managing Editor