Fayles Backgammon Variant
Fayles, alternately written Fails, is a Backgammon variant that people in England and Spain used to play throughout the 13th - 17th century.
How does Fayles differ from Backgammon?
- A Fayles player begins the game by having 13 checkers on his 6th point and 2 checkers on his opponent's 1 point.
- This Backgammon variant is played with 3 dice.
- Doubles do not exist in Fayles.
- A participant that can't use all 3 of the rolled numbers fails at Fayles.
In Fayles, every player begins by having 13 checkers on his 6th point and 2 checkers on his opponent's 1 point. In order for play to begin, each participant rolls a single die and the one with the higher roll gets to play first. Next, the winner of the opening roll rolls both of the dice once more to begin his initial turn.
Furthermore, Fayles is played with 3 dice so the players need to move their checkers in accordance with the points that correspond to the numbers that come up when they roll the dice. Fayles players are allowed to make 3 moves with 3 separate checkers, make 2 moves or make all 3 moves with the very same checker.
Regarding hitting, unlike when you play Backgammon, in Fayles, if you wind up on your opponent's blot, you must place that checker on your 1st point rather than on the bar, since it has to go all the way around the Backgammon board once more. We recommend that you think twice about making your 1st point at the beginning of the game in this Backgammon variant because once that point is blocked you can no longer hit your opponent.
In addition, Fayles players have to use all 3 numbers on the dice because if they roll an unplayable number, they lose. The winner of Fayles is the first one to bear off every one of his checkers.
David Carnegy - Managing Editor
