Never Finishing Backgammon Variant

The Never Finishing Game is a Backgammon variant where checkers can be both hit and trapped. It was created by Nicholas Frantzis and just as the name suggests, the Never Finishing Game can be quite time consuming.

How does the Never Finishing Game differ from Backgammon?

• The player that wins the opening roll rolls again for his initial turn.
• Every participant begins with 15 checkers on his opponent's 1 point.
• If your checker winds up on your opponent's blot, you can either trap it or hit it.
• The winning player gets 1 point for a regular win. Backgammons don't exist in the Never Finishing Game, but 2 points are earned for gammons.
• No doubling cube is allowed when playing this Backgammon variant.

Every participant begins with 15 checkers on his opponent's 1 point. As in regular Backgammon, the goal in this Backgammon variant is to get every one of your checkers to encircle the entire board and bear them off.

In order to begin playing the Never Finishing Game, each of the participants roll a die and the one with the higher number gets to play first. Next, the winner of the opening roll rolls both of the dice once more to begin his initial turn. Following the first Never Finishing Game, the victor of the preceding game plays first.

Players need to move their checkers in accordance with the points that correspond to the numbers that come up when they roll the dice. These are the rules of checker movement in the Never Finishing Game:

1. A checker can only be placed on a point that isn't held by any of the opponent's checkers.
2. There are 2 dice in the Never Finishing Game and the numbers on each of them signify 2 independent moves.
3. Doubles have to be played 2 times.
4. A player has to use both of the numbers that come up on a dice roll whenever it is possible, and all 4 numbers if doubles are rolled. In the case that you can only play 1 number, you have to play the higher number.

If your checker winds up on your opponent's blot (a single checker standing on a point), you can either trap it or hit it. In order to trap your opponent's blot, put your checker on the blot's point. The checker which is trapped will be immobilized until you move your checker. This gives you control of the point. Meanwhile, in order to hit your opponent's blot, put your checker on the blot's point and then put the blot on the bar.

In this Backgammon variant, whenever you have at least 1 checker on the bar, your number 1 priority should be to get those checkers in your opponent's home board. The way to do this includes moving a checker to an available point that matches 1 of the numbers you've rolled. In the case that you succeed in bringing some, but not every one of your checkers, then you have to bring in as many as you possibly can and forsake the rest of your turn.

When every one of your checkers is in your home board, you can start to bear off. In order to bear off, you need to roll a number that matches the point that checker stands on and then take that checker off the Backgammon board. In the case that no checker stands on the point signified by the roll, you must make a move with a checker on a higher point. If the same goes for the higher points, then you have to take a checker off of the highest point with a checker.

Furthermore, if you bear off every one of your checkers before your opponent, you win the Never Finishing Backgammon game and earn 1 point. If you manage to do so before your opponent has been able to bear off any of his checkers, then you gain 2 points.

David Carnegy - Managing Editor