Setting Up and Beginning the Game of Backgammon
The backgammon set consists of a board, two sets of fifteen checkers with each set of a different colour, two sets of two dice with each set of dice usually matching the colour of the checkers, two dice cups again matching the colour of the checkers and a doubling cube. Setting up the board is very important. On online backgammon all you have to do is click the required button, but most people still play backgammon the old-fashioned way and hence need to know how to set up the board. The board is placed on a flat table. Some backgammon tables have the board engraved on their surface. Spaces on the board are shown by triangles and are called points. There are twenty-four points on the board, twelve on each side. The points are connected in the shape of a horseshoe using one edge of the board. A numbering system is used to describe the points so that each point can be uniquely referred to.
The first point on your home board is point No. 1 for you and the last point, counting clockwise, is point No. 24 for you. The situation for your opponent is reversed. Your point No. 1 is his point No. 24 and your point No. 24 is his point No. 1. At the starting position the fifteen checkers are laid out as follows. There are five checkers on point No.6, three checkers on point No. 8, five checkers on point No. 13 and two checkers on point No. 24. The players move their checkers in opposite directions from their point No 24 to their point No. 1. Point Nos. 1 to 6 and 19 to 24 are on the home board. Hence the play starts from the home board and returns to the home board after moving through the outer board. Point No. 7 is called the bar point and point No. 13 is called the mid point.
At the start of the game each player rolls one die. The player with the higher number moves first. It is essential to have an understanding of the basic moves. The players roll two dice to determine how they should move their checkers. The players move their checkers in the direction from their point No. 24 to their point No. 1 according to the numbers shown on the dice. If a player rolls a 5 and a 4 then he must move one checker five points forward and another checker four points forward. He may move the same checker twice, but not nine points at one time. If a player rolls doubles he gets to play each die two times. Certain rules govern where a checker may land. A checker can land on an unoccupied point; a point that has only the player’s checkers or appoint that has only one checker of the opponent. In the last case the opponent’s checker is “hit” and removed from the point. Thus no point can be occupied by checkers of both players.
David Carnegy - Managing Editor
