Backgammon History 101: An Introduction to the Game
Backgammon is one of the oldest boardgames still being played today. It is a game of both luck and skill, and is often touted as a pastime that is effective in keeping the mind and body sharp.
A Short History
It is thought to be about 5,000 years old and was even mentioned in one of Plato's writings. It became a popular pastime of the nobles in England and France since the 1600s. An Englishman named Edmund Hoyle described the game in 1743, and he also created a handbook on the game containing game rules and regulations.
Backgammon is a game played by two players using a square or a rectangular board. The board is divided into two equal parts by a dividing line about an inch wide called the bar. One side of the board is called the inner table, and the other side is called the outer table.
Elongated triangles called points project from each side of the bar. These triangles are colored alternately, either in black and white or black and red. Each player is given a set of 15 playing pieces called men, counter,s or stones. These pieces are colored according to the color of the player, which is frequently black and white or red and white. All the pieces of the both places are placed in the board at the start of the game in a predetermined manner.
Other equipment used in the game are two dice cups, dice, and a doubling cube, which is used to double the stakes in a betting game. The doubling cube is a recent introduction and contains the numbers 2,4,8,16,32, and 64 in each of its faces.
Rules
The object of the game is to be the first player to move all of one's pieces into the inner table and remove them from the board. Play is started when each player throws a single die. The player who rolls the higher number moves first by playing the numbers on both dice. After wards each players takes his or her turn of rolling the dice, which is counted separately and used to move one or two pieces, depending on the strategy of the player.
Whenever two or more counters are present on one point, they are protected from the opponent's attack and cannot be removed from the board. If a point is occupied by a singe counter this is called a blot and an opponent's man can land on that blot and remove that counter from the board. The blot is removed from the board and placed on the bar and made to start over. The player with the blot cannot make another move until that man is able to enter the table. When the die count blocks this entrance the player with the blot loses the turn.
