Equipment
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* backgammon board
* two players
* thirty ‘checkers’/’pieces’/’men’ – 15 each of two different colors
* a pair of regular dice – numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (sometimes two pair of dice are used, for convenience)
* a dice cup – to shake and cast the dice (again, sometimes two dice cups are used)
* a doubling cube – a six-sided die – numbered 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 – used to track the units at stake in the game; and, to indicate the player who doubled last.
The board layout is divided down the center by a partition, the bar. There is an outer and inner/home board/table. The side nearest you is your outer and home board. The side furthest away is your opponent’s outer and home boards.
The object of backgammon is for each player to bring their men into their home board; and, then to bear off their men from the board. The first player to bear off all their men wins that game.
To start the game, each player casts one die. The player with the higher number makes the first move. Some rules indicate using only one die; some rules indicate using the two numbers cast by a player and their opponent. If both players roll the same number, each rolls again to determine who moves first. This is repeated until each player rolls a different number. In some games, the stake is automatically doubled every time the players cast the same number – others limit the automatic double to one. There is no automatic double in tournament play.
The custom is to cast the dice in the player’s right-hand board. The dice are ‘cocked’ if one die crosses the bar onto the other board; or, is cast off the board; or, does not rest completely flat; or, rests on one of the pieces. The entire throw using both dice must be taken, again.
At the start of play, the doubling cube rests on the bar, between the two players or on the side of the board. At any point during a game, a player who thinks they are ahead may, when it is their turn to play and before they cast the dice, can turn the cube to 2 and double the stakes of that game. Their opponent can decline the double, forfeiting the game and loosing one stake. Or, they can accept the double, the game continues with the stake twice as high. The player who accepts the double ‘owns’ the cube.
They have the option to re-double at any time during the remainder of the game. However, the original doubler may not. If, later in the game, they exercise this option, their opponent is faced with the same choice. They may decline the re-double and lose 2 stakes; or accept and play for 4. They now ‘own the cube. A player can double when they are on the bar. A gammon doubles or backgammon triples the stake on the cube.
Each player’s turn is the roll of two dice. They then move one or more pieces according to the numbers cast. For example, if the roll is 4-2, the player may move one piece six spaces or one piece four spaces and a different piece two spaces (the bar does not count as a space). Moving one piece the total shown on the two dice, there are two moves actually being made, as each move is made according to the number shown on one die.
If the same number appears on both dice, doublets, the player who cast is entitled to four moves, not two. For example, if they roll 5-5, they can move up to four pieces; but, each move can only be five spaces.
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