Backgammon

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Backgammon 1

Backgammon

Backgammon

A backgammon set, consisting of a board, two sets of 15 checkers, two pairs of dice, a doubling cube, and dice cups

Years active Approximately 5,000 years ago to present

Genre(s) Board game

Race game

Dice game

Players 2

Setup time 1030 seconds

Playing time 560 minutes

Skill(s) required Strategy, tactics, counting, probability

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll

of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon,

most of which share common traits. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of

board games in the world.

Although luck is involved and factors into the outcome, strategy plays a more important role in the long run.[1]

With

each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their checkers and anticipate possible

counter-moves by the opponent. Players may raise the stakes during the game. There is an established repertoire of

common tactics and occurrences.

Like chess, backgammon has been studied with great interest by computer scientists. Owing to this research,

backgammon software has been developed capable of beating world-class human players.
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Backgammon 2

Rules

Paths of movement for red and black, with

checkers in the starting position

Backgammon playing pieces are known variously as checkers,

draughts, stones, men, counters, pawns, discs, or chips.

The objective is to remove (bear off) all of one's own checkers from

the board before one's opponent can do the same. The checkers are

scattered at first and may be blocked or hit by the opponent. As the

playing time for each individual game is short, it is often played in

matches, where victory is awarded to the first player to reach a certain

number of points.

Setup

Each side of the board has a track of 12 long triangles, called points.

The points are considered to be connected across one edge of the

board, forming a continuous track in the shape of a horseshoe, and are numbered from 1 to 24. Players begin with

two checkers on their 24-point, three checkers on their 8-point, and five checkers each on their 13-point and their

6-point. The two players move their checkers in opposing directions, from the 24-point towards the 1-point.[2]

Points 1 through 6 are called the home board or inner board, and points 7 through 12 are called the outer board. The

7-point is referred to as the bar point, and the 13-point as the midpoint.[2][3]

Movement

Video of a game of backgammon, showing

movement around the board, entering from the

bar, formation of primes, use of the doubling

cube and bearing off

To start the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the

higher number moves first using both the numbers shown. If the

players roll the same number, they must roll again as the first move can

not be a doublet. Both dice must land completely flat on the right hand

side of the gameboard. The players then alternate turns, rolling two

dice at the beginning of each turn.[2][3]

After rolling the dice players must, if possible, move their checkers

according to the number of pips shown on each die. For example, if the

player rolls a 6 and a 3 (notated as "6-3"), that player must move one

checker six points forward, and another or the same checker three

points forward. The same checker may be moved twice as long as the

two moves are distinct: six and then three, or three and then six. If a

player rolls two of the same number, called doubles, that player mustplay each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5-5 that player may move up to four separate checkers forward five

spaces each. For any roll, if a player can move both dice, that player is compelled to do so. If players cannot move

either die in a roll, given the position of their checkers, then that turn is over and the turn passes to the opponent. If

either one die or the other but not both can be moved, the higher must be used. When removing checkers from the

board ("bearing off"), the exact roll must be used unless a die is greater than any checker can use to bear off; in that

case the die is played by taking a checker from the highest-numbered point off the board. If one die is unable to be

moved, but such a move is made possible by the moving of the other die, that move is compulsory.

In the course of a move, a checker may land on any point that is unoccupied or is occupied only by a player's own

checkers. It may also land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker, or "blot". In this case, the blot has

been hit, and is placed in the middle of the board on the bar that divides the two sides of the playing surface. Achecker may never land on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers; thus, no point is ever occupied by
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Backgammon 3

checkers from both players simultaneously.[2][3]

Checkers placed on the bar re-enter the game through the opponent's home board. A roll of 2 allows the checker to

enter on the 23-point, a roll of 3 on the 22-point, and so forth. A player may not move any other checkers until all

checkers on the bar belonging to that player have re-entered the game.[2][3]

When all of a player's checkers are in that player's home board, that player may start removing them; this is called

bearing off. A roll of 1 may be used to bear off a checker from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, and so on. A diemay not be used to bear off checkers from a lower-numbered point unless there are no checkers on any higher

points.[2][3]

For example if a player rolls a 6 and a 5, but has no checkers on the 6-point, though 2 checkers remain

on the 5-point, then the 6 and the 5 must be used to bear off the 2 checkers from the 5-point. When bearing off, a

player may also move a lower die roll before the higher even if that means 'the full value of the higher die' is not

fully utilized. For example, if a player has exactly 1 checker remaining on the 6-point, and rolls a 6 and a 1, the

player may move the 6-point checker 1 place to the 5-point with the lower die roll of 1, and then bear that checker

off the 5-point using the die roll of 6; this is sometimes useful tactically.

If one player has not borne off any checkers by the time that player's opponent has borne off all fifteen, then the

player has lost a gammon, which counts for double a normal loss. If the losing player has not borne off any checkers

and still has checkers on the bar or in the opponent's home board, then the player has lost a backgammon, which

counts for triple a normal loss.[2][3]

Doubling cube

Doubling cube

To speed up match play and to provide an added dimension for

strategy, a doubling cube is usually used. The doubling cube is not a

die to be rolled but rather a marker, in the form of a cube with the

numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 inscribed on its sides, denoting the

current stake. At the start of each game, the doubling cube is placed on

the bar with the number 64 showing; the cube is then said to be"centered, on 1". When the cube is centered, the player about to roll

may propose that the game be played for twice the current stakes. His

opponent must either accept ("take") the doubled stakes or resign

("drop") the game immediately. If the opponent takes, the cube, now

showing the doubled stake, is moved to the opponent's side of the

board. This is done to indicate that the right to re-double belongs

exclusively to the player who last accepted a double. Whenever a

player accepts doubled stakes, the cube is placed on his side of the board with the corresponding power of two facing

upward.[2][3]

If the opponent drops the doubled stakes, he loses the game at the current value of the doubling cube.

For instance, if the cube showed the number 2 and a player wanted to redouble the stakes to put it at 4, the opponentchoosing to drop the redouble would lose two, or twice the original stake.

The game is rarely redoubled beyond four times the original stake, but there is no limit on the number of redoubles.

Although 64 is the highest number depicted on the doubling cube, the stakes may rise to 128, 256, and so on. In

money games, a player is often permitted to "beaver" when offered the cube, doubling the value of the game again,

while retaining possession of the cube.[4]

A variant of the doubling cube "beaver" is the "raccoon." Players who doubled their opponent, seeing the opponent

beaver the cube, may in turn then double the stakes once again ("raccoon") as part of that cube phase before any dice

are rolled. The opponent retains the doubling cube. E.g. White doubles Black to 2 points, Black accepts then beavers

the cube to 4 points; White, confident of a win, raccoons the cube to 8 points, whilst Black retains the cube. Such amove adds greatly to the risk of having to face the doubling cube coming back at 8 times its original value when first
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Backgammon 4

doubling the opponent (offered at 2 points, counter offered at 16 points) should the luck of the dice change.

Some players may opt to invoke The Murphy rule or the "automatic double rule." If both opponents roll the same

opening number, the doubling cube is incremented on each occasion yet remains in the middle of the board,

available to either player. The Murphy rule may be invoked with a maximum number of automatic doubles allowed

and that limit is agreed to prior to a game or match commencing. When a player decides to double the opponent, the

value is then a double of whatever face value is shown (e.g. if two automatic doubles have occurred putting the cubeup to 4, the first in-game double will be for 8 points). The Murphy rule is not an official rule in backgammon and is

rarely, if ever, seen in use at officially sanctioned tournaments.

The Jacoby rule, named after Oswald Jacoby, allows gammons and backgammons to count for their respective

double and triple values only if the cube has already been offered and accepted. This encourages a player with a

large lead to double, possibly ending the game, rather than to play it to conclusion hoping for a gammon or

backgammon. The Jacoby rule is widely used in money play but is not used in match play.[5]

The Crawford rule, named after John R. Crawford, is designed to make match play more equitable for the player in

the lead. If a player is one point away from winning a match, that player's opponent will always want to double as

early as possible in order to catch up. Whether the game is worth one point or two, the trailing player must win to

continue the match. To balance the situation, the Crawford rule requires that when a player first reaches a score one

point short of winning, neither player may use the doubling cube for the following game, called the Crawford game.

After the Crawford game, normal use of the doubling cube resumes. The Crawford rule is routinely used in

tournament match play.[5]

It is possible for a Crawford game never to occur in a match.

If the Crawford rule is in effect, then another option is the Holland rule, which stipulates that after the Crawford

game, a player cannot double until after at least two rolls have been played by each side. It was common in

tournament play in the 1980s but is now rarely used.[6]

Variants

Todas tablas from the Libro de los juegos

There are many variants of standard backgammon rules. Some areplayed primarily throughout one geographic region, and others add

new tactical elements to the game. Variants commonly alter the

starting position, restrict certain moves, or assign special value to

certain dice rolls, but in some geographic regions even the rules and

directions of the checkers movement change, rendering the game

fundamentally different.

Acey-deucey is a variant of backgammon in which players start with

no checkers on the board, and must bear them on at the beginning of

the game. The roll of 1-2 is given special consideration, allowing the

player, after moving the 1 and the 2, to select any desired doubles

move. A player also receives an extra turn after a roll of 1-2 or of doubles.[7]

Hypergammon is a variant of backgammon in which players have only three checkers on the board, starting with

one each on the 24-, 23- and 22-points. The game has been strongly solved, meaning that exact equities are available

for all 32 million possible positions.[8][9]

Nackgammon is a variant of backgammon invented by Nick "Nack" Ballard[10]

in which players start with one

fewer checker on the six point and midpoint and two checkers on the 23 point.[9][11]

Russian backgammon is a variant in which players start with no checkers on the board, and both players move in

the same direction to bear off in a common home board. In this variant, doubles are more powerful: four moves are

played as in standard backgammon, followed by four moves according to the difference of the dice value from 7, and

then the player has another turn (with a few exceptions).[12]
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Gul Bara and Tapa are also variants of the game popular in southeastern Europe and Turkey. The play will iterate

among Backgammon, Gul Bara, and Tapa until one of the players reaches a score of 7 or 5.

Another simple variant of Backgammon is to only allow a maximum of five checkers on any point. This variation is

not part of the official rules, but has proved popular with casual players in some regions (e.g., Britain).[13]

Strategy and tactics

Backgammon set, 19th century

Backgammon has an established opening theory, although it is less

detailed than that of games like chess. The tree of positions expands

rapidly because of the number of possible dice rolls and the moves

available on each turn. Recent computer analysis has offered more

insight on opening plays, but the midgame is reached quickly. After the

opening, backgammon players frequently rely on some established

general strategies, combining and switching among them to adapt to

the changing conditions of a game.

The most direct strategy is simply to avoid being hit, trapped, or heldin a stand-off. A "running game" describes a strategy of moving as

quickly as possible around the board, and is most successful when a player is already ahead in the race.[14]

When this

fails, one may opt for a "holding game", maintaining control of a point on one's opponent's side of the board, called

an anchor. As the game progresses, this player may gain an advantage by hitting an opponent's blot from the anchor,

or by rolling large doubles that allow the checkers to escape into a running game.[14]

The "priming game" involves building a wall of checkers, called a prime, covering a number of consecutive points.

This obstructs opposing checkers that are behind the prime. A checker trapped behind a six-point prime cannot

escape until the prime is broken.[14]

A particularly successful priming effort may lead to a "blitz", which is a strategy

of covering the entire home board as quickly as possible while keeping one's opponent on the bar. Because the

opponent has difficulty re-entering from the bar or escaping, a player can quickly gain a running advantage and win

the game, often with a gammon.[2]

A "backgame" is a strategy of placing two or more anchors in an opponent's home board, while building a prime in

one's own board. The anchors obstruct the opponent's checkers and create opportunities to hit them as they move

home. The backgame is generally used only to salvage a game wherein a player is already significantly behind; using

a backgame as an initial strategy is usually unsuccessful.[2][14]

"Duplication" refers to the placement of checkers such that one's opponent needs the same dice rolls to achieve

different goals. For example, players may position all of their blots in such a way that the opponent must roll a 2 in

order to hit any of them, reducing the probability of being hit more than once.[2][14]

"Diversification" refers to a

complementary tactic of placing one's own checkers in such a way that more numbers are useful.[14]

Many positions require a measurement of a player's standing in the race, for example, in making a doubling cube

decision, or in determining whether to run home and begin bearing off. The minimum total of dice rolls needed to

move a player's checkers around and off the board is called the "pip count". The difference between the two players'

pip counts is frequently used as a measure of the leader's racing advantage. Players often use mental calculation

techniques to determine pip counts in live play.[14]

Backgammon is played in two principal variations, "Money" and "Match" play. Money play means that every point

counts evenly and every game stands alone, whether money is actually being wagered or not. "Match" play means

that the players play until one side scores (or exceeds) a certain number of points. The format has a significant effect

on strategy. In a match, the objective is not to win the maximum possible number of points, but rather to simply

reach the score needed to win the match. For example, a player leading a 9-point match by a score of 7-5 would be

very reluctant to turn the doubling cube, as his opponent could take and make a costless redouble to 4, placing the
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Backgammon 6

entire outcome of the match on the current game. Conversely, the trailing player would double very aggressively,

particularly if he has chances to win a gammon in the current game. In money play, the theoretically correct play

would never vary based on the score or the value of the doubling cube.

Cheating

To reduce the possibility of cheating, most good quality backgammon sets use precision dice and a dice cup.[15] This

reduces the likelihood of loaded dice being used, which is the main way of cheating in face to face play.[16]

A

common method of cheating online is the use of a computer program to find the optimal move on each turn; to

combat this, many online sites use move-comparison software that identifies when a player's moves resemble those

of a backgammon program. Online cheating has therefore become extremely difficult.[15]

Social and competitive play

Medieval players, from the 13th century Carmina

Burana

Club and tournament play

Enthusiasts have formed clubs for social play of backgammon. Local

clubs may hold informal gatherings, with members meeting at cafs

and bars in the evening to play and converse.[17][18]

A few clubs offer

additional services, maintaining their own facilities or offering

computer analysis of troublesome plays.[19]

Some club leaders have

noticed a recent growth of interest in backgammon, and attribute it to

the game's popularity on the Internet.[20]

A backgammon chouette permits three or more players to participate in

a single game, often for money. One player competes against a team of all the other participants, and positions rotate

after each game. Chouette play often permits the use of multiple doubling cubes.

[2]

Backgammon clubs may also organize tournaments. Large club tournaments sometimes draw competitors from other

regions, with final matches viewed by hundreds of spectators.[21]

The top players at regional tournaments often

compete in major national and international championships. Winners at major tournaments may receive prizes of

tens of thousands of dollars.[22]

International competition

The first worldchampionshipcompetition in backgammon was held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. Tim Holland

was declared the winner that year and at the tournament the following year. For unknown reasons, there was no

championship in 1969 or 1970, but in 1971, Tim Holland again won the title. The competition remained in Las

Vegas until 1975, when it moved to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The years 1976, 1977 & 1978 saw "dual" World

Championships, one in the Bahamas attended by the Americans, and the European Open Championships in Monte

Carlo with mostly European players. In 1979, Lewis Deyong, who had promoted the Bahamas World Championship

for the prior three years, suggested that the two events be combined.[23]

Monte Carlo was universally acknowledged

as the site of the World Backgammon Championship and has remained as such for thirty years.[24]

The Monte Carlo

tournament draws hundreds of players and spectators, and is played over the course of a week.[22]

By the 21st century, the largest international tournaments had established the basis of a tour for top professional

players. Major tournaments are held yearly worldwide. PartyGaming sponsored the first World Series of

Backgammon in 2006 from Cannes and later the 'Backgammon Million' tournament held in the Bahamas in January

2007 with a prize pool of one million dollars, the largest for any tournament to date.

[25]

In 2008, the World Series ofBackgammon ran the world's largest international events in London, the UK Masters, the biggest tournament ever

held in the UK with 128 international class players; the Nordic Open which instantly became the largest in the world
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with around 500 players in all flights and 153 in the Championship, and Cannes, which hosted the Riviera Cup, the

traditional follow-up tournament to the World Championships. Cannes also hosted the WSOB Championship, the

WSOB finale which saw 16 players play three-point shootout matches for 160,000. The event was recorded for

television in Europe airing on Eurosport.

The World Backgammon Association (WBA)[26]

has been holding the biggest backgammon Tour of the circuit

since 2007, the "European Backgammon Tour" (EBGT), regrouping tournaments such as "Portuguese Open","Georgian Open", "French Open", "Cyprus Open", "City of Venice", etc. With a total payout of around

US$1,000,000, it is the richest circuit in backgammon, bringing the best players of the world together. WBA also

stages the "US Open" and other events around the globe. WBA has contributed to a high stakes event called "Crowns

Cup" broadcast on several TV-channels. In 2011, the WBA has announced collaborating with the online

backgammon provider Play65 for the 2011 season of the European Backgammon Tour. The Play65/EBGT[27]

season has eight stops, seven in several European locations and one in the US (in collaboration with the American

Backgammon Tour[28]

), and a corresponding number of online qualifiers. The season will be finished with a Grand

Finale in Lefkosa, Northern Cyprus, where 25,000 will be split between the three finalists.

GamblingWhen backgammon is played for money, the most common arrangement is to assign a monetary value to each point,

and to play to a certain score, or until either player chooses to stop. The stakes are raised by gammons,

backgammons, and use of the doubling cube. Backgammon is sometimes available in casinos. Before the

commercialization of neural network programs, proposition bets on specific positions were very common among

backgammon players and gamblers.[29]

As with most gambling games, successful play requires a combination of

luck and skill, as a single dice roll can sometimes significantly change the outcome of the game.[14]

Software

Internet play

Backgammon software has been developed not only to play and analyze games, but also to facilitate play between

humans over the internet. Dice rolls are provided by random or pseudorandom number generators. Real-time online

play began with the First Internet Backgammon Server in July 1992.[30][31]

It is the longest running backgammon

server on the internet.

Play and analysis

A screen shot of GNU Backgammon, showing an

evaluation and rollout of possible moves

Backgammon has been studied considerably by computer scientists.

Neural networks and other approaches have offered significant

advances to software for gameplay and analysis.

The first strong computer opponent was BKG 9.8. It was written by

Hans Berliner in the late 1970s on a DEC PDP-10 as an experiment in

evaluating board game positions. Early versions of BKG played badly

even against poor players, but Berliner noticed that its critical mistakes

were always at transitional phases in the game. He applied principles

of fuzzy logic to improve its play between phases, and by July 1979,

BKG 9.8 was strong enough to play against the reigning world

champion Luigi Villa. It won the match, 71, becoming the first

computer program to defeat a world champion in any board game. Berliner stated that the victory was largely amatter of luck, as the computer received more favorable dice rolls.

[32]
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In the late 1980s, backgammon programmers found more success with an approach based on artificial neural

networks. TD-Gammon, developed by Gerald Tesauro of IBM, was the first of these programs to play near the

expert level. Its neural network was trained using temporal difference learning applied to data generated from

self-play.[33]

According to assessments by Bill Robertie and Kit Woolsey, TD-Gammon's play was at or above the

level of the top human players in the world.[33]

Woolsey said of the program that "There is no question in my mind

that its positional judgment is far better than mine."[33]

Tesauro proposed using rollout analysis to compare the performance of computer algorithms against human

players.[8]

In this method, a Monte-Carlo evaluation of positions is conducted (typically thousands of trials) where

different random dice sequences are simulated. The rollout score of the human (or the computer) is the difference of

the average game results by following the selected move versus following the best move, then averaged for the entire

set of taken moves.

Neural network research has resulted in three modern proprietary programs, JellyFish,[34]

Snowie[35]

and eXtreme

Gammon[36]

as well as the shareware BGBlitz[37]

and the free software GNU Backgammon.[38]

These programs not

only play the game, but offer tools for analyzing games and detailed comparisons of individual moves. The strength

of these programs lies in their neural networks' weights tables, which are the result of months of training. Without

them, these programs play no better than a human novice. For the bearoff phase, backgammon software usually

relies on a database containing precomputed equities for all possible bearoff positions.

History

Brdspel ("board game") set recovered from the

warship Vasa, which sank in 1628

Persia (Iran)

Excavations at Shahr-e Sukhteh (Persian , literally "The Burnt

City") in Iran have shown that the game existed there around 3000 BC.

The artifacts include two dice and 60 checkers, and the set is believed

to be 100 to 200 years older than the sets found in Ur. On the board

found at Shahr-e Sukhteh the fields are fashioned by the coils of a

snake.[39][40]

Touraj Daryaee (2006)on the subject of the first written mention of

early precursors of backgammonwrites:

The game of backgammon is first mentioned in Bhartrharis

Vairagyasataka (p. 39), composed around the late sixth or early seventh century AD. The use of dice for the

game is another indication of its Indic origin, since dice and gambling were a favorite pastime in ancient India.

The rules of the game, however, first appeared in the Middle Persian text Wzarisn Catrang ud Nihisn New

Ardaxsr (Explanation of Chess and Invention of Backgammon), composed in the sixth century during the ruleof the Sasanian king Khosrow I (530571). The text assigns its invention to the Persian sage Wuzurgmihr

(Persian) Buzarjumihr/Bozorgmehr, who was the minister of King Khosrow I, as a challenge for the Indian

sages.[41]

In the 11th century Shahnameh, the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of the tables game nard

in the 6th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burzoehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ferdowsihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shahnamehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khosrau_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burzoehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middle_Persianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Touraj_Daryaeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Urhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shahr-e_Sukhtehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AOld_Backgammon_Vasa_Edit.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vasa_%28ship%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Br%C3%A4dspelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_softwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharewarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Proprietary_softwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kit_Woolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Robertiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temporal_difference_learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IBMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=TD-Gammonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Artificial_neural_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Artificial_neural_network


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Backgammon 9

Herr Goeli, from the 14th century Codex

Manesse

He describes an encounter between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from

India. The Raja introduces the game of chess, and Burzoe demonstrates

nard, played with dice made from ivory and teak.[42][43]

Today, Nard

is the name for the Persian version of backgammon, which has

different initial positions and objectives.[44]

H.J.R. Murray details

many versions of backgammon; modern Nard is noted there as beingthe same as backgammon and maybe dating back to 300500 AD in

the Babylonian Talmud.[43]

Egypt and Iraq

Board games have existed for millennia in Ancient Egypt and

Southwest Asia. The ancient Egyptian game senet was excavated,

along with illustrations, from ancient Egyptian royal tombs.[45]

The

Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia, may also be an

ancestor of modern-day table games.

Rome

Roman board from the 2nd century, Aphrodisias

The ancient Romans played a number of games remarkably similar to

backgammon. Ludus duodecim scriptorum ("Game of twelve lines")

used a board with three rows of 12 points each, and the checkers were

moved across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Little specifictext about the gameplay has survived.

[46] Tabula, meaning "table" or

"board", was a game mentioned in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor

Zeno (AD 476481). It was similar to modern backgammon in that the

object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of one's checkers.

Players threw three dice and moved their checkers in opposing

directions on a board of 24 points.[47][48]

East Asia

Backgammon was popular in China for a time Known as "shuanglu

" , with the book

writtenduring the Southern Song (11271279) period recording over ten variants - but over time it was replaced by other

games such as xiangqi (Chinese chess).[49]

In Japan ban-sugoroku is thought to have been introduced from China in the sixth century. As a gambling game it

was made illegal several times.[50]

In the early Edo-era, a new and quick gambling game called Ch-han appeared

and sugoroku quickly dwindled. By the 13th century the board game Go, originally played only by the aristocracy,

had become popular among the general public.[51]
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Go_%28game%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ch%C5%8D-hanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sugorokuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xiangqihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_Songhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_3/%EE%BF%80http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zeno_%28emperor%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zeno_%28emperor%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byzantine_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tabula_%28game%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludus_duodecim_scriptorumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Romehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARoman_Game_of_12_Lines_Board_-_Aphrodisias.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mesopotamiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Game_of_Urhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Senethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Asiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ivoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ACodex_Manesse_262v_Herr_Goeli.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Codex_Manessehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Codex_Manesse


10/14

Backgammon 10

Europe

Thejeux de tables (Games of Tables), predecessors of modern backgammon, first appeared in France during the 11th

Century and became a favorite pastime of gamblers. In 1254, Louis IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials

and subjects from playing.[43][52]

Tables games were played in Germany in the 12th century, and had reached

Iceland by the 13th century. In Spain, the Alfonso X manuscript Libro de los juegos, completed in 1283, describes

rules for a number of dice and table games in addition to its extensive discussion of chess.[53]

By the 17th Century,tables games had spread to Sweden. A wooden board and checkers were recovered from the wreck of the Vasa

among the belongings of the ship's officers. Backgammon appears widely in paintings of this period, mainly those of

Dutch and German painters (Van Ostade, Jan Steen, Hieronymus Bosch, Bruegel and others). Some surviving

artworks are "Cardsharps" by Caravaggio (the backgammon board is in the lower left) and "The Triumph of Death"

by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (the backgammon board is in the lower right). Others are the Hell of Bosch and interior

of an Inn by Jan Steen.

England

A Short Treatise on the Game of

Backgammon, by Edmond Hoyle

In the sixteenth century, Elizabethan laws and church regulations prohibited

playing tables, but by the eighteenth century backgammon was popular among

the English clergy.[43]

Edmund Hoyle publishedA Short Treatise on the Game of

Back-Gammon in 1743; this described rules and strategy for the game and was

bound together with a similar text on whist.[54]

In English, the word "backgammon" is most likely derived from "back" and

Middle English "gamen", meaning "game" or "play". The earliest use

documented by the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1650.[55]

Greece

Backgammon is popular among Greeks. It is a game in which Greeks usually

tease their opponent and they create a lively atmosphere. The game is called

"Tavli", derived in Byzantine times from the Latin word "tabula".[56]

There are

three games of Tavli commonly played:

Portes: Set-up and rules the same as backgammon, except that backgammons

count as gammons (2 points) and there is no doubling cube.

Plakoto: A game where one checker can trap another checker on the same point.

Fevga: A game where one checker by itself can block a point.

These games are played one after another, in matches of three, five, or seven points.[57]

Before starting a match, each

player rolls 1 die, and the player with the highest roll picks up both dice and re-rolls (i.e. it is possible to roll doublesfor the opening move). Players use the same pair of dice in turns. After the first game, the winner of the previous

game starts first. Each game counts as 1 point, if the opponent has borne off at least 1 stone, otherwise 2 points

(gammon/backgammon). There is no doubling cube.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fevgahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plakotohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tavlihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greekshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middle_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edmund_Hoylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabethanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AHoyle-backgammon.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Triumph_of_Deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caravaggiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cardsharps_%28Caravaggio%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hieronymus_Boschhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Steenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adriaen_van_Ostadehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Regalskeppet_Vasahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swedenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Libro_de_los_juegoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfonso_Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Icelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_IX_of_France


11/14

Backgammon 11

Turkey

Backgammon, which is known as "tavla", is still a very popular game in Turkey, and it is customary to name the dice

rolls with their Persian number names: yek (1), d (2), se (3), cehar (4), penc (5), e (6).

United States

The most recent major development in backgammon was the addition of the doubling cube. It was first introduced in

the 1920s in New York City among members of gaming clubs in the Lower East Side.[58]

The cube required players

not only to select the best move in a given position, but also to estimate the probability of winning from that position,

transforming backgammon into the expected value-driven game played in the 20th and 21st centuries.[58]

The popularity of backgammon surged in the mid-1960s, in part due to the charisma of Prince Alexis Obolensky

who became knownas "The Father of Modern Backgammon".[59]

"Obe", as he was called by friends, co-founded the

International Backgammon Association[60]

which published a set of official rules. He also established the World

Backgammon Club of Manhattan, devised a backgammon tournament system in 1963, then organized the first major

international backgammon tournament in March, 1964 which attracted royalty, celebrities and the paparazzi. The

game became a huge fad and was played on college campuses, in discothques and at country clubs;[59]

stockbrokers

and bankers began playing at conservative men's clubs.[61]

People young and old all across the country dusted off

their boards and checkers. Cigarette, liquor and car companies began to sponsor tournaments and Hugh Hefner held

backgammon parties at the Playboy Mansion.[62]

Backgammon clubs were formed and tournaments were held,

resulting in a World Championship promoted in Las Vegas in 1967.[23]

Most recently, the Unites States Backgammon Federation (USBGF) was organized in 2009 to repopularize the game

in the United States. Board and committee members include many of the top players, tournament directors and

writers in the worldwide backgammon community. The USBGF has recently created a Standards of Ethical Practice[63]

to address issues on which tournament rules fail to touch.

References[1] "Backgammon Luck vs Skill" (http://www.backgammon.org/articles/backgammonluckskill), backgammon.org

[2] Robertie, Bill (2002).Backgammon for Winners(Third ed.). Cardoza. ISBN 1-58042-043-5.

[3] edited by Albert H. Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith. (2001).Hoyle's Rules of Games(Third Revised and Updated ed.). Signet.

pp. 321330. ISBN 0-451-20484-0.

[4] Robertie, Bill. "Backgammon Beavers" (http://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/early_beavers.cfm). GammonVillage. .

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[5] Robertie, Bill (2006).Backgammon for Serious Players(Second ed.). Cardoza. pp. 1922. ISBN 0-940685-68-X.

[6] "Backgammon Glossary/Holland Rule" (http://www.bkgm.com/gloss/lookup. cgi?pat=holland+rule). Bkgm.com. . Retrieved 2009-02-26.

[7] The Backgammon Book, Chapter 11, O. Jacoby & J.R. Crawford, 1970, Macmillan & co

[8] Tesauro, G. (2002). "Programming backgammon using self-teaching neural nets" (http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~bouzy/Doc/PJR/

Backgammon.pdf) (PDF).Artificial Intelligence134 (1): 181199. doi:10.1016/S0004-3702(01)00110-2. . Retrieved 2007-08-08.

[9] Strato, Michael. "Backgammon Variants" (http://www.gammonlife.com/variants/index.htm). Gammonlife. Archived (http://web.

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[10] Thompson, Mark. "Nackgammon" (http://home.flash.net/~markthom/html/nackgammon.html). mindfun. . Retrieved 2009-02-04.

[11] Woolsey, Kit (September 2001). "Nackgammon" (http://gammonline.com/members/Sep01/articles/nackg.htm). Gammonline. .


[12] "Russian Backgammon" (http://www.bkgm.com/variants/RussianBackgammon.html). Bkgm.com. Archived (http://web.archive.org/

web/20090313084251/http://bkgm.com/variants/RussianBackgammon.html) from the original on 13 March 2009. . Retrieved

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[13] Discussion at bkgm.com (http://www.bkgm.com/rgb/rgb. cgi?view+130)

[14] Magriel, Paul (1976).Backgammon. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co. ISBN 0-8129-0615-2.

[15] Bray, Chris (2008).Backgammon for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 13 and 224. ISBN 978-0-470-69456-5.

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Backgammon 12

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Backgammon 13

[54] Allee, Sheila. "A Foregone Conclusion: Fore-Edge Books Are Unique Additions to Ransom Collection" (http://www.utexas.edu/

supportut/news_pub/yg_foreedge.html). The University of Texas at Austin. . Retrieved 2006-08-08.

[55] "backgammon" (http://dictionary.oed. com). The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. 1989. . Retrieved 2006-08-05.

[56] Koukoules, Phaidon (1948). Vyzantinon Vios kai Politismos. 1. Collection de l'institut franais d'Athnes. p. 200-204.

[57] "backgammon" (http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Tavli.html).Internet, Second Edition. 2003. Archived (http://web.archive.org/web/

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[58] Robertie, Bill (2002). 501 Essential Backgammon Problems(Second Printing ed.). Cardoza. p. 22. ISBN 1-58042-019-2.

[59] (http://www.gammonlife.com/news/the_inventor_of_doubling_in_backgammon.htm) GammonLife

[60] The Father Of Modern Backgammon - GammonVillage Magazine (http://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/article_display.

cfm?resourceid=937)

[61] Bernard Weintraub (January 13, 1966). "Urge to Play Backgammon Sweeping Men's Clubs" (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.

html?res=F70A16F73A5F1A7493C1A8178AD85F428685F9&scp=14&sq=Tim Holland backgammon&st=cse).New York Times. .

Retrieved 2010-09-10. "A disk and dice game that has been played in Middle Eastern streets for thousands of years, in English homes for

hundreds of years, and on Bronx stoops for dozens of years has suddenly gripped the bankers and brokers of old-line men's clubs all over

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Article Sources and Contributors 14

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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Backgammon lg.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Backgammon_lg.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Ptkfgs

Image:Bg-movement.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bg-movement.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Ptkfgs

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Image:Hoyle-backgammon.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hoyle-backgammon.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Edmond Hoyle

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