Backgammon (11)

How to Play Backgammon

Sending Blots to the Bar

A single stone resting on a point is a target. It's called a blot, and when you land directly on an enemy blot it's called a hit. The blot is then retired to the bar. The blot must be entered and become a stone again before you can move any of your other pieces. Plus, the lonely blot must enter the enemy's home table on an open point. For example, if you roll a 5-2, and if points 5 and 2 in the enemy's home table are open, you can choose either one and place your blot there. If you placed it on point 5, you can now move it two points.

If one of those points is occupied by a single stone of the enemy's, you can hit it and send it to the bar. If none of the points are open, if your enemy's stones have crowded all available space, you are shut out and you don't even get to throw the dice. Your blot remains on the bar and you can't move any other. Your turn is over.

When you've collected all of your stones in your home table, you can bear off: that is, remove all your stones from the game, in the order determined by the dice. If the number you rolled is higher than the number of points you have yet to travel, you simply bear off the piece that's farthest away.

If you're hit after you've started to bear off, your stone becomes a blot on the bar. You must enter it and bring it around to your home table before you can go back to bearing off.

Next: Gammon and Backgammon

Backgammon (10)

How to Play Backgammon

Like a Rolling Stone

After you've thrown the dice to begin your turn, you can apply both numbers to one stone or each number separately to two stones. If, for example, you throw a 5 and a 4, you can move one piece a distance of nine points, or you can move one piece five and a second piece four.

Note: When you use both die numbers for one stone, the points must be open for each die value, just as they need to be open for moving two stones separately.

If you throw a doublet (two identical dice), say a 3 and a 3, you play that number four times rather than twice: you can move one piece 12 points, or one piece nine points and one piece three, or two pieces six points each, or four pieces three points each.

A stone cannot land on a point occupied by two or more of the opponent's stones. You are not allowed to make that move, even if you have only one piece left and there is no other move you can make. A point occupied by two more stones is an indestructible fortress; that point is said to be closed or made. However, though you can't share a point with enemy pieces, you can jump over them.

Any number of pieces of the same color can rest on one point. If necessary they are piled on top of each other. This keeps one side's pieces from encroaching on the other side's.

Moves are always compulsory, even when it's in your best interests to stand still. If you can only use one of the two numbers you rolled, then you must do so. You must always try to use the higher number.

Next: Sending Blots to the Bar

Backgammon (9)

How to Play Backgammon?

Backgammon is played by two players on a special board with 15 pieces to a side. The pieces making up each side are called stones. Though they may be of any color, the darker-colored pieces are called Black while the lighter ones are called White.

The board is divided into two halves, or tables, by a partition running down the center. This is called the bar. The outer table is on your left, the inner table is on your right. In each table there are six points (long, thin triangles).
The pieces move according to your throw of the two dice. The players roll the dice to see who goes first, with the higher roll winning. (If the numbers are the same, you just roll again.)

The player with the higher number uses that for his first turn, if the rules are set that way. From then on turns alternate, and you always throw the dice to begin your turn. (The exception to this is when you are shut out, which can occur when your blot is on the bar. If your enemy's stones have crowded all available space so no possible points are open, you don't get to throw the dice and your turn is over.)

The object of the game seems odd at first: You win by being the first player to transport all of your stones off the board! To do that you must first get all of your stones into your inner, or home, table. Once they're all safely home, you can proceed to move them off the board. Pieces move from point to point.

Next: Backgammon - rolls like a Rolling Stone.

Backgammon (8)

8th History of Backgammon:
Pump Up the Volume with the Americans

8. Pump Up the Volume with the Americans: Americans couldn't figure out a way to improve on Chess, but in 1925 an American innovator whose name is apparently lost to us developed the concept of doubling. Doubling revived Backgammon and led to a worldwide Backgammon renaissance that continues today.

The word Backgammon, incidentally, comes from the Middle English gamen, meaning "game." It's thought that the name derives from the pieces occasionally having to go and reenter the board. In Scotland, the game is called Gammon; in Spain, Tablas Reales (The Royal Tables); and in Italy, Tavole Reale (ditto). In France, the name is Trictrac and in Germany, Puff, though how these names strayed so far from the Roman Tabula is not clear.

So, this will be the last post about history of Backgammon (maybe a bit too much of history about Backgammon!!!!). Coming next will be "How to Play Backgammon?".

Backgammon (7)

7th History of Backgammon:
Edmond Hoyle and the modern Backgammon

7. Catch Edmond Hoyle's Attention: Hoyle died in 1769, long before most of the games played today were invented. He wrote books on just five games in his lifetime, so the odds are against most games making this connection. Happily for Backgammon, Hoyle was not only a devotee of the game, he also had many ideas about how it should be played. Edmond Hoyle, in fact, turned out to be the Alexander Cartwright of Backgammon. Just as Cartwright in the 1840s codified the laws of baseball, Hoyle in 1746 did the same for Backgammon in his first book of games. Most of Hoyle's rules of play are still in force (as are most of Cartwright's).


The modern game began with Hoyle, who had developed considerable clout in the game world by 1746. When he put together the hodge-podge of rules governing the game and decreed, among other things, that doublets should be played twice and that the scoring should include such subdivisions as backgammon, gammon, and hits, people listened. And played.

Next: Pump Up the Volume with the Americans (This will be the last post regarding about some history of Backgammon.)

Backgammon (6)

6th History of Backgammon:
Backgammon in Europe

6. Conquer Europe: The Persian/Muslim Nard and the Roman Tabula met in France in the 11th century. The third dice was eliminated, but the Roman name was retained, as can be seen from the forms Tabula took as it marched across the continent: in Italy, Tavola; in Spain, Tablas; in Middle English, Tavel, then Tables; and so on. Backgammon (or Tables) began appearing in the literature of the period almost at once, by which we can track its progress even to distant Iceland (which it reached late in the 13th century).

The first European book to focus on Backgammon appeared in Spain in 1283. This book was primarily about Chess, and was compiled by scholars working under the direction of King Alfonso of Castile ("Alfonso the Wise").

As with most of the games that entered Europe in this era, Backgammon was taken up by the nobility and was soon competing with Chess for the position of most-popular game (both games were eventually dethroned by playing cards). As Backgammon filtered down to the masses, the Church tried to ban or at least contain it. These efforts failed. By the 1700s, Backgammon was the favorite pastime among vicars in the English countryside!

Innkeepers throughout Europe were soon providing Backgammon boards and sets to their customers, a tradition that goes back to the Roman empire. Obolensky and James report on a wall painting found in the excavation of Pompeii: "In one panel, a game is in process, and an argument has ensued over points. In the second, an innkeeper is throwing the two battling players out of his tavern."

Next: Edmond Hoyle and the modern Backgammon.

Backgammon (5)

5th History of Backgammon:
Backgammon and Arab

5. Ride Along with the Arabs: Typically in the history of games, the Arabs, after their conquest of Persia in the 7th century, learned all the games the Persians learned from the Indians, who may or may not have learned them from the Chinese. The Arabs raised the level of play in these games to unimagined heights and wrote the first books about them. They then invaded Spain and Sicily, fought off the Crusaders, and traded with the Venetians, all of which led to an exchange of ideas and games.


The Arabs adopted Backgammon immediately, but the Islamic religious authorities were troubled by the game and its gambling aspect (just as Chess had troubled them with its "graven images", which are forbidden by the Koran). Chess survived in the Islamic world because the players switched from the fanciful pieces used by the Persians to abstract pieces with no resemblance to people, animals, or anything else. Backgammon couldn't do without its dice, and in the 8th century it was banned. This ban was not successful. Though the Islamic courts threatened players with various penalties, the game continued to flourish -- a lesson the Catholic Church was fated to learn all over again a few centuries later.

The first book about Backgammon was written by an Arab of the 9th century.

Next: Backgammon in Europe.

Blog Of The Week

THE HAUNTED HOUSE DREASSING
The official site of writer Jeremy C. Shipp

Click on image to visit.

Backgammon (4)

4th History of Backgammon:
Backgammon & Babylon

4. Achieve Literary Immortality: The Old and New Testaments are not noted for their analyses of board games. You won't find Backgammon in the Bible, but it did come close. H.J.R. Murray, in A History of Board Games Other Than Chess, gives as the first reference to Backgammon in world literature—the Jewish Talmud! The Talmud, produced by 6th-century Jews living in Babylon, is a compilation of written commentaries on the Oral Laws of the Jewish people. Apparently, the rabbinical authorities of that time felt the need to at least mention Backgammon. (They didn't offer strategy hints.)

The Babylonian Jews used the Persian words for the game: nard and nardshir. Nard was the wood marker used in the game. Shir means "lion," referring to the two types of pieces then in use: plain wood markers and markers with carved lions' heads.

A century later, Backgammon (Nard, that is) is mentioned in a Persian fictional work about the invention of Chess. Backgammon was supposed to have been invented as a riddle to pose to a king. (The Persians spun the same story about Chess as well.) So chalk up an Indian and a Persian creation myth for Backgammon.


** Up next: Backgammon and Arab..... The first book about Backgammon was written by an Arab.

Backgammon (3)

3rd History of Backgammon:

3. Inspire a Creation Myth: In the world of games, India has turned out the best creation myths. According to stories passed along by medieval Arab scholars, Backgammon was invented by an Indian philosopher who was trying to represent the concept of time physically, in a board game:

Backgammon Objects and What They Mean
30 pieces -- Days in a month
24 points -- Hours in a day
12 points of one half-board -- Months in a year
12 points of the other half-board -- Zodiac signs
7 spots on opposite sides of a die -- Days of the week
2 dice -- Day and night




** Coming up next will be Backgammon and its relation with Babylon.

Backgammon (2)

2nd history of Backgammon:

2. Work In the Romans, Too (or the Greeks, or Both): Even when their empire was at its height, the Romans always took the time for a round of Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (literally, "a game with 12 lines"). The Romans usually shortened this name to Alea or Tabula (the latter meaning "table;" when Backgammon entered Europe, it was called Tables). This was Backgammon with three dice instead of two. Nero lost a fortune at the game. Caligula cheated at it. Antony played Tabula with Cleopatra; what stakes they played for is not known.

Backgammon was invented by an Indian philosopher???
Story in my next post............

Backgammon

Background

All board games that are older than today's fad pass through certain stages of development. These stages are well known to games scholars, and they reappear in game after game. Backgammon has been through more of these stages than any other game, even Chess. Here are the Eight Stages of Board Game Evolution, as told through the history of Backgammon:

1. Claim the Egyptians as Parents: Backgammon is not the oldest game in the world—dice probably holds that distinction, though some people might nominate politics—but, given the available evidence, it has a good claim on the second spot. "An authentic, documented history of the ancient game of Backgammon should probably begin either in the Garden of Eden or in the murky caves of the Neanderthal man," Alexis Obolensky and Ted James declare in Backgammon: The Action Game, and they're only half-kidding. Though Obolensky and James grandly assume that every 6,000-year-old reference to "dice" really means "backgammon", the game has been traced to the beginnings of Egyptian and Sumerian civilization. You can't beat this kind of heritage.



Backgammon boards not so different from our own have been found in the royal tombs of the Nile Valley and in the buried suburbs of Ur. If Mesopotamia, the site of Ur, was also the site of the biblical Flood, then perhaps Noah and his family filled their spare hours aboard the Ark by playing Backgammon!

** Backgammon and Romans? More interesting stories about Backgammon in my next post........ be patient......

Checkers (Cont.)

Advanced Strategies

Experiment with compulsory capture to see how you can make it work to your advantage.
Another important tactic in Checkers is trading pieces. This is when one compulsory capture leads to another compulsory capture in return. Some reasons to consider trading pieces are:

1. To prevent a piece from being kinged.
2. To simplify the game. This is especially effective if your opponent is more experienced at Checkers. Simpler board setup will be easier for you to read.
3. To strengthen your advantage (if you're ahead). A one piece advantage is more significant if there are only a few pieces left on the board.

A fourth reason to trade pieces may come up after a stall. Sometimes in Checkers both players end up stalling (taking inconsequential moves to avoid losing a piece). If this happens, count the turns that are left before one of you is forced into making a bad move. If you find that the count favors your opponent, try to change up the board position by trading pieces instead.

Take a look at the board in Figure 4. Often near the end of the game, one or several chases will occur. Here, white is chasing black. Because play occurs only on the dark squares of the board, two of the four corner squares cannot be entered. These corners make better refuge than the others, because it's harder for a piece to get pinned down. Black is heading in the safest direction.

** That's all for Checkers. Next will be Backgammon.

Checkers (Cont.)

Advanced Strategies

Compulsory capture is of the utmost importance in Checkers. It can be used to improve position, obtain double jumps, and sack kings. The computer will use it to your detriment whenever possible (especially to capture a king by sacrificing a regular piece). It can be very difficult to predict when you're being set up for a disastrous forced jump, because it requires you to look ahead a couple of moves.
Figure 2 depicts a situation in which black may be feeling pretty comfortable.

However, if black isn't careful, red will advance his piece on the right (shown by the arrow) and force a jump (Figure 3). Red will then execute a double-jump.

** More tips coming up next...