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Backgammon Variants

Dutch Backgammon

Setup: Each player starts with fifteen checkers off the board. The players enter their checkers in the opponent's home board, then bring them around the board as shown in the diagram below.

Object: The object of the game is to move all of your checkers around the board to your own home table and then bear them off. The first player to bear off all of his checkers wins the game.

To start: Each player rolls one die and the higher number goes first. That player then rolls both dice again to begin his first turn.

Entering checkers: You enter a checker by placing it on a point in the opponent's home board corresponding to a number rolled. For example, if you roll 6-3, then you enter one checker on the opponent's six-point and one checker on his three-point. Once you have entered one or more checkers, you may use subsequent rolls to move those checkers forward, to enter more checkers, or both.

Movement: The roll of the dice indicates how many points, or pips, the player is to move his checkers. The following rules apply:

• A checker may be moved only to an open point, one that is not occupied by two or more opposing checkers.
• The numbers on the two dice constitute separate moves. For example, if you roll 5 and 3, you may move one checker five spaces to an open point and another checker three spaces to an open point, or you may move the one checker a total of eight spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate point (either three or five spaces from the starting point) is also open.
• Doubles are played twice. For example, a roll of 6-6 means you have four sixes to use.
• You must use both numbers of a roll if possible, or all four numbers in the case of doubles. If you can play one number but not both, you must play the higher one.

Entering from the bar: Any time you have one or more checkers on the bar, your first obligation is to reenter those checker(s) into the opponent's home board. You reenter a checker by moving it to an open point corresponding to one of the numbers on the rolled dice. If you are able to enter some but not all of your checkers on the bar, you must enter as many as you can then give up the remainder of your turn.

Bearing Off: Once you have moved all fifteen of your checkers into your home board, you may begin bearing off. You bear off a checker by rolling a number that corresponds to the point on which it resides, then removing the checker from the board.

If there is no checker on the point indicated by the roll, you must make a legal move using a checker on a higher-numbered point. If there are no checkers on higher-numbered points, you must remove a checker from the highest point that has a checker.

Scoring: The first player to bear off all his checkers wins the game and scores one point. If you bear off all your checkers before the opponent has borne off any, you win a gammon and score two points.

The doubling cube is not used.

Differences from Backgammon

All checkers start off the board. The winner of the opening roll rerolls for his first turn. A player may not hit until he has at least one checker home.

References

• R. C. Bell: Discovering Backgammon.
• Masters Games: The Rules of Backgammon
• The Games Forum: Backgammon Variants