One of the easiest ways to play backgammon online is actually built into Windows XP, by far the most common OS.
To play Windows Backgammon go to:
And there you have it… how to play backgammon online for free.
There are other places, such as Play 65 where you will find a larger community based backgammon arena.
One of the greatest cities to party is Las Vegas. Yes, that’s the only place in the world where there is entertainment non-stop for 365 days a year. If you are new to this city, you will know how alluring this city is and with the Las Vegas Magic Shows happening all around the place, the thin line between reality and magic often vanishes when one visits this place.
Vegas has a lot of shows happening and Vegas show tickets can at time be difficult to access, but with Internet and the various websites, this has somewhat become easier. Yes, Vegas has its share of fun with Helicopter shows, Comedy clubs and definitely casinos. One of the best places for casinos, Vegas has made many a millionaire and it has broken hearts of many. That’s how this city is, a little bit of sugar and a little bit of salt, just different for different people.
Ahh, the language of backgammon, it is enough to make anyone turn and run away. Are you new to the backgammon scene? Do you get that blank look in your eye when you hear the word Anchor? Are you completely confused when someone claims they got a joker? Do you just stand there wondering exactly what a pip count is? Well, you are not alone, backgammon terminology can be extremely confusing, and what is more there are tons of them.
In this article, we will have a look at some of the most common terms used in backgammon and what they mean. After reading this article, you will go to your next backgammon game and be able to fling around the terminology like you are an old pro. Let’s get started shall we?
Anchor - Two or more chips occupying any point within the inner board of the opponent
Joker - A lucky roll, a great roll, one that has the ability to affect the game’s outcome in a person’s favor
Pip Count - This represent the points in which a player is required to take in order to being bearing off. In the beginning of a game, each player starts with 167 as their pip count. This stands for:
- Point 24 - 2 chips= 48 pips
- Point 13 - 5 chips = 65 pips
- Point 8 - 3 chips - 24 pips
- Point 6 - 5 chips - 30 pips
For a pip count of 167 each.
Point - In backgammon, there are twenty-four points. This is not the score by any means, instead, this is the triangles that represents the spaces. However, this can also be used in scoring, in terms of how many points or wins the game is worth. For example, if a person wins a single game, it is worth one point, gammon wins 2 points or a double game, and Backgammon is worth 3 points or a triple game.
Single Game - A game won by bearing off all chips before the opponent, when the opponent is bearing off as well.
Gammon - A game won by bearing off all chips before the opponent, when the opponent has not begun bearing off.
Backgammon - The name of the game, as well as a win. This win occurs when a person bears off all chips before the opponent and the opponent has not begun to bear off, and the opponent has a blot on the bar.
Bear off - This is the act of removing backgammon chips off of the board.
Blot - A single backgammon chip susceptible to attacks by the opponent.
Hit - To attack the blot of an opponent, the blot is then placed on the center bar of the board.
Hit and Cover - You not only attack the blot of your opponent, but you also keep moving that same chip, in order to protect the blot you would have otherwise left vulnerable.
While there are many more terms in backgammon terminology, the above are a few of the most commonly used. Before you know it, you will be talking and playing like a backgammon professional.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://backgammon.games-webzone.com where you can learn more about playing the game and get great winning strategies for backgammon
When you play backgammon, of course you want to win. However, the backgammon directions do not always provide you with winning strategies. By conducting a search online, you will be able to find backgammon directions to help you develop and fine tune some winning strategies. However, in this article, you will also find several strategies that will help you get along in the game, and perhaps find yourself declared the winner.
Of course, there are many backgammon directions, anywhere you turn, that all promote different strategies. However, it is up to you to determine which strategy works best for you and which you are more comfortable with. Here are a few of the most common strategies that you can learn and develop.
One of the most important backgammon directions you will find anywhere revolve around anchoring. Anchoring is the art of leaving chips on the home board of your opponent preventing him or her from being able to bear off. Furthermore, it can leave the opponent susceptible to blots and being attacked.
Another great strategy is adjusting your strategy as the board changes. You may start with one strategy at the beginning, but change in the middle due to positions and moves. Distribution is great for making sure you can take full advantage of the dice rolls.
Some players while looking for backgammon directions choose to use the strategy of moving their chips as fast and as far as they possibly can during game play. They take special care to avoid blots and attacks, and watch the opponents blocking strategy. This is a good strategy for a novice player but can work for experienced players as well.
Other backgammon players choose to lean more towards the blocking strategy. This means they put extra effort into preventing the opponent from progressing across the board. Similar to blocking, some people choose to anchor their chips in the opponents home board, which means taking up all six points, preventing them from entering to bear off. This strategy leaves the opponent vulnerable and susceptible to attacks.
Another strategy is to set yourself up deliberately for blot attacks, which will send you back to the inner board of the opponent. This strategy, creates anchor blocks, which can prevent bear offs, and essentially force the opponent to make ill-advised moves leaving them susceptible for attacks.
Of course, this is not all of the backgammon directions or strategies that apply to the game; there are many, many strategies. By playing the game consistently, you will learn which ones work better and become adept at many different strategies to win the game. But always remember, it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game!
Lee Dobbins writes for http://backgammon.games-webzone.com where you can learn more about the game as well as get more winning backgammon directions.
Outside Prime: A prime composed of points that mostly or fully exist in the Outer Board.
Own a Point: To possess a point with two or more checkers.
Own the Cube: After you have been challenged to and accepted a double, you will then retain possession of the cube and thus the ability to raise the stakes once again with another double.
Pip Count: Calculated by multiplying the number of checkers on every point by the points assigned number, and then adding each of these totals together. Each player begins the Backgammon game with a pip count total of 167.
Pips: This term has two meanings. 1) Backgammon moves are counted in these units. 2) The specific number of dots on each side of the die that total to equal the side value of the die (1 through 6).
Points: The 24 triangle-shaped dividers on a Backgammon set. There are 12 points on each side of the Backgammon board.
Prime: A strategic move in Backgammon in which a player occupies several points in a row, blocking their opponent from moving forward in the game.
Quadrant: In the Backgammon setup there are four sections of the boards. Each section is comprised of 6 points.
Re-Double: Once a player has already accepted a double challenge from his opponent, he may then turn around and immediately propose a re-double, doubling the stakes of the game once again.
Runners: The two checkers that begin the game on the opponents 1 point.
Set Up: The Backgammon set up is the way the board and its pieces are laid out at the beginning of a game. The set up is always the same, and includes 2 checkers on the opponents 1 point (Runners), a stack of 5 checkers on the 13 point in the middle of the board, 3 checkers on the 8 point, and 5 checkers immediately after that on the 6 point.
Shot: A players chance to hit an opponents blot.
Shut Out: The Backgammon strategy that involves blocking the points on your home board to ensure that your opponent cannot re-enter after a hit.
Slot: Landing a single checker on one point with the objective of making that point on the following turn.
Spare: Additional checkers located on a point that are not needed to control the point.
Split: Two separate two checkers who cover one point.
Switch Points: To forsake one point in order to make another.
White: The nickname used to describe one of the games players based on the light color of his checkers.
About the Author:
Online backgammon pro Gene Marshall works for many popular internet backgammon sites. The author contributes articles about backgammon online and internet backgammon. Other information and articles published by Gene Marshall on the matter of online backgammon are accessible online.
Resyndicated on Free Backgammon Online
Although, the Doubling Cube is unknown to most of the backgammon casual players, it is an essential tool in advanced online backgammon strategies and in backgammon for money matches and tournaments.
This cube is designated for raising the stakes of the match and its introduction to the backgammon world is one of the main reasons for the rise of popularity of backgammon.
The cube has 6 faces and the numbers written on it- 2, 4, 8,16,32,64.
At the beginning of the match, the doubling cube is placed beside the board or on the Bar between the players.
Any player, who feels at any stage of the match, that he is leading sufficiently in the match, before throwing his dice, may suggest to double the stakes by placing the doubling cube with the number 2 facing up.
For example player A decided to raise the stakes.
Player B, his opponent, the player the offer is given to, after reviewing his situation, has two options:
He may refuse the offer and thus lose the game and one unit.
He may agree to double the stakes, and in this case the match continues with higher stakes.
Player B, who agreed to the offer, is now the owner of the doubling cube, meaning only him (player B) has the option to double the stakes again at any stage of the game.
If player B decides to do so, he has to do it on his turn before throwing his dice.
Now he takes the dice and places it so that the number 4 is facing up.
Player A, has now the same two options, only this time if he declines the offer he will lose two units, and if he agrees the stakes will rise to 4 times the original and the doubling cube returns to his control.
The cube can pass from player to player, each time raising the stakes.
The Crawford rule
If you are playing a game until N- points, and your opponent is leading and reaches N-1 points, meaning he is short one point from winning the game, you are not allowed to use the Doubling cube in the following game, however, you can use the dice in the following matches if the game continues.
The reason is the weaker player will always want to raise the stakes because he has nothing to lose anymore and we want keep the use of the dice in fairness of both sides.
The Jacoby rule
This rule is used in backgammon for money games and never in match games. It decides that a backgammon or gammon may not be scored as such only if the cube has been passed and accepted. The reason behind this rule is speeding up.
The Holland rule
The Holland rule is used in match games and decides that in post-Crawford games, the trailer can only double after both sides have played two rolls. The rule makes the free drop more valuable to the leading player but generally just confuses the issue.
Unlike the Crawford rule, this rule isn’t popular, and is rarely used today.
The beavers, raccoons, otters and any other animals in the backgammon game-
These animals appear only, if wanted by both sides, in money games and never in match games.
If player A, doubles the stakes, and player B believes A is wrong and he (player B) has the advantage, B can double the stakes and keep the doubling cube on his side. For example, if A makes the initial double and puts the doubling cube on 2, B can say “Beaver”, turn the cube to 4 and keep the cube at his side. If A believes B is wrong he can say “Raccoon” and turn the cube to 8. All this time, B remains the owner of the doubling cube. If B wishes to raise the stakes once more, he only needs to say another silly name (the animal’s name is a controversy among players) and so on.
The Chouette
Chouette is a version of backgammon for more than 2 players. One of the players is the “Box” and plays against the rest of the group on a single board.
Another player is the “Captain” of the group, who throws the dice and makes the moves for the group playing against the box.
If the Box wins, the Captain goes to the back of the line and the next player becomes the Captain of the team. If the Captain wins, he becomes the new Box, and the old Box goes to the end of the line.
The rules regarding the ability of the group to consult with the Captain changes from
version to version. In some versions of the Chouette the group can freely give advice to the Captain, and in other versions, consulting is strictly forbidden.
The compromised version is the most popular- consulting is legitimate only after the dice have been thrown.
Originally, Chouette was played with a single die .The only decisions that players other than the Captain were allowed to make on their own was concerning the takes: If the Box had doubled, each player on the team could take or drop independently. Today, a multiple-cube Chouette is more popular; each player on the team has his own cube, and all doubling, dropping, and taking decisions are made independently by all backgammon players.
Guest Article by: http://www.online-backgammons.com
Israel’s online backgammon website Play65 has launched its Georgian ( ) platform Play65.ge and came to realize that despite backgammon’s reputation as a war game, Play65 brings peace to bloodshed areas, such as the Russia-Georgia boarder. The platform enables people from both sides of the barricade to come to terms, at least when it comes to their mutual backgammon match.
One day after Play65.ge was launched, it hosted a friendly game between representatives of opposing sides: the white checkers of the backgammon board were activated by Zaza83, 29 year old backgammon fan of Tbilisi, while the Russian ( ) backgammon veteran Kirill9009 moved the black checkers.
Read the rest of the article here
“Mindgammon is a variation of Backgammon, more like a distant cousin” says Christian Bailey, co-founder of Mindgammon, Inc. Mindgammon was developed by Wayne Hulsen, Chairman of the company, after nearly two decades of thinking and planning the next generation of Backgammon. Hulsen wanted to make the game more user-friendly, especially for the beginners, and at the same time keep it a highly tactical game that would challenge the players’ intellect. He felt it was near impossible to recover from a bad roll in Backgammon, whereas in Mindgammon, there is always a chance for recovery and opportunity to win. Many games of Mindgammon come down to each player having one checker left to bear off, that makes Mindgammon much more exciting to play.
The game is available for purchase from the company’s web site (www.mindgammon.com) and will be stocked at select retail stores across the USA and Canada in late fall 2008. Mindgammon will also be available in SkyMall catalogs.
Innovation is not something new to board games. An early form of backgammon, Senet, is considered to be the oldest board game. Hieroglyphics representing a Senet game date back to 3100 BC and variations of this game have been found in many Egyptian tombs, including a flawless board in King Tut’s tomb. This game resembled the game we now know as “Backgammon“, with moves controlled by the roll of dice.
The game of Senet saw many changes over 3000 years - the Romans, Persians, the French and the Germans all contributed with some transformations to the game. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest use of the word “backgammon” was documented in 1650, and most likely derived from “back”, and Middle English “games” meaning game or play. The most recent development in Backgammon was the addition of the doubling cube in 1926-27.
For over five years, Bailey and Hulsen tinkered with the concept to ensure that it met all the requirements they had established. In 2005, they tested the game at the Chicago Toy and Fair Game (CHITAG). The reactions from the audience were more than encouraging. Hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life participated in the first Mindgammon Tournament. It lasted three days and was held at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Winners received prizes including a $500 gas card.
Next, they exhibited the game at Toy Fair 2007 in New York City. This is what Barrett Feintraub, Senior Writer Toy Fair had to say: “more than just a variant on backgammon, one that is plenty of fun, and it’s certainly more original than a lot of other ‘original’ games we saw (”it’s Risk, but in space!”, “It’s Dominoes, but the pieces bend!”, “It’s Checkers, but…”)
There is no doubt plenty of time, thought, and money has been invested in this project.”
Through 2007, Bailey and Hulsen have sought out the best manufacturing sources and planned for marketing the game board via multiple channels including traditional media, retail establishments, and the Internet.
The game will be produced in built-to-last, high quality beech wood, Polymer, and chipboard (MDF) to offer a comfortable price range. The retail prices for the game boards will range from $29.95 to $129.95 (US).
Bailey added, “Our product has received the attention of the International Montessori Council, Red Cross, and Aging Societies across the globe. Studies have shown that playing games like Mindgammon has the ability to sharpen young minds as well as curb the onset of dementia in the elderly.”
Use it or lose it. Research shows that engaging in intellectual activities, like Mindgammon, help keep a person mentally sharp in their senior years. Scientists speculate that mentally engaged people build up a “Brain Reserve” that protects them from dementia.
Also when youngsters are playing Mindgammon, they are using a part of the brain that naturally increases creative thinking by increasing right side stimulation. Once their skill level, ability and mental agility are engaged, their intelligence will slowly but surely increase.
Online blackgammon companies are now on high alert after the recent identity theft case where Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in jail by the Moroccan government for opening a false Facebook profile in the name of the Moroccan Prince, Moulay Rachid. Recently, BackgammonMasters Mexico found several users in their systems that opened accounts with names of famous persons such as Prince William, Madonna and Tom Cruise. After checking the activities and locations of these users they found them to be fake.
Spokesperson for www.backgammonmasters.com says, “We’ve seen a trend in the industry for people to register popular names, as we call them “Gold usernames” such as backgammonking, pokerking, blackjack-king and celebrity names which are just as popular. We see people in game forums even buying and selling these usernames. For these people its status, kind of like having a custom license plate. As long as the games are for fun, we are not concerned.”
Although these players only played in fun money games such as Poker, Backgammon and 21 Blackjack, companies now are keeping an eye on these types of accounts after such an extreme case involving a major company like Facebook.
Some governments on the other hand seem to be concerned and do not take lightly insults to their leaders. Mourtada was released after serving 43 days of his term due to pressure from petition signers and Human Rights groups around the world. But this case has raised awareness that in some cases, a username is no longer just a username. Mourtada’s lawyer, Ali Ammar said, “This is a cultural problem; this is the first time that a Moroccan poses as a very important personality on the internet. This is already a common practice in European countries.”
BackgammonMasters Online Game Operator has expanded their Game Lobby to include the new AstroPay Video Slot Game. The first in a series of Video Casino Games to be launched, AstroPay gives www.backgammonmasters.com players the complete casino experience in addition to their Blackjack, Poker, and Backgammon games and tournaments. All of BackgammonMasters games are home-grown, original, one-of-a-kind creations of the BackgammonMasters Game Development Team.