Precision Software Applications Silver Collection 1

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Precision Software Appli…tions Silver Collection 1 / Precision Software Applications Silver Collection Volume One (PSM) (1993).iso / games / egavga / pcgam512.arj / BKGRULES.DOC next >

Wrap

Text File | 1992-06-02 | 11.9 KB | 264 lines

How To Play Backgammon The Rules of Play Equipment: A) Thirty Round Checkers or Men, 15 each in two different colors. B) A pair of dice (preferably 2 pair, one for each player, and a set of dice cups, when playing against a human opponent). C) A doubling cube (used for money games and tournaments), a doubling cube is a six (or sometimes more) sided cube with the values 2,4,8,16,32,64, etc... printed respectively on each side of the cube. D) A backgammon board (See the board in PC-Gammon, backgammon boards are very commonly found on the reverse side of a checker or chess board. The backgammon board is normally divided down the center, this area is called the "Bar", it separates the "Inner" (or "Home") and "Outer" tables of the board, and is where you place men when they are "Bumped" (more on being bumped later). Your Home and Outer tables are located nearest to you (in PC-Gammon they are at the bottom of the screen and your Home table is to your left). Your opponents Home and Outer tables are directly opposite to your own. Each Home and Outer table is made up of 6 "Points", for a total of 24 points, in PC-Gammon the points on the board are numbered from 1 to 24, Points 1-6 are your opponents Home Table, 7-12 are your opponents Outer Table, 13-18 are your Outer Table, and 19-24 your Home Table. To the left of the board in PC-Gammon there is a "Bear Off" tray, this area holds the men as they are removed from the game (more on bearing off later). The initial setup for backgammon is as follows (you can see it for yourself when you first start PC-Gammon). Point Men ----- ------------ 1 2 White Men 6 5 Black Men 8 3 Black Men 12 5 White Men 13 5 Black Men 17 3 White Men 19 5 White Men 24 2 Black Men The object of the game is to move all of your men into your Home Table, once they are there, you may begin "Bearing Off", the first player to get all his men off the board is declared the winner. Starting The Game: Each player rolls one die, the higher number plays first. If equal numbers are rolled, the players must roll again until the dice are different. One common variant (an option in PC-Gammon), is if the first roll is doubles, then the stakes of the game are automatically doubled (the doubling cube is set to 2). Moving: A player may move his men the number of points as totaled on both dice. The total number of points moved may be applied to one or more men (i.e. if you roll a 2 and a 3 you may move one man 2 points, and another man 3 points or you may move one man 5 points). Doubles: If a player rolls doubles he gets to move twice as many points (i.e. if you roll double 2's, you can move any combination of men 2 points at a time for up to 4 moves). A player must use both numbers of the roll if possible (or for doubles all four numbers of the double). If a player can use either but not both, he must use the higher valued die for his move, in the case of doubles, he must use as many he can. "Making Points", a point is made when a player has two or more of his men on a point. A primary rule of backgammon is that no two players may occupy the same point at the same time. Thus if a player has two or more men on a point, his opponent can not land there. Thus the rule is: A player may move his man to any point that is unoccupied or contains only one of his opponents men, or that contains one or more of his men, but cannot move to a point that contains two or more of his opponents men. Blocking: A point that is "Made" (contains two or more of the opponents men) acts as a blocking point, by that we mean that a player can not use that point when passing by it. For example, if you roll a 2 and a 3, your man is on the 1 point, and your opponent has 2 men on both the 3 and 4 points, but the 6 point is unoccupied. Even though your total roll of 5, would allow you to move your man to the unoccupied 6 point, you would have to touch down with either the 2 or 3 roll on the 3 and 4 points which have been "Made" by your opponent. In other words, each die value must be moved separately, they can not be used to move one man in a single move totaling the the value of the dice, and during each die move the man must land on an un-blocked point. If you wish to move one man for both dice value you may, but they must be used one at a time. A man may however be moved the total number of both dice as long as one of the dice values will land a man on an un-blocked point during the move. "Blots": A blot is a point which contains only one man. A player may move his man to a point which contains a single opponents man (blot). When a player moves his man to his opponents blot (either as a single move, or by stopping at a blot as part of a longer move (i.e. moving one man with both dice)), the opponents man is removed from the board and placed on the bar. This is called "Hitting" your opponents blot, or "Bumping". "Entering": If a player has one or more men on the bar they must be "Entered" (moved) back into the game before the player can move any of his other men. A man is "Entered" into the game by moving it from the bar to the opponents Inner table (when playing PC-Gammon, you will be entering to points 1 through 6). The man on the bar must be moved the same number of points as shown on the die, and must be able to land on an un-blocked point (see blocking above). For example if you have a man on the bar, and your opponent has Made his 2,4, and 5 points (i.e. they are blocked), you must roll a 1,3, or 6 in order to enter from the bar. ALL MEN MUST BE ENTERED FROM THE BAR BEFORE ANY OTHER MEN MAY BE MOVED. Once all men are entered from the bar, any remaining unused die values may be played. If you opponent has all 6 of his points made in his inner table and you are on the bar, you are "Shut Out" and can not move until you opponent moves his men to provide you with an un-blocked point in his inner table. "Bearing Off" Bearing off is the final part of the game. During this phase your men are removed from the board. Once you bear off a man it cannot return to play. As soon as a player has ALL of his men in his inner table he may begin bearing off. If your opponent hits a blot in your inner table while you are bearing off, you must move all men on the bar back into your inner table before you can continue to bear off. You can think of bearing off as moving your men to an "imaginary" 25th point (in the case of PC-Gammon it is the "Bear-Off Tray" on the left of the screen). You may bear a man off under the following rules: 1. The value of the die roll is exactly what is required to bear the man off to the tray, for example if you roll a 5 you would be allowed to bear off a man on your 20 point. 2. If you roll a die value higher than is required to move a man from the point which is furthest from the tray, you may bear off that furthest man. For example if you have men on your 22, and 23 point and you roll a 6, you may bear off the man on your 22 point (you may not bear off the man on your 23 point). 3. You may if you choose to use any roll of the dice (except obviously a 6, which would require you to bear off a man) to move men within your Inner Table without bearing off. For example if you roll a 2 you may move a man from your 19 point to your 21 point without bearing off). Doubling: Backgammon when played between humans is generally played for some agreed upon stake. The doubling cube is used to increase the value of the stake during the play of the game. In PC-Gammon the doubling cube is of most use during Tournament play. When the game first begins the doubling cube is "unowned" and either player may offer the first double. A player must offer to double before he rolls the dice (this eliminates the chance to double on the first roll, which is why it is a common practice to automatically double the stakes if the first roll is doubles). Once a player has offered to double, his opponent may either accept the double, in which case the stakes of the game are double and the opponent gains control of the doubling cube, and the game continues on. If the opponent refuses the double, the game ends and the other player wins. Once a double has been accepted the player gains control of the doubling cube and then is the only one who can offer a double. Ownership of the double cube thus goes back and forth between the players after each accepted double. Gammons and Backgammons: If the loser of the game has borne off at least one man then he loses the value of the game at that time (i.e. what ever value the doubling cube is set at). If the loser has not been able to bear off any men at all then he is gammoned and the value of the game is doubled (i.e. twice the value of the doubling cube). If in addition to not having borne off any men the loser has a man on the bar, or in his opponents inner table, then the value of the game is tripled (i.e. the doubling cube times 3). There are no gammons or backgammons if a player refuses a double, a single win only is scored. In the case of a player offering to forfeit, the player accepting the forfeit must decide whether to accept the forfeit as a single loss or to require the opponent to forfeit to a gammon. If a forfeit is refused play continues. (PC-Gammon will not offer to forfeit to a gammon, it will only forfeit to a single loss). When playing against humans... The following conditions can not occur when playing with PC-Gammon, but are included here for completeness. "Cocked Dice" : The dice must be rolled together, and must come to lie flat (not "Cocked" or tilted) on the table to the players right. They may not land on top of any men. In either of these events both dice must be thrown again. Premature Plays: If a throw is made before your opponent finishes his play, or if either player touches a die before it has come to rest, the adversary or the offender may require a rethrow. A player must leave his dice on the board until his play is completed. Should he pick them up or turn them over before the completion of his play, the opponent may require the player to replace his men and rethrow the dice. If an error has been made in setup or play, either player may require its correction before a subsequent throw of the dice, but not afterwards. Any man incorrectly played must be restored to its previous position, and a correct play then made. Strategy: Want to learn more about Backgammon, check out the books offered in the order form. Your local library, will most likely have books on the subject as well.