Contents

Program

How to play

Changing colors

Settings

Progress indicator

Saving and restoring positions

Rules of the game

Object

Moves

Hitting

Bearing off (winning)

Doubling

Special actions

Switching sides

Automatically finishing the game

Suggest move


Program
How to play

You can move the pieces around the board by clicking successively on the position to move from and on the position to move to.

You can also enter these postions through the keyboard.

So, if for example you want to move a piece from position A to position B, you either first click on position A and then on position B, or you press A, B on the keyboard.

The letter for the bar and the bear off position is '0' (zero).

For the last move (ie when you have only one die left) you do not have to enter the target-position. The same applies for all moves with doubles.

You cannot add the values of the dice; you must use them each individually.

If you are unable to make a move, press the space bar or click the dice.


Program
Changing colors

By choosing 'Colors' from the Screen-menu you can change the colors of all individual  parts of the screen.

You can do this for each of the different color schemes of which one is the active scheme.

To change a color, click on the name of the part that you want to change (or press the button next to it) and choose a color.

Each scheme can be restored to its default by pressing the Default button.


Settings

Choose Settings from the File menu

If Auto change turn is checked, you will not be given the opportunity to undo a move after you have moved your last piece (but it saves you one click).

Auto play forced moves means that all moves that can only be done in one way are played  automatically by the program.

Check Use cube if you want to use the doubling cube.

If Intelligent moves is checked the following applies: If you want to move  from a position where only one die can be used then the program will automatically  play that die.

Check Picture dice if you want the dice displayed as images rather than just text.

If Show progress bar is checked you will see a graphical display of each players' relative progress

Speed of pieces determines the speed at which the pieces move.

Checking some form of Highlight makes the positions' letters 'light up' when the mouse  cursor is over them.

Skill level sets the playing skill of the computer player.

You can Auto-finish your games at high or low speed. Check 'ask' if you  feel it depends on the situation.

The program can Generate its Rolls in three different ways:

1.	The program generates its own rolls

2.	You enter your rolls manually

3.	Rolls are read from a file

For the last option you can provide the name of any textfile (notepad). The numbers in the range 1..6  that the program finds in there are used as rolls. When it reaches the end of the file, it will start from the beginning again.


Progress indicator

If you press '?' the program will display in the lower right corner how much you or the computer leads. ('Pipcount')

If, for example, you have to roll another 80 points to bring all your pieces home and to  bear them off, and the computer needs 100, you will see: 'You lead by 20'


Saving and restoring positions

You can save and restore the complete current setup of the board through the file menu.


Object

The first object of the game is to collect all pieces in the last of the four boards.

For the Human player that is (playing counter-clockwise) the board in the lower right corner; for the computer the one in the upper right corner.

Bearing off


Moves

The pieces can be moved as many positions as the two dice allow you to. You can only use the value of one die at the time.

A double counts for four, which is displayed as four dice.

Pieces cannot be moved to positions that are occupied by two or more of the opponent's pieces. Single pieces, though, can be hit.


Hitting

A piece that is hit is placed on the bar in the middle and has to start all over.

This re-entering in must be done first. Meaning that no other moves can be done before all hit pieces are back into play.

Re-entering in is done from position '0' (zero; or click the bar).


Bearing off

When all pieces have been gathered in the last board, you can bear them off. To bear off a piece you need a die with exactly as many points as are needed to bring the piece outside the board.

Dice with higher values can only be used if they cannot be used in any other way.

For example: A piece on position 'V' can be born of with a three, or, if there are no  pieces on position 'U' through 'S', with any die with a higher value than three.

He who bears off all his pieces first is the winner.

Bearing off is done to position '0' (zero; or click the numbers at the left of the  board; or click the bar).


Doubling
Doubling / Ways of winning

As long as the double-button is in the middle and is marked '64', any player can propose to double the stakes, just before he rolls. The other player can accept this or not. If he does not accept, he loses. If he does accept, then the double-button moves to his side. He is then the only one who is allowed to double.

The stakes are always doubled when the losing player hasn't born off any pieces yet. This is called a Gammon.

If the losing side has one or more pieces left in his opponent's homeboard, the winner gets points to the amount of three times the value of the doubling die. This is called a Backgammon.

If you press Cancel when the computer proposes to double the game just continues.


Switching sides

By choosing 'Switch sides' in the Action menu you can switch sides with the computer; each player then continues with the current setup of the other player.

You can only do this at the beginning of your turn.


Automatically finishing the game

You can let the program finish a game in progress by choosing 'Finish' from the Action menu.

The program will then play the remaining moves for both sides.

You can interrupt this by pressing <Esc> until the moving stops.

The program can finish your game at high- or low speed; you can specify this in the settings.


Suggest move

By choosing 'Suggest move' from the Action menu you can let the computer play its best move for you.