Más de 2,500 Juegos/CD2.iso/zipdat/1470/1470.txt

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TOMMY'S BACKGAMMON V.2 WITH BIGAMMON <TM> AND TRIGAMMON <TM>
(C) COPYRIGHT 1987-1996 BY TOMMY'S TOYS.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.
CATALOG #TM-075-2A

INSTRUCTIONS:

BACKGAMMON IS ONE OF THOSE ANCIENT GAMES THAT ARE BASED ON BOTH LUCK AND SKILL,
BUT THE MORE SKILLFUL YOU ARE THE LUCKIER YOU GET.

HAVING BEEN BROUGHT TO EARTH BY ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS (A BOARD DATED AT 3000 B.C.
WAS DUG UP BY EARTHLING ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN UR OF THE CHALDEES IN MODERN IRAQ,
AND IS NOW ON DISPLAY IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM), IT THEN RAN THE GAMUT OF ANCIENT
CIVILIZATIONS, GREEK, ROMAN, ANGLO-SAXON, AND SO ON.  (THE DOUBLING CUBE WAS
INTRODUCED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE IN 1920S AMERICA TO HELP THEM WIN ENOUGH
DOUGH TO PAY FOR BUS FARE HOME, AND IS STILL MAINLY USED BY AMERICANS.)

OUTSIDE AMERICA THIS GAME GOES BY NAMES OTHER THAN BACKGAMMON (FR. FOR BACK
GAME), FOR EXAMPLE: TABLAS REALES (SP. FOR ROYAL TABLES), TRIC-TRAC (FRANCE),
TICKTACK (IRISH), TABLES (ENGLISH FROM THE LATIN TABULA).

NOW YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A LIVE PARTNER TO PLAY THIS KING OF GAMES; YOUR PC
IS WAITING TO PLAY AGAINST YOU.  SO HAVE FUN AND DON'T LEAVE YOUR PLANET
WITHOUT IT.

BIGAMMON AND TRIGAMMON:
IF YOU LOVE BACKGAMMON BUT WANT A CHANGE, TRY THIS!  NOW THERE ARE NOT JUST ONE
BUT TWO THREE TRACKS, FOR N TIMES THE FUN!  YES, THE PIECES CAN JUMP TRACKS!
*NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY PLAY ON 1 OR 2 TRACKS IN THE UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE VERSION.

THE BOARD:
1-3 PARALLEL TRACKS OF 24 SQUARES OR POINTS RUNNING EAST-WEST ON THE SCREEN
(THE FAMILIAR HORSESHOW PATTERN FOR THE 1-TRACK CLASSIC BACKGAMMON).

THE WHITE PLAYER'S BAR OR HOME IS WEST (LEFT), AND THE BLACK PLAYER'S BAR IS
EAST (RIGHT); IN THE 1-TRACK VERSION WHITE'S BAR IS SQUARE 0 AND BLACK'S BAR
IS SQUARE 25, BOTH REPRESENTED BY THE LONG BAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOARD.

PIECES:
EACH PLAYER HAS 15 PIECES FOR EACH TRACK PLAYED.

BARS:
EACH PLAYER'S BAR IS THE STARTING AREA.  NO PIECE MAY BE MOVED ON THE BOARD
UNTIL ALL THE PIECES HAVE BEEN MOVED OFF THE BAR FOR THAT PLAYER.  IN THE
STANDARD GAME THE PIECES START OUT ON THE BOARD IN A CERTAIN CLASSIC POSITION
KNOWN TO ALL BACKGAMMON PLAYERS.

HOME AREAS:
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS TO BE THE FIRST PLAYER TO MOVE ALL OF ONE'S PIECES
OFF THE BOARD.  ONCE OFF THE BOARD THE PIECES ARE NO LONGER IN PLAY.

BUT THERE IS A CATCH:
IN ORDER TO MOVE A PIECE ON THE TOP TRACK OFF THE BOARD, BLACK MUST FIRST MOVE
ALL ITS PIECES ON THAT TRACK WEST TO POINTS 6-1; TO MOVE A PIECE OFF THE MIDDLE
TRACK ALL PIECES ON THAT TRACK MUST FIRST BE MOVED TO POINTS 30-25; SIMILARLY
FOR TRACK 3, POINTS 54-49.

WHITE MUST MOVE ITS PIECES EAST TO POINTS 19-24, 43-48, 67-72, RESPECTIVELY,
BEFORE MOVING THEM OFF THE BOARD ALONG TRACKS 1, 2, AND 3, RESPECTIVELY.

IN OTHER WORDS, EACH TRACK IS INDEPENDENT AS FAR AS WHEN PIECES MAY BE MOVED
OFF; THIS KEEP THE GAME FROM LASTING FOREVER.

TRACK SWITCHING IN BIGAMMON & TRIGAMMON:
IT'S THE TIMES WHEN THE TWO ARMIES CROSS EACH OTHERS' PATHS THAT THE GAME GETS
INTERESTING, RIGHT?  SO, A PIECE MAY SWITCH TRACKS BY FOLLOWING THE BOARD
SQUARE NUMBERING, FOR EXAMPLE, MOVE FROM POINT 24 TO POINT 27 ON A ROLL OF 3.
SINCE THE PIECE ISN'T BEING MOVED OFF THE BOARD THERE IS NO RESTRICTION AS TO
THE POSITION OF OTHER SAME-COLOR PIECES.

MODES:
USING F2 YOU SELECT WHO PLAYS WHITE AND WHO PLAYS BLACK, THE COMPUTER OR THE
KEYBOARD PLAYER.  BY REPEATEDLY PRESSING F2 YOU CAN SELECT ANY COMBINATION,
FROM THE COMPUTER PLAYING BOTH SIDES TO THE KEYBOARD PLAYING BOTH SIDES.
ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE BOARD THE MODE IS DISPLAYED (K MEANS KEYBOARD,
C MEANS COMPUTER, WHITE'S MODE IS DISPLAYED ABOVE BLACK'S).  YOU CAN PRESS
THIS KEY DURING THE GAME IF YOU WANT TO TAKE OVER FOR THE COMPUTER, OR VICE
VERSA.

THE GAME STARTS OUT WITH THE KEYBOARD PLAYING WHITE, THE COMPUTER BLACK.

*NOTE: IN THE UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE VERSION, BOTH SIDES CANNOT PLAY KEYBOARD
AT THE SAME TIME.

WHO MOVES FIRST?
IF AT LEAST ONE OF THE PLAYERS IS THE KEYBOARD, THE KEYBOARD SELECTS WHICH
PLAYER MOVES FIRST.  IF THE COMPUTER PLAYS BOTH SIDES THEN IT SELECTS THE
STARTING PLAYER RANDOMLY.  NOTE: WHEN THE COMPUTER PROMPTS YOU FOR WHICH
SIDE TO MOVE FIRST (W OR B), YOU CAN TYPE "C" OR HIT THE SPACE BAR TO LET THE
COMPUTER DECIDE BY RANDOM CHANCE.

THE DICE:
THE GAME IS PLAYED WITH 2 DICE.  AFTER THEY ARE ROLLED (LET'S SAY YOU ROLL
VALUES D1, D2), YOU MUST MOVE ONE PIECE A NUMBER OF POINTS EQUAL TO D1, THEN
ANOTHER PIECE (IT CAN BE THE SAME PIECE AS BEFORE) A NUMBER OF POINTS EQUAL
TO D2.

AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL DICE ROLL OPTION:
YOU MAY SELECT WHETHER THE DICE ARE ROLLED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN IT IS YOUR
TURN, OR WHETHER YOU HAVE TO TYPE "R" (OR <ENTER>) TO HAVE THEM ROLLED.
THIS IS CONTROLLED BY FUNCTION KEY F6 (INITIALLY THE GAME IS SET TO MANUAL
DICE ROLL).

BLOTS AND HITS:
ONLY PIECES OF ONE COLOR CAN OCCUPY A GIVEN BOARD POINT.  IF YOU HAVE 2 OR
MORE PIECES ON A POINT, IT IS NOW "YOUR" POINT AND YOU HAVE "CAPTURED" IT
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE 2 OR MORE PIECES THERE.  A PLAYER MAY NEVER LAND ON A
POINT CAPTURED BY THE OPPONENT, BUT ONLY ON AN EMPTY POINT, A POINT CAPTURED BY
HIS OWN PIECES, OR A "BLOT" (POINT HELD BY ONLY ONE ENEMY PIECE); IN THE LATTER
CASE, THE BLOT THAT WAS "HIT" IS PUT ON THE OPPONENT'S BAR (NEXT TO THEIR HOME
AREA), LEAVING YOUR OWN BLOT THERE INSTEAD.

THE BAR (ENTERING):
PIECES ON THE BAR HAVE THE FARTHEST TO GO TO BE BORNE OFF THE BOARD, BUT THEY
HAVE ANOTHER HANDICAP: THEY MUST BE PLAYED FIRST BEFORE ANY OTHER PIECES CAN
BE MOVED.  CONSIDER THE BAR AS POINT 0 IF WHITE, POINT 25 IF BLACK.  THUS, YOU
CAN MOVE FROM THE BAR TO POINT 5 WITH A ROLL OF 5 IF YOU ARE PLAYING BLACK; OR
FROM THE BAR TO POINT 20 IF YOU ARE PLAYING WHITE.

IF YOU CANNOT ENTER THE BOARD WITH A GIVEN DICE VALUE, YOU HAVE TO PASS.  IF
YOU CANNOT ENTER THE BOARD WITH EITHER DICE VALUE, THE COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLY
PASSES FOR YOU, BUT IF YOU WANT YOU HAVE 1 SECOND TO HIT ESC TO GET CONTROL
FROM THE COMPUTER; YOU CAN THEN HIT "C" FOR CONCEDE FOR EXAMPLE.  NOTE: YOU
CAN CAUSE THE COMPUTER TO AVOID THE 1 SECOND WAIT BY HITTING THE SPACE BAR.

BEARING OFF THE BOARD (END GAME):
AFTER ALL YOUR PIECES ARE IN YOUR GOAL ZONE (FOR TRACK 1: BLACK, POINTS 6-1;
WHITE, POINTS 19-24), YOU ARE NOW IN THE END GAME, AND CAN MOVE A PIECE
BEYOND YOUR LAST POINT, WHICH PERMANENTLY SCORES THAT PIECE FOR YOU.  THE
FIRST PLAYER TO SCORE ALL HIS PIECES WINS THE GAME.

NORMALLY IF YOU ARE PLAYING BLACK YOU NEED TO ROLL A 5 TO BEAR OFF A PIECE
FROM POINT 5, ETC.  TO BEAR OFF ANOTHER PIECE IT MUST BE THE FURTHEST
OCCUPIED POINT FROM THE LAST POINT.  (FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU ROLL A 6 AND THERE
ARE NO PIECES ON POINT 6, YOU MAY BEAR OFF A PIECE ON POINT 4; BUT IF THERE
IS A PIECE ON POINT 5, IT MUST BE BORNE OFF FIRST.)

DOUBLES:
WHEN YOUR TWO DICE HAVE EQUAL VALUES, YOU GET TWO MOVES IN A ROW, AS IF YOU
HAD ROLLED THE 2 DICE, MOVED, ROLLED THE SAME DOUBLET AGAIN, AND MOVED AGAIN.

TO ENTER A MOVE:
WITH THE MOUSE:
JUST POINT AT THE POINT YOU WANT TO MOVE FROM, AND CLICK.  THEN POINT TO THE
POINT YOU WANT TO MOVE TO, AND CLICK.  THE BAR CAN BE USED AS BOTH "BAR" AND
"OFF" FOR SOMETHING TO POINT TO AND CLICK.  TO PASS, POINT TO THE "P" AT THE
LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN BELOW THE PLAYER "K/C" SETTINGS.  WHEN ASKED FOR
R(OLL) OR D(ARE), JUST CLICK THE R OR THE D IN THE QUESTION AS DESIRED; WHEN
ASKED A YES/NO QUESTION, JUST CLICK THE Y OR N IN THE QUESTION.

FROM THE KEYBOARD:
MOVE FORMAT: A<SPACE>B<SPACE>, WHERE A IS THE FROM-POINT (E.G., 22), AND B IS
TO-POINT (E.G., 21).

NOTE: YOU CAN ALSO HIT THE <ENTER>, ",", "-", OR "+" KEYS INSTEAD OF THE SPACE
BAR.

E.G.:
2<SPACE>7<SPACE>
2-7
2+7<SPACE>
2<ENTER>7<ENTER>
21<SPACE>18<SPACE>15<SPACE>12<SPACE>15<SPACE>12<SPACE>9<SPACE>6<SPACE>
ETC. (WE TRIED TO MAKE IT EASY!)

SPECIAL ABBREVIATIONS:
YOU CAN USE "B" FOR BAR AND "O" FOR OFF-BOARD, E.G., B<SPACE>4, 23<SPACE>O.
YOU CAN ALSO USE THE SPACE BAR FOR "B" AND "O", E.G., <SPACE><SPACE>4,
23<SPACE><SPACE>.

TO PASS: TYPE "P".  TOMMY'S BACKGAMMON ALLOWS YOU TO PASS IF YOU WANT TO,
USUALLY YOU WON'T UNLESS YOU ARE FORCED TO BECAUSE MOMENTUM IS IMPORTANT IN
THIS GAME.  IT IS COMMON TO BE FORCED TO PASS WHEN YOU HAVE PIECES ON THE
BAR THAT YOU CAN'T ENTER.

E.G.:
      P
      32-37,27-32,P
      B-4,P

(OF COURSE, IT IS NOT CONSIDERED LEGAL IN MOST CLUBS TO PASS IF YOU HAVE A
LEGAL MOVE AVAILABLE, BUT THE PROGRAM WILL LET YOU GO.)

TO CONCEDE THE GAME, TYPE "C".

TO BACKSTEP ONE ROUND, TYPE "." OR HIT THE BACKSPACE KEY (THIS ONLY WORKS
AT THE PROMPT FOR YOUR MOVE).

TO TAKE BACK A MOVE:
YOU CAN'T, BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED ENTERING THE MOVE YET YOU CAN FORCE
IT INTO AN ERROR AND GET TO START OVER.  FOR EXAMPLE, 19-99.

DARES AND THE DOUBLING CUBE:
AFTER THE GAME STARTS, EITHER PLAYER MAY DARE THE OTHER TO DOUBLE THE GAME
STAKES.  IF THE OTHER PLAYER DECLINES, HE FORFEITS THE GAME.  AFTER THIS, THE
RIGHT TO DARE ALTERNATES.  NORMALLY YOU MUST DARE BEFORE YOU MOVE, BUT IF YOU
SELECT THE AUTOMATIC DICE ROLL OPTION YOU DARE AFTER THE ROLL (NOT STRICTLY
KOSHER BUT THE GAME MOVES FASTER AND BOTH SIDES ARE AT THE SAME DISADVANTAGE).
IN REAL PLAY A CUBE WITH FACES MARKED 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, AND 64 IS USED; IN
TOMMY'S BACKGAMMON THE CURRENT DARE IS DISPLAYED ON THE TOP LINE OF THE SCREEN,
ALONG WITH THE PLAYER WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO DARE NEXT.

NOTE: TO DARE, HIT "D" FOR YOUR MOVE.  THERE IS A LIMIT OF 6 DARES PER GAME.

GAME POINTS:
A GAME POINT IS 2 TO THE POWER D, WHERE D IS THE NUMBER OF DARES ACCEPTED.
YOU GET 1 GAME POINT FOR A WIN, 2 FOR GAMMON, 3 FOR BACKGAMMON.

GAMMON AND BACKGAMMON:
GAMMON IS WHERE THE OPPONENT HAS NOT SCORED (BORE OFF) A SINGLE ONE OF HIS
PIECES BY THE TIME YOU WIN.  A BACKGAMMON IS WHERE THE OPPONENT HAS GAMMONED,
AND HAS ONE OR MORE PIECES IN HIS STARTING BOX (1-6; 25-30; 49-54 FOR WHITE,
24-19; 48-53; 72-67 FOR BLACK) OR ON THE BAR.

NOTE THAT IF YOU REFUSE A DARE, GAMMON AND BACKGAMMON POINTS ARE NOT
ASSESSED AGAINST YOU; BUT IF YOU CONCEDE WITH THE "C" COMMAND, THEY ARE.

GAME RESTART:
WHEN PROMPTED FOR YOUR MOVE, HIT THE ESC KEY INSTEAD AND THE GAME CAN BE
RESTARTED.

SCORE FILE:
THE RUNNING GAME POINT SCORES FOR BLACK AND WHITE ARE SAVED AUTOMATICALLY
BY THE COMPUTER ON DISK FILE "TOMMYSBG.SCR".  iF YOU WANT TO ERASE THE
SCORES AND START THE MATCH OVER, JSUT ERASE THIS ONE FILE.

AUTO SAVE/RESTORE:
IF YOU DECIDE TO EXIT THE PROGRAM BEFORE A GAME IS FINISHED, THE COMPUTER
WILL AUTOMATICALLY SAVE THE GAME ON DISK FOR YOU, AND RESTORE IT NEXT TIME
YOU RUN THE PROGRAM.

FUNCTION KEYS:
--------------
      F1       SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE*
      F2       MODE CHANGE SWITCH
      F3       CUMULATIVE DICE TOTAL DISPLAY TOGGLE (WHEN ON, DISPLAYS THE
               CUMULATIVE DICE TOTAL FOR EACH PLAYER UNDER THE DICE, IN
               CASE YOU WANT TO BLAME YOUR SITUATION ON THE DICE.)  THE
               FIRST NUMBER IS PLAYER 1'S TOTAL, THE SECOND IS PLAYER 2'S
      F4       MANUAL DICE ENTRY TOGGLE: THIS LETS YOU ENTER THE VALUE OF THE
               DICE FROM THE KEYBOARD INSTEAD OF LETTING THE COMPUTER
               ROLL THEM -- HIT ESC IF YOU WANT COMPUTER TO ROLL ANYWAY
      F5       DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS
      F6       AUTO DICE ROLL TOGGLE
      F7       QUIT
      F8       FAST/SLOW DICE TOGGLE.  IF YOU LIKE TO HEAR THEM JINGLE...
      F9       LOG FILE TOGGLE
      F10      (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR

*NOTE: FOR ALL TOGGLE SWITCHES, THE ONSCREEN LEGEND DISPLAYS THE MODE THAT
WILL BE ENTERED BY PRESSING THE FUNCTION KEY, WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE
MODE THE PROGRAM IS IN AT THE TIME.

SKILL LEVELS:
THERE ARE 9 LEVELS, 1..9, WITH 1 THE EASIEST AND 9 THE HARDEST.
TO CHANGE THE SKILL LEVEL, USE THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC
CONTROL PAD.  NOTE: AT SKILL LEVEL 1, THE COMPUTER WILL NOT MAKE DARES.

COMPUTER SPEED:
WHEN THE COMPUTER IS MAKING MOVES YOU CAN CONTROL ITS ROUGH SPEED BY USING THE
UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD.  THE END-OF-MOVE DELAY, IN SECONDS,
IS DISPLAYED NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.

GAME TYPES:
AT PROGRAM STARTUP YOU ARE ASKED WHICH YOU PREFER, STANDARD, DUTCH, SNAKE, OR
ACEY DEUCEY.

IN DUTCH AND ACEY DEUCEY ALL THE PIECES START ON THE BAR, NOT ON THE BOARD AS
IN THE STANDARD CONFIGURATION; IN ACEY DEUCEY, THE INITIAL 45 PIECES ON THE
BAR DON'T HAVE TO BE ENTERED BEFORE THEY CAN BE ADVANCED; ONLY PIECES THAT
HAVE BEEN HIT HAVE TO BE ENTERED ON THE NEXT MOVE.

IN SNAKE WHITE STARTS WITH TWO PIECES ON EACH OF HIS FIRST THREE POINTS, WITH
THE OTHER NINE ON THE BAR, WHILE BLACK STARTS WITH THE STANDARD CONFIGURATION,
FORCING WHITE TO PLAY A BACK GAME -- WHITE HAS THE ADVANTAGE AT FIRST, BUT
BLACK LATER.

LOG FILE:
IF YOU TURN THE LOG FILE ON, THE GAME WILL BE LOGGED MOVE-FOR-MOVE ON FILE
TOMMYSBG.LOG IN ASCII FOR LATER REVIEW.  BE SURE AND TURN IT ON BEFORE YOU
ROLL THE DICE FOR THE FIRST MOVE IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE WHOLE GAME.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
   D    DISABLE MOUSE CHECK
   R    REVERSE THE BOARD SO THAT WHITE MOVES (INITIALLY) WEST AND BLACK
        MOVES EAST

EXAMPLE: >TOMMYSBG MS

NOTE ON STRATEGY:
-----------------

NOTE THAT WHITE'S POINT 12 IS CALLED WHITE'S "COMFORT STATION", AND SIMILARLY
FOR BLACK.  THIS MARKS THE HALFWAY POINT OF EACH TRACK.

EACH THROW OF THE DICE GIVES AN AVERAGE MOVEMENT OF 8 POINTS, WHICH IS THE
TOTAL VALUE OF THE 36 POSSIBLE THROWS OF 2 DICE (294), DIVIDED BY 36.
(ACTUALLY 8-1/6).  SO, FOR EXAMPLE, HITTING AN ENEMY BLOT CAUSING HIM TO
LOSE 16 POINTS, WOULD SET HIM BACK 16/8 = 2 THROWS.

IN GENERAL, YOU MUST NOT RELY ON THE LUCK OF THE DICE, BUT ON THEIR
RELIABILITY, THAT IS, FAIRNESS IN THE LONG RUN (NO MEMORY).  THE DICE DON'T
CHANGE THEIR MOODS, BUT YOU MIGHT (HA HA).

THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF GAMES WITHIN THE GAME: FORWARD AND BACK GAME.
A BACK GAME MEANS YOU TRY TO TIE UP THE OPPONENT'S GOAL ZONE WITH YOUR
DOUBLED-UP PIECES; THIS IS A GOOD STRATEGY IF YOU HAVE BEEN HIT A NUMBER
OF TIMES AND BELIEVE YOU CAN PUT ENEMY PIECES THROUGH A GAUNTLET.  A FORWARD
GAME IS THE USUAL GAME, WHERE YOU JUST TRY TO GET YOUR PIECES OFF AND YOU
LEAVE HIS GOAL ZONE EMPTY IF YOU CAN; USUALLY IT IS NECESSARY TO CLEAR THE
OPPONENT'S GOAL ZONE BEFORE HE BOTTLES YOU UP AND FREEZES YOU IN A CYCLE OF
BEING HIT AND HAVING TO REENTER THE GAUNTLET HE HAS SET UP.

BEFORE YOU REACH THE END GAME, WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO BEAR YOUR PIECES OFF,
TRY TO CAPTURE ALL THE INDIVIDUAL POINTS IN YOUR GOAL ZONE, SO THAT IF
YOU HIT YOUR OPPONENT HE WILL HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING BACK ON THE BOARD.

IN GENERAL YOU DON'T NEED MORE THAN 3 PIECES ON ANY POINT -- 2 TO CAPTURE
IT AND A THIRD AS A RUNNER.  SOME PEOPLE PLAY TO HIT EVERY OPPONENT'S BLOT
EVERY TIME THEY CAN, OTHERS PLAY FOR POSITION PREFERRING TO KEEP FROM
BLOTTING (LEAVING 1 PIECE ON A POINT) EVEN TO HIT.

WHEN CONSIDERING HOW WISE IT IS TO LEAVE A BLOT, TRY TO CALCULATE THE NUMBER
OF WAYS ENEMY PIECES CAN HIT IT, USING THE FOLLOWING TABLE FOR EACH ENEMY
PIECE:

#POINTS AWAY    #WAYS ENEMY CAN HIT BLOT
     1                    11
     2                    12
     3                    14
     4                    15
     5                    15
     6                    17
     7                     6
     8                     6
     9                     5
    10                     3
    11                     2
    12                     3
    15                     1
    16                     1
    18                     1
    20                     1
    24                     1

QUICK TRIVIA QUESTION:
IN THE GAME OF BACKGAMMON, WHAT NUMBERS CAN'T BE HIT WITH 2 DICE, COUNTING
DOUBLES?

ANSWER: 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23

NOTICE THAT 1 POINT AWAY IS SAFER THAN 6, BUT THAT 7 OR MORE IS MUCH BETTER
THAN 1-6!  BUT NOTE THAT 7-9 POINTS AWAY IS 2-3 TIMES AS VULNERABLE AS
10-12 POINTS AWAY, AND 5-6 TIMES AS VULNERABLE AS 15-24 POINTS AWAY.

GOOD POINTS TO CONTROL DURING THE EARLY ROUNDS ARE 5-10 FOR BLACK AND 20-15
FOR WHITE; 5 BEING MORE IMPORTANT THAN 6, 20 MORE IMPORTANT THEN 15, ETC.

TO SHOW HOW CAPTURING POINTS IN YOUR OPPONENT'S GOAL ZONE MAKES IT HARDER AND
HARDER FOR HIM TO RE-ENTER FROM THE BAR:

#POINTS CAPTURED      #WAYS OPPONENT CAN RE-ENTER IN 1 THROW OF DICE
                      1 MAN ON BAR    2 MEN ON BAR
      1                   35             25
      2                   32             16
      3                   27              9
      4                   20              4
      5                   11              1
      6                    0              0

THE DOUBLING CUBE GIVES ODDS OF 3 TO 1 TO THE DAREE.  SO, DON'T DOUBLE UNLESS
YOU ARE SURE YOU'RE AHEAD OF YOUR OPPONENT; BUT ACCEPT THE DARE IF YOU THINK
YOU'RE NOT SURE TO LOSE.  BUT, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GAMMON, YOU DON'T WANT
TO THROW THE CUBE TOO EARLY BECAUSE THE OPPONENT CAN CONCEDE AND YOU LOSE THE
GAMMON POINTS.  SOME PEOPLE ONLY DARE WHEN THEY ARE SURE THE OPPONENT WON'T
ACCEPT, NOT TO ACTUALLY DOUBLE THE WINNINGS; OTHERS ARE MORE CASUAL ABOUT THE
FICKLENESS OF THE DICE AND GO FOR BLOOD (HA HA).

AND, IF YOU ENJOY DICE GAMES, TRY THE FOLLOWING:

     CAT#  NAME
     ----  ----
      039  TOMMY'S YAHTZEE.  FOR 1-8 PLAYERS, ONE OF WHICH MAY BE THE
           COMPUTER ITSELF.  EXCLUSIVE ALIEN ALGORITHM IS HARD TO BEAT.
           ALSO PLAYS CRAG AND YACHT.

      049  TOMMY'S DICE.  A PARADISE OF 10 DICE GAMES: CRAPS, DICE 21,
           LIAR DICE, BARBUDI, POKER DICE, CHUCK-A-LUCK, 4-5-6, AND MORE.

      075  TOMMY'S BACKGAMMON.  THE CLASSIC FAVORITE MADE COOL BY JAMES
           BOND IN "OCTOPUSSY".

      127  TOMMY'S TRASH!  A.K.A. ZILCH, 2-9 PLAYERS CAN PLAY AT ONCE.
           TRY TO GET A BIG SCORE AND DECIDE WHEN TO QUIT BEFORE IT'S TOO
           LATE.

      178  TOMMY'S DON'T DO THAT!  ANOTHER DICE-BOARD GAME THAT IS A CROSS
           BETWEEN YAHTZEE AND A BOARD GAME.  FOR 2 PLAYERS, OR YOU VS. THE
           PC.

JUST $6 EACH POSTPAID IN U.S.A.; 2 FOR $12; 3 OR MORE, $5 EACH.  FOREIGN ADD $1
FOR EACH 3 TOYS OR FRACTION THEREOF.  U.S. DOLLARS ONLY.  PLEASE SPECIFY 5.25
INCH OR 3.5 INCH DISKETTES.

----------------------
DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED TOYS AND GAMES FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES.  OUR 5.25 INCH (360K) OR 3.5 INCH (720K) DEMO DISK,
CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC TOY CATALOG AND OTHER GOODIES, IS ONLY $2 SHIPPING/
HANDLING TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S. (U.S. DOLLARS ONLY).  IF YOUR PC
BORES YOU WRITE US NOW.

TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.

HAVE FUN!