Backgammon
A race where the shortest route is rarely the safest. Two dice, fifteen checkers each, and the constant question of whether to leave a man alone.
The rules
- The board has twenty-four points and each player has fifteen checkers. The two players move in opposite directions, each towards their own home board.
- Roll two dice and move one checker for each die, or the same checker twice. A double is played four times, not twice.
- You must use both dice if there is any legal way to do it. If only one can be played, you must play the larger.
- You may land on any point that is empty, has your own checkers, or holds exactly one of your opponent's. A point held by two or more enemy checkers is closed to you.
- Landing on a lone enemy checker, a blot, sends it to the bar. It must re-enter in your opponent's home board before they may move anything else.
- Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board you may begin bearing them off.
- The first player to bear off all fifteen wins. Winning before your opponent has borne off any is a gammon; winning while they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board is a backgammon.
There is no doubling cube here. A gammon and a backgammon are recorded, because they are the most satisfying thing that happens in a game of backgammon, but a win counts as a win for your rating.