While the game of backgammon can look surprisingly complex, you will soon realise that this old Mesopotamian game is nothing of the sort. It’s got an ancient history, so the rules are pretty simple – games from the past tend to be simplistic in the extreme. Backgammon, though, is a simple two-player game that involves the use of fifteen pieces that are moved around between a 24-set of triangular points depending on the role of a pair of dice.
The Rules of the Game
Backgammon has a pretty simple objective – you want to make sure that you are the first person to get all of your pieces off the table. This means moving all fifteen of your little pieces off the table before your opponent can do so. The way in which you move is determined by the roll of the dice, so it often depends on your luck as much as your ideas and strategy. With each roll of the dice, you are given the chance to move your characters, or try and place your checkers in a way that would block the movement of an opponent’s piece.
You have to decide if it’s better to make a mad dash for the exit or try and hold your foe up while you move to one of the exits. Backgammon can be tough to play at first as you need to learn about strategy and making sure you stop the opponent from moving off the table too quickly. This can mean taking the time to try and slow down your foe as opposed to trying to escape quicker than one another.
The game has a long history, and thus many strategies and ideologies exist around how to best play backgammon, so try and look into some viable strategies to play out so you can outsmart your foes!