So my uncle just picked up a backgammon case and we played for the first time today (neither of us have ever played). The rule book was....interesting. Not exactly a clear read so we looked up a tutorial on youtube, watched it and played a game. Quite a bit of fun but I have this feeing we are missing some critical elements. Anyone able to give me a clear rundown of play or direct me to a good book on the subject (we are going to make this a regular thing).

The big thing you're probably missing is the doubling cube...the game really is intended and best played as a gambling game.

When a player has a small advantge....double up. It changes everything, though the game can be played without it, it's about as cool as poker without gambling.

That's true, doubling up really makes it exciting. Same like mah jongg and poker in that its basic mechanics are fun, but when adding metagame risk it becomes far more interesting. I just hate losing money, so I don't gamble for any real stakes.

Basically the game is a complex version of mancala, or better, parcheesi. Get your side to the other side. Except Backgammon has a penalty box where you can be totally hosed. The basic game is roughly that easy.

Leaving tokens solo means risking them being sent to the penalty box (the bar) -- and if against a good player, they'll trap you there by clever stacking of their home. Since you need everyone at your home part of the board before you get to move them off, this can end up with hosing a player for a good part of the game. But if you brought everyone home and start moving them off while your opponent has tokens stuck on the bar you might be stuck with a roll that leaves you exposed.

However, just like mah jongg can be reduced to gin rummy with tiles, poker to War with bluffing (highest hand wins), backgammon shines when the metagame of multiple hands comes in. That's where gambling upon a specific hand, the doubling die, becomes so interesting. And that part is a metagame finesse thing; we could talk about it, but it's better to just experience it.

I just realized I didn't answer your question! This really is a bit heavy, but it helps explain the cube and the nature of points (just like cribbage!).
How to Play Backgammon

Basics is setup the board according to the pic. You and your opponent will sit opposite with the arrows pointing inward from you both. The board is divided into quadrants. There's the board half away from you, the board half near you, and each board half is divided by the bar in the middle. Usually you are on the right side of your half of the board (it's just convention, it could be the other way round for home games) - this is called your home quadrant.

Now you 'll note that as you set up the pieces correctly, if you are white the majority of your pieces will be on your opponent's half, particularly in their "black's" home quadrant (and vice versa). You move your pieces around in a horseshoe track; out from their home quadrant along their board half to their outer half, then cross over to your outer half and around towards your home quadrant. Each triangle is a step on the die/dice going towards home.

But I think you already knew most of this, so I'll shut up and let you ask questions from there.

I once found a very nice backgammon set at a Goodwill shop for super cheap. I bought it, took it home to learn to play. I saw so much about the strategy of backgammon that I got pretty excited. I love strategy!

After 3 or 4 plays I decided that there are a large number of people out there who do not know what strategy is. Yes, there are choices to make in backgammon, but it is largely a luck based game. And as was said, if you aren't gambling or using some metagame stakes, it's not very exciting. You may as well cut cards.

Thanks guys. Yeah, we were wondering about the doubling cube. Didn't realize it was more of a gambling game. Now the tutorial we saw makes a bit more sense (the guy said something to the effect of:"you might get beat-up if you break this rule", if money is on the line, that quote makes a lot more sense).

Backgammon is the most gambled game in the world, more money is bet on backgammon than any other game, including poker.

Its also one of the oldest games in the world.  It descends from the Royal game of Ur in mesopotamia; in Egypt it became a game called "Jackals" and in Rome it was known as Tabula, and was the most popular game in the Empire.  The Emperor Claudius was such a fan he was said to have made a specially converted carriage for himself that was set up so that he could be playing Tabula with an opponent while traveling on it. He also wrote a book about the game, which is sadly not still extant.

After the fall of the empire, Tabula evolved in middle-eastern nations into a game sometimes referred to as tric-trac, or tawla (Nard in persian), and is mentioned in the Koran as the reason the stars at night exist (so that Allah can have light to play the game).  Crusaders brought the game to Europe where it became an instant hit; however it was the european invention of the Doubling Cube that brought the game into its standard form.

The way to enjoy backgammon is by gambling (small wagers, or by "points" per game if you really don't gamble at all) to it and playing it with the doubling cube; a lot of the strategy of the game is in when to double and when to accept a double or not.

Its my favorite boardgame in the world. I could play it for hours without stopping, and indeed I have! True story: I was trained into how to play it by a pair of ex-mossad agents.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Pariah74;573497I once found a very nice backgammon set at a Goodwill shop for super cheap. I bought it, took it home to learn to play. I saw so much about the strategy of backgammon that I got pretty excited. I love strategy!

After 3 or 4 plays I decided that there are a large number of people out there who do not know what strategy is. Yes, there are choices to make in backgammon, but it is largely a luck based game. And as was said, if you aren't gambling or using some metagame stakes, it's not very exciting. You may as well cut cards.

I think you might misunderstand what strategy is.  Backgammon and chess aren't the same, but its stupid to say backgammon isn't a strategy game.

Let me explain it like this: say we're playing chess. If you're a grandmaster, and I'm a beginner, barring you having a stroke or a really really bad day, you're going to beat me, every single time I play you.

Now say we're playing backgammon: and I'm a grandmaster, and you're a total beginner; in any given game, there is a chance you can beat me.
But now let's play a hundred games of backgammon (which I will gladly do): if I'm a grandmaster and you're a beginner, I'll win 80-90 of those games.
What's more, if I'm a grandmaster and you're a beginner, and we play 5 games, you might even win 3 out of five, but I'll end up having hosed you in points/money, because you'll win 3 1-point games that I forfeit, and I'll beat you in 2 games where you stupidly doubled and I doubled back, beating you 8 points to 3.

That's what makes the game so much more interesting to me; anyone who plays has a chance to win or to lose, its not all predetermined, so your strategy DEPENDS on how you adjust to luck.

RPGPundit

So if I wanted to play the game more like the ancient versions, I'd drop the doubling cube?

For games exactly like backgammon, the doubling cube dates to around 1925. There's a 17th century version of the game with doubling, however. No idea about "ancient" versions.

Quote from: RPGPundit;573510I think you might misunderstand what strategy is.  Backgammon and chess aren't the same, but its stupid to say backgammon isn't a strategy game.

Let me explain it like this: say we're playing chess. If you're a grandmaster, and I'm a beginner, barring you having a stroke or a really really bad day, you're going to beat me, every single time I play you.

Now say we're playing backgammon: and I'm a grandmaster, and you're a total beginner; in any given game, there is a chance you can beat me.
But now let's play a hundred games of backgammon (which I will gladly do): if I'm a grandmaster and you're a beginner, I'll win 80-90 of those games.
What's more, if I'm a grandmaster and you're a beginner, and we play 5 games, you might even win 3 out of five, but I'll end up having hosed you in points/money, because you'll win 3 1-point games that I forfeit, and I'll beat you in 2 games where you stupidly doubled and I doubled back, beating you 8 points to 3.

That's what makes the game so much more interesting to me; anyone who plays has a chance to win or to lose, its not all predetermined, so your strategy DEPENDS on how you adjust to luck.

RPGPundit

And if you're two newbs it's ALL luck, as was my point. There's strategy in Black Jack...but it's not a "strategy game." To the uninitiated, the web articles and the general appearance and look of the game give the impression that it's more of a strategy game than it really is.

I am new to this forum so please bear with me if I make a mistake.

I wrote the Rules of Standard Backgammon for my online backgammon magazine and believe I covered some doubts that new players can encounter while playing the game.

The rules are at this link http://www.gammonlife.com/rules/backgammon-rules.htm and in the section called "Starting a Game – Moving the Checkers" you'll probably want to read the part about how one "must use the exact numbers".

Another item that is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the rules you will get with a new board, is the part about "The Bear Off Process", read the last two paragraphs in that section at the mentioned link.

As for the discussion as to whether Backgammon is a game of luck or skill, the answer is that while there is an element of luck (because of the dice) Backgammon is mostly a game of skill. Think of this, if you roll two numbers on a pair of dice and have 15 checkers you can choose from to move, which checker(s) should you play to make the best move with those numbers?

Technically speaking, there is really only one best move, and if you study the game and its strategy, you might get the move right.

We can learn what the best move for any position is by using programs (bots) created through neural networks (AI) to analyze backgammon positions. However, with the game having billions of possible positions that can come up, a human can never learn them all to become a true master of the game - there is always a new challenge to face in every game.

However, at this time and because of bots, avid players can learn how to correctly play the first roll of the game, the second roll, third, etc. and thus play the early part of the game perfectly. This give you an advantage over someone who has not studied the opening rolls, thus helping you to win more games.

But even if a player does play a position that gives him the most equity, his opponent could still get a lucky roll and turn the game around. This makes backgammon a fantastic game of skill, luck and fun - because the luck part allows even a beginner of the game to sometimes win against an expert player and that encourages him to keep on playing and learning the game.

fascinating info, all around!  i have a cheap backgammon set but have never played.  had absolutely NO IDEA about the history of it, either!  now to find the game and see if i can convince my wife to learn to play. . . .

Quote from: CRKrueger;573823So if I wanted to play the game more like the ancient versions, I'd drop the doubling cube?

The ancient versions are considerably different, rules-wise. Tabula was played rolling 3 dice rather than 2, for example, and some of its other rules were different.  The royal game of Ur was extremely different (there was a website of a museum, maybe the British Museum? that had an online game version of the Royal Game).

RPGPundit

Quote from: Pariah74;573986And if you're two newbs it's ALL luck, as was my point. There's strategy in Black Jack...but it's not a "strategy game." To the uninitiated, the web articles and the general appearance and look of the game give the impression that it's more of a strategy game than it really is.

By that logic you could make the same argument about poker, or chess for that matter.  The fact that two newbs playing would be depending much more on luck due to their own ignorance doesn't really change the fact that the game itself has important strategic elements.

RPGPundit