Direction of the Backgammon Game

Hedge · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

I have only been playing backgammon for a couple of months now and there is one thing that I am a bit confused about. Sometimes when I play against someone they will set the board up so I am moving clockwise and sometimes they will set it up so I am moving counterclockwise. It doesn’t really matter to me, but I simply don’t understand this chance. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

Checker · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 10

While you were sitting across the board, focusing on your own game, you may have missed out on the fact that your opponent moves in the opposite direction as you move, so you are moving towards and past each other. If you are moving clockwise then your opponent is moving counterclockwise. If you are moving counterclockwise then your opponent is moving clockwise. Therefore, you will sometimes be moving in one direction and sometimes in the other direction depending on your preference or the preference of your opponent.

Some people have lot of trouble playing in one direction. I like for my one-point to be on my right hand side and to move counterclockwise from the top right hand side. However, I know other people that prefer to play in the clockwise direction. You said that the direction doesn’t really matter to you. This is a great thing. Sometimes in tournament play two people that can only play in the clockwise direction may end up playing against each other. They will usually roll the dice or flip a coin to determine the set-up and the player that has to play in a direction that he feels uncomfortable with will be at a huge disadvantage. Therefore, it’s a good idea to practice playing on both sides.