How to set up the backgammon board

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 860

Backgammon belongs to the family of 'tables' games, which have been around for thousands of years. These types of games are played on a standardized board which is always set up in a certain way at the start of the game.

If you want to learn how to play, the first thing you need to know is how to set up the backgammon board. Backgammon is played on a rectangular board, comprised of twenty four points, or long narrow triangles, twelve on each side. The first six points on each side forms the player's home board, and this is where you aim to get all your checkers by the end of the game.

Each player begins the game with their fifteen checkers placed throughout the board in the following manner: 2 checkers on point 24, 5 on point 13, 3 on point 8 and 5 on point 6.

Once you master how to set up the backgammon board, you're ready to start playing. The first player is the one to roll the highest number. The players take turns to move their checkers round the board, playing in opposite directions. Once you have managed to move all your checkers into your home board, the goal is to count them off the board, following the role of the dice.

If you are playing online, the program will either show you how to set up the backgammon board, or most often do it for you, so you can bypass this step - but it's important to know how for live games.