Understanding the Backgammon Board Set Up

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 831

At first glance, the backgammon board set up looks slightly complex. If you've ever watched professional players setting up the board, it seems initially impossible to remember which checkers go where. However, after once or twice, players will see that the backgammon board set up is a lot simpler than first perceived. The following description may sound complicated but needs to be applied in practice to see that it is really not:

The backgammon board set up involves placing checkers on a board that is set up on a level surface and positioned between two players. Each player has different color checkers (usually black and white) to distinguish between them. Checkers are placed on particular points that correspond to one another on opposite sides of the backgammon board. Points on the board are numbered from 1 through to 24 beginning in the player's home board.

In the backgammon board set up, the checkers are placed as follows: Five checkers on each point six (the point closest to the bar within the player's home board); three checkers on each point eight; five checkers on each point thirteen and two checkers on each point 24. Once all the checkers are in their correct places, the players begin their game by throwing the dice across the board to see who goes first. Remember to check that all the equipment (ie. the board, 30 checkers and the dice) is present before beginning the backgammon board set up.