Using the Backgammon Doubling Cube

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

Many casual backgammon players have never seen a doubling cube. However, if you are playing for stakes, using the backgammon doubling cube can be an incredibly advantageous tool. Playing with the doubling cube is a surefire way to increase not only the stakes, but also the excitement of your game!

A doubling cube is the extra die in your backgammon set that is numbered differently from ordinary dice. Numbered with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64, using the backgammon doubling cube gives players the option to double the stakes at any point in the game.

A backgammon match usually begins at one point per game. If a player chooses to double, he is choosing to double the points for that particular game. The first double ups the stakes to two points, then four, then eight and so on. When a player chooses to double, his opponent may accept or forfeit the game for the current stake of the game (which would be one point before any doubling had occurred). If the player accepts he gains control of the doubling cube, preventing his opponent from using the backgammon doubling cube again, unless this player chooses to re-double later which sends the cube back to his opponent.

Technically, using the backgammon doubling cube is purely symbolic, although it certainly adds some excitement to the game. You don’t actually need a cube to play the game with doubling. It is only used to keep track of the current stakes of the game.