To play backgammon free successfully, you must familiarize yourself with the rules. If you never played this fun game when you were growing up and are just getting started with it, chances are you are unaware of the rules for playing it. Thankfully, we are here for you.
In this article, we discuss the most important rules for playing backgammon so that you can play it like a pro. Let’s delve into them.
Rule number 1: Setting up
Setting up the board properly is the first Backgammon-free rule. Before arranging their pieces on the board, each player chooses a color, such as black and white. There are twenty-four spaces overall on the board’s two sides, comprising twelve long triangles. Your opponent should slot one of your colors in front of them. Place 2 white tiles on the first slot and 5 white pieces on the twelfth location, working clockwise from the corner in front of them. Then, as you continue counting in a clockwise direction, put 3 white tiles in the slot marked for the seventeenth piece and 5 white tiles in the slot marked for the nineteenth piece. You should have these final two tile spots on your side of the board. Where the white tiles are, there should be an equal number of black tiles, and each stack of pieces should reflect the other side.
Rule number 2: Clockwise and anti-clockwise
One player will play the game clockwise, and the other player counterclockwise. You might develop a preference after playing this game for a while. Your two pieces in slot one should start in the far left corner if you are playing clockwise. Your pieces should advance in the form of a horseshoe clockwise. Your two pieces in slot one will begin in the far right corner and move in a counterclockwise horseshoe pattern if you are playing counterclockwise.
Rule number 3: The objective of the game
Removing every tile from the board is the objective of the game. Assuming that you are playing in the shape of a horseshoe, you want all of your pieces to finish on the opposite side or the tail end of the horseshoe from where it began, with your two pieces in slot one. Before removing any tiles from the board, you must place them all in that section. After they have reached that section of the board, you can roll the dice and remove tiles corresponding to the numbers rolled.
Rule number 4: Moving
First, roll two dice. Each die represents a moving number. Let’s say you get a 5 and a 6. Five tiles can be moved at once. You can move that tile to the same number of slots or, if you’d rather, swap it up and move a different tile to the same number of slots. On your own pieces, you can land. You cannot land on a slot if your opponent has already occupied it with at least two tiles. You can land on one tile in the slot and throw them into the center if they have one in the slot. Rolling an open slot number allows your opponent to move their tile from the center to the quarter where their two tiles in slot one started. The tiles in slot one do not have to be played before any other tiles can be moved; the pieces can be moved in any sequence.
