Backgammon in the world

Since backgammon is one of the oldest games known to man, it is natural that it will have variants around the world. But even we were surprised to find out just how many various games have originated from the basic backgammon, including various rules, setup of the backgammon board, number of checkers and much more.

The past few years have seen an outbreak in good backgammon articles available on the internet. You can find everything from "tips for beginners" to an explanation of the inner workings of the ratings formula. And since backgammon boards can be used for much more than just playing backgammon, there are many other wonderful games you can play. They range from very simple games for children to detailed games with intricate rules and methods.

Some of the variants rules prohibit hitting your opponents' checkers. Some rules see one checker as forming a block on a point; others have the backgammon board set-up with all of the checkers on one point. Yet others have players moving their checkers in the same direction around the board, ending up at opposing sides of the board before bearing off. You may even find people playing backgammon to rules as obscure as Misere, where the object of the game is to be the last to bear off all your checkers; or Swedish Tables, which is played much like backgammon except that the two players move in the same direction around the board and there are more ways to win than simply bearing off your checkers.

Would you believe that some elaborate backgammon variants are played without dice?!

People from different ethnic backgrounds who find themselves together at a table in front of a standard backgammon board, might still not agree on the basic rules. There are those who are used to Formal Club and Tournament Play and those who are used to Casual or Ethnic Play. For example, formal rules permit a player to move checkers and return them to their original position before deciding on the final move. In casual games this sort of thing is totally unheard of – you touch it, you move it.

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