About Backgammon — History, Rules and Language

Backgammon is a board game with deep roots, in which two players roll dice and race their checkers around a 24-point board. Each player has 15 checkers; 30 checkers and two dice are used in total, and the board is divided into four quadrants. The goal is to gather all your checkers into your own home board and bear them off the board, winning as the first to bear off; every point on the board is a position and a strategic space, and a good plan always makes a difference.

In backgammon luck and strategy are intertwined; the dice decide what comes up, and you choose the move. Today the most common form is played as classic backgammon; there are also faster variants such as Gul Bara, and each one offers its own pace. For the details of the rules you can look at the backgammon rules guide page, play your first hand more deliberately and sit down at the table better prepared.

The most widely told story about backgammon's origins says the game appeared about 1,400 years ago. According to the legend, Buzur Mehir, the vizier of the Persian shah Nevshiyan, designed backgammon as a game of wit and fortune. Because this account has been passed down from generation to generation, it should be read as a legend rather than a firm date; historians have no clear founding document, so it is better to treat the story as cultural heritage; the rules we know today only took shape long after this account.

Traces of similar board games also appear in different regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome. That is why backgammon is thought to have a long line of development rather than a single moment of invention. The form we play today settled over the centuries, the rules varied with small differences from region to region, and the game was known by different names in different countries; this variety shows how the game was adopted across cultures; every culture added its own texture to it.

The symbolism attached to backgammon reads the board like a calendar. In the common interpretation, the 24 points represent the 24 hours and the 30 checkers represent the 30 days; the two sides of 15 checkers each evoke night and day. The 12-month comparison is tied to the 12 points in the board's two quadrants; these pairings are not strict rules but a cultural interpretation, and should be read as analogy rather than calculation; the calendar comparison is chosen to describe the rhythm of the game.

Another common account says backgammon holds roughly 4,500 different possible moves. That number is used to convey the richness of the game and shows that every hand opens a different path. Symbolic readings offer a fun frame; the rules themselves work independently of them, yet these comparisons explain the game's appeal and why it has been played for generations.

Backgammon players usually call the dice and the moves by special names. This language is an important part of the game's culture and still lives on at coffeehouse tables. The basic numbers are: yek 1, du 2, se 3, cihar 4, penc 5, ses 6; these are the traditional readings of the numbers on the dice and you pick them up quickly at the table.

Don't panic when you hear these names; most of them are just the reading of the two dice. “Ses u du” means six and two, “se yek” means three and one. After a few hands your ear adjusts, you start using the terms yourself and you follow the conversation at the table with ease; learning a few terms speeds up how you fit in, and knowing them lets you follow the game more comfortably.

The rules are learned quickly; you don't have to hold all of them in mind in your first game. The points below summarize the basic flow, while details and examples are in the guide; here we only recall the flow.

• Two players take turns rolling two dice.
• You move a checker forward by the number rolled.
• Checkers travel counter-clockwise, toward your opponent's home board.
• You can't enter a blocked point, meaning a point with two or more opposing checkers.
• If a lone checker is hit, it goes to the bar.
• Once all your checkers are home, bearing off begins.

For the details of bearing off, the bar and making a point, the backgammon rules guide offers a step-by-step explanation. The examples in the guide make it easier to see what is happening on the board. As you play, the flow settles by itself; checking the guide in your first few hands is normal, and the guide is a quick reference for the moment you get stuck, answering fast.

For beginners, three principles are enough: build a solid opening, block your opponent's progress, plan your bear-off. Instead of scattering your checkers in the opening, form points that support each other; try not to leave blots. Backgammon against the computer is a good start for practice, because you try things without fear of making mistakes and the computer lets you set the pace; you can retry as often as you like.

Blocking means building blocked points that cut off your opponent's path. In the bear-off stage, aim to bring your rearmost checkers home first, so the order of bearing off becomes clear. These three principles let you understand the game without memorizing it; after a few hands you build your own plan and start predicting your opponent's moves; that is the most instructive side of backgammon; every hand teaches a new lesson.

Backgammon is one of the most familiar games of coffeehouse culture in Turkey. Regular tournaments and meets are held in cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Bodrum. Turkish championships also show the competitive side of the game; there is a serious player base at national level, and tournaments strengthen the social side of the game; players learn new openings from each other.

Turkish players are also represented at international tournaments. After learning the rules you can compare modes on the online backgammon page. If you're ready, sit down at the table with play backgammon online and roll your first dice; the table is waiting for you, and you'll find an opponent waiting for your first move.

Below we've gathered the questions most often asked about backgammon. The answers are kept short; for details you can go back to the sections above and jump quickly to the topic you're curious about. The answers respond directly to the question.