Backgammon Rules Variations: Legal Plays, Premature Rolls, Beaver, Racoon

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Backgammon Rules Variations

Most of the backgammon rules (or laws) are well understood and never
disputed. The game is one of total information, unlike poker or bridge, so
there is very little opportunity for misunderstanding or, thankfully, cheating. It
is very difficult, though not impossible, to control the numbers that you roll.

In this article I am going to look at the few contentious areas of the game.
The two areas that create more problems for players than any others are
'legal plays' and 'premature rolls' so we'll start with those.

Legal Plays

The backgammon rules state that you must play the numbers that you roll.
But what if you misread the dice, play the wrong numbers and pick up your
dice? The formal rules say that your opponent can condone, i.e. accept, the
play or he can require you to replay your move, this time making a legal play.

As an example look at this position:

Black rolls 64 and thinking he is on the bar, picks up his dice without moving
any checkers. Red has every right to just roll the dice and play on despite the
fact that black has just wasted one of his best rolls.

Several clubs and tournament directors play what is known as 'legal moves
only'. In this variation of backgammon rule, the players must only make legal
plays and they must point out illegal plays to each other and indeed any
spectators are also allowed to point out illegal plays to either player.

Personally, I much prefer this version of the rues as I believe it leads to a
fairer game.

Premature Rolls

The other area of contention is 'premature rolls'. This happens when one
player rolls his dice before the other player has completed his move. Does
the roll stand or must the offending player re-roll when the first player
completes his move?

Both variations are used in money and tournament backgammon games . If
the roll stands, the opponent can get a huge advantage. Consider this
position:

Black is just deciding whether to pick and pass with 10/5*/3 or be bold with
10/5*, 13/11 when red prematurely rolls 43. Now black knows he can make
the bold play.

This area is more difficult because an opponent who consistently rolls too
soon is very annoying. I have a slight preference for voiding all premature
rolls and making the player re-roll. The only exception should be in the
bear-off when no further contact is possible. In this case premature rolls
should be allowed to stand.

Just make sure you know which variation you are playing before you start.

Doubles

One other area of that we find variations is with the backgammon rule of
doubling cube . For the moment we will ignore chouettes , which we will treat
as a separate subject, and only consider head to head play.

Automatic Doubles

At the start of the game if both players roll the same number you have to
decide whether to automatically double the stakes. Quite often one
automatic is agreed but if both players roll the same number again then the
stakes are not increased any further (but by prior agreement the automatic
can be carried over to the next game). Unlimited automatics belong to the
1970's which is where they originated. Years ago I was playing for only
twenty pence a point when a game started with 7 automatics - suddenly I
was playing for £12.80!!

Again, make sure you know what the rules are before you sit down to play.

Beaver

In money play (never in tournaments) it is common to play beavers. A beaver
occurs when you believe that your opponent has doubled you in a position
where you believe you are actually the favourite to win the game. In this
case you can turn the cube to the next level (if you are being doubled to 2
you beaver to 4) and you keep the cube on your side of the board.

Racoon

Raccoons are backgammon rules very rarely played but they can certainly add
to the excitement! If the original doubler things his double was correct and
the beaver was wrong he can raccoon the beaver to 8!!

Aardvark

Virtually extinct backgammon rule ! The person who beavered the original
double aardvarks the raccoon to 16!

Want to try what you've learned about Backgammon Rules and Variations?
Download GammonEmpire now, and start playing!

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The two areas that create
more problems for
backgammon players than
any others are
'legal plays' and
'premature rolls'

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