Backgammon has become a popular online game. It is a combination of luck and skill, making it an exciting game for players to enjoy. It is important to understand how to play online backgammon before you begin a game.
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game of backgammon is move all of your checkers around the board into your homefield and then off the board before your opponent does. There are fifteen checkers per player.
Starting the Game
How to play online backgammon is similar to how to play land-based backgammon. The board is set up and each player throws one die to determine who begins play. Each player then throws two dice per turn and must move their checker according to the numbers thrown. If a double is thrown, the player makes four moves.
The checkers can only be moved forward toward the player’s homefield. The checkers can only be moved to a position that is empty, that contains the player’s own pieces or that contains a maximum of one of his opponent’s pieces.
Hitting
If a player moves a checker to a position that contains one of his opponent’s pieces, the checker can be hit. This moves the opponent’s checker off the board, onto the bar.
Bring In
If a player’s checker has been hit and is removed from the board, the player will need to bring that checker into the game before he can continue play. The checker is brought into his opponent’s homefield. If the player does not throw dice that allow him to enter the opponent’s homefield, he misses his turn.
Bear Off
Once a player has all of his checkers in his homefield, he can begin to bear off. This means that he can begin to remove his checkers off the board. Checkers are removed from the homefield by rolling the appropriate numbers of the dice. The player who removes all of his checkers first, wins.
Scoring
The player who removes all of his checkers from the board first, wins and scores 1 point. If you remove all of your pieces before your opponent has started to bear off, you win with a Gammon (2 points). If you remove all of your pieces while your opponent still has at least one checker in your homefield, you win with 3 points.
Online Backgammon Tips
If you are unfamiliar with how to play online backgammon, it is a good idea to play for fun before you risk your bankroll. Most online backgammon sites allow you to choose to play in fun mode before you begin to play in real money mode. Once you are familiar with how to play online backgammon, you can switch to real money mode.
You can bet with a variety of amounts and it is always a good idea to start small. Play with amounts such as $2 until you are familiar with play and then you can increase your bets to as much as a few hundred dollars, although it is more common to find games costing in the tens of dollars.
