two dice are used in a standard game of backgammon.
two dice are used in a standard game of backgammon.
how many dice are used in a standard game of backgammon?
two
"tάβλη (tavli)" meaning "table" or "board" in byzantine greek, is the oldest game with rules known to be nearly identical to backgammon; it is described in an epigram of byzantine emperor zeno (ad 476–491). the board was the same with 24 points, 12 on each side. as today, each player had 15 checkers and used cubical dice with sides numbered one to six. the object of the game, to be the first to bear off all of one's checkers, was also the same. hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, all followed the modern rules. the only differences with modern backgammon were the use of an extra die (three rather than two) and the starting of all pieces off the board (with them entering in the same way that pieces on the bar enter in modern backgammon). the name τάβλη is still used for backgammon in greece, where it is frequently played in town plateias and cafes. the epigram of zeno describes a particularly bad dice roll the emperor had for his given position. zeno, who was white, had a stack of seven checkers, three stacks of two checkers and two "blots", checkers that stand alone on a point and are therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opponent checker. zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5 and 6. as in backgammon, zeno could not move to a space occupied by two opponent (black) pieces. the white and black checkers were so distributed on the points that the only way to use all of the three results, as required by the game rules, was to break the three stacks of two checkers into blots, exposing them and ruining the game for zeno.
backgammon
backgammon opening theory









































the first moves of a backgammon game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening, and studied in the backgammon opening theory. backgammon opening theory is not developed in as much detail as opening theory in chess, which has been widely studied. the reason for this is that following the first move in backgammon, there are 21 dice roll outcomes on each subsequent move, and many alternative plays for each outcome, making the tree of possible positions in backgammon expand much more rapidly than in chess.
backgammon opening theory