Backgammon according to the normal movement rules. The first player to bear off all fifteen of his/her own checkers wins the game. If the opponent has not yet borne off any checkers when the game ends, the winner scores a "gammon", which counts for double stakes. If the opponent has not yet borne off any checkers and has some on the bar or in the winner's home board, the winner scores a "backgammon", which counts for triple stakes. To speed up match play and to provide an added dimension for strategy, a doubling cube is usually used. The doubling cube is
Backgammon cheating has therefore become extremely difficult. In State of Oregon v Barr, a 1982 court case pivotal to the continued widespread organised playing of backgammon in the USA, the State argued backgammon is a game of chance and that it was therefore subject to Oregon's stringent gambling laws. Paul Magriel was a key witness for the defence, contradicting Dr. Roger Nelson, the expert prosecution witness, by saying, "Game theory, however, really applies to games with imperfect knowledge, where something is concealed, such as poker. Backgammon is not such a game. Everything is in front of you. The person who uses