How hard is it to learn backgammon?

Before playing backgammon, one needs to get a full grasp of the rules. It is not, however, very difficult to learn the game. The game, meant for two players, relies on luck and skills.

Backgammon is played on a board which has four sides. Drawn on the board are 24 long triangles called “points” divided into six triangles on each side. Light and dark checkers as well as a pair of dice are also used in playing.

In playing backgammon, a player’s main purpose is to move all his chips into his home board and get them off the board all together. This is done by rolling a pair of dice and moving the chips along the triangular markings on the backgammon board called “points.” A player can move not only one but two chips at a time. For example, if the dice showed a five and a two, the player can either move one chip seven times or move one chip five times and another chip two times.

The game starts with 30 checkers (15 light ones and 15 dark ones) placed on the 24 triangles in a fixed position. Each player then rolls a single die. The one with the higher number makes the first move. If both players can get the same number, they roll a die again until they get different numbers. After that, they take turns. In moving the checkers, a player should aim for an open point. A player therefore should make sure that his points are occupied by two or more checkers otherwise, his opponent might land his checkers on that open point. The checkers are usually moved forward to the point with the lower number on the board.
The game becomes more exciting if one player offers to double the game value to earn more points or money by winning. Doubling the value can be done if a player believes he is in the lead. This also requires more strategy to backgammon. The game can actually be double and redoubled several times on a number of conditions. If the cube is in the middle, either player may be allowed to double. Afterwards, only the player who owns the cube may redouble. A player can only double before he rolls the dice.

Another option will be doubling the opponent out if a player has a huge lead. For advanced players, they usually add the Crawford rule and roll-over for more variety to the game.