Playing The Different Variants Of Backgammon

Writen by Sky Joe

If you are a frequent player of backgammon, the different variants of the game should not be unfamiliar to you. There are a few backgammon variants but only the roll-over is commonly used. The roll-over is actually a variant that was introduced by Richard Frey in 1960s.

The roll-over is used often because it adds strategy, reduces the element of luck and reduce frustration. It also provides additional interest and excitement to the game. However, it should be limited to one for each player each game and must be agreed upon by all players or the tournament director before it is adopted in a session. Apart from the roll-over, there are other variants such as chouette, opening roll and the beaver. They are explained in greater detail in this article.

Roll-Over Once during the game, each player can decide either to roll again or to have his opponent roll again. A player must decide to roll again before he picks up his dice; that is, before he completes his turn. A player can wait until his opponent completes his turn (seeing how he moves) before deciding to have the opponent roll again. The opponent cannot double before rolling again; he must wait until the next turn to double. Each player starts each game with a roll-over marker and removes it from the board when he exercises his roll-over option.

Chouette In a chouette, one person plays against two or more people. A chouette can be interesting and sociable. If there are four or more players, a mini-contest can be conducted in which the players paired up to play one against one in each round instead of playing a chouette. If a chouette is appropriate, one person, who is in the box, plays against the other two. One person of the two-player team is the captain. The players of the two-player team jointly decide their moves and roll-over usage. If they cannot agree, the captain makes the decision.

The best way to play a chouette is to play a three-set match where the players rotate each set. Each player is the individual player(in the box), the captain, and the teammate for one set. Each player of the two-player team receives the points that they win in the set. The player that wins the most points in the three sets is the winner of the match.

Opening Roll In this variant, the opening roll, where each player rolls one of his dice, merely determines which player starts first. The player that wins the opening roll then rolls both of his dice to make his first move. In some uses of this variant, the player that wins the first turn can choose to play that roll or roll both of his dice. This allows the possibility of doubles for the first moves of the games and gives the player that wins the added advantage.

Beaver For this variant, the player that is doubled can accept, redouble and retain possession of the cube, if he does so before the doubling player rolls. The beaver doesn't make sense for players who know the proper double strategy because a player should normally have more than a 70% chance of winning the game to double. The doubled player would be crazy to redouble with less than a 30% chance of winning the game.

For more information on the playing backgammon online, learning backgammon rules or joining backgammon clubs, please visit the following website: Backgammon Guide

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